Fishers have caught three cod that measured over 1 metre at Warwick's Leslie Dam, as breeding efforts during the drought pave the way for monster cod. Peter Delahoy has fished the dam in Queensland's Southern Downs for seven years and recently caught three cod that measured over 1 metre.
They were 109 cm, 114 cm and 119 cm, he said.
Delahoy said he had never caught anything that size.
He said that it was due to the big rains we had.
It will not make it to the trophy room or dinner plate, as August to October is a closed season for Murray Cod in Queensland.
Between 30 and 60 cm was common and I used to hear of one or two big cod being caught a month. The Leslie is a lot of fish after a good year of rain in the catchment, but the tireless efforts to make sure the dam is a good breeding habitat are a major contributor to the number of large fish.
Instead of putting cod back in the dam, we've built structures to get them to breed and the cod are quite happy with what we've provided, said Mario Sala, Warwick Fish Stocking Association secretary.
Sala says the number of large cod caught shows it's been a success.
That's something most people would strive for and probably never get, he said.
Adam Bennett owns the Tourist Park at Lake Leslie and is hopeful that the cod will attract big tourism numbers too.
It's been about 10 years since the dam has been full, everyone is enjoying it while it's there. The dam was down to 4.6 per cent full two years ago, Mr Bennett said.
He said there was still fishing, but there was less water, so it was less concentrated.
It's a lot better now, a lot of fresh water and it's going to get better, hopefully. Mr Bennett said the fish could be even bigger than what has been seen so far this year.
The biggest one we saw was going back four-odd years ago. He said there are some big monsters out there, because it was about 160 centimetres from memory.
Will fish cope with another wet summer?
The third La Nina in a row this year has raised concerns about keeping the fish in the dam.
The dam is currently at 100.02 per cent capacity.
Changes in water quality and oxygen levels can reduce fish numbers due to prolonged rain.
The fish stocking association has a lot to do with this, so it's important to make sure it's an ongoing project. He said that we're always watching dam levels and how we can look after the fish.
If the dam fills and fish go over the wall when they release water, they will escape, so we have to take all those things into account.
In a drought, you lose fish because of low water and when it rains we can still lose fish because they go over the wall.
They go down the river where someone else can catch them.