General News
3 October, 2024
Record catch in Taylors Lake: keen fisherman Riley reels in a monster
Largest cod on record swims free in Taylors Lake - or does it?
After a brief stint on dry land, one of Victoria's largest cod has swum free again in Taylors Lake.
But just where in Taylors Lake remains a closely guarded secret.
There's not much that makes Laharum's Riley Winfield happier than fishin', crabbyin' or shootin'.
And it was one of those fishing trips that saw Mr Winfield make the catch that has been recorded in the history books.
Living the fisherman's dream he threw in a line in Taylors Lake not far from Horsham in the state's Wimmera district a few days ago and he hauled in a 120 cms long cod.
The legal limit to keep a catch is 55 to 75 cms so after photos were taken to prove it wasn't just a fisherman's tale of 'the one that got away' that gets bigger with each telling, the avid fisherman let his catch go to swim freely again.
The estimated weight of the cod, based on other smaller catches and averaged out by length and width is between 90 and 100 lbs or 45.4 kilograms.
"Dad and my grandfather are keen fishermen, it runs in the family, and they said it was the biggest they'd ever seen or heard of," Mr Winfield said.
"And when Victoria Fisheries heard about it they called me and said it was the biggest on record and they posted it on their site online."
While the Wimmera Mail-Times was speaking with Mr Winfield, he was relaxing in a boat with a mate who was in the process of reeling in a 88 cms cod near Hay.
The mates are on a 3000 kilometre trip from Laharum through the north of the state and back again doing some fishing and feral pig shooting or 'livin' the dream' as they put it.
"I love fishing for the relaxation, the variety of places you can go to fish and the variety of fish you can catch. A day out in the boat with a mate and few beers, no one for miles around, there's nothing better," he said.
Quite the culinary expert Mr Winfield said he enjoys a good meal of fish and said the secret is in the batter.
He shared his secret formula for the best batter with us.
"A lot of people use the beer batter recipe but I don't, I have perfected my own," he said.
"A cup of plain flour, a cup of self raising flour and 375ml of soda water and mix well. If you do use beer use a light beer."
And the all important subject of bait.
"I caught the big one on a yabby, but I use cheese, shrimp and worms and they all work well."
Mr Winfield said he is not going to say exactly where he was fishing when he caught the record breaker.
"I 'd like to think it can continue to live out its days in the lake," he said.