Cod Nationals champs Kade and Derek Blow have been competing together for more than a decade

"A lot of people are getting the right bite but they might miss the fish, so just making sure your hooks and all your gear's in tip-top condition," he says.

Important too are luck and fun - but also preparation.

In order to "get in the right area when the fish are having a chew", a lot of time and work goes into "pre-fishing".

"You're fishing before the tournament to try and find areas where the fish are feeding and figure out what they are doing," he says.

Perhaps most significant, though, is the quality of your partnership.

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In that regard, Kade and his father Derek - 'KD Fishing' on Instagram - who took out the team title at the annual Australian Cod Nationals championship in Mulwala, NSW, two weekends ago - have got things sewn up.

Kade grew up lure fishing with his dad and "just fell in love with it", and the pair have been competing together since he was 12 years old.

"The sport's very dependent on making good decisions at good times," he says.

Around the competition season - from January to the end of March - the Blows spend pretty much all weekend, every weekend together, usually at Mulwala.

"Although it gets pretty tiring at times - early mornings, late nights - we love it," Kade says.

"We clash heads a lot, but I think that results in us making good decisions.

"Our relationship's rock solid and I think that definitely helps in being successful."

In a humorous speech celebrating the pair's victory in the recent event - where Kade also picked up the Big Fish category win - Derek said he got "a real kick" out of the time the two spend together on the boat.

"How many 22-year-olds want to hang around with their dad?" he said. "I think he loves me, but I think he loves his boat better."

The pair walked away from the championships with cheques worth around $13,000 and prizes of top brand rods and lures.

That hasn't been their only haul in 2023.

"We've been lucky enough to win four or five events up there this year, so I think we've maybe ticked over just over 25 grand in prize money from all the comps and well and truly broken even," Kade says.

"But some years you don't."

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And ironically, for the 22-year-old, the fish they catch are off the menu.

"It's quite funny - I'm a fisherman that's allergic to fish," he says.

"When we used to catch reddies out at Lake Eppalock and take them home and cook them up, I used to swell up and ... I'd struggle to breathe and get really itchy.

"So fish really didn't like me as much as I liked them."

In any case, while Lake Mulwala might be one of the few places Murray Cod are plentiful, these days not many people actually eat the species, according to Kade.

"They're pretty protected, and those that fish for them want to keep fishing for them, so most of it is catch and release," he says.

"All the fish handling practices have come a long way. You've pretty much got them out of the water for 30 seconds max then they're back in swimming."

Another thing to have changed during the young fisherman's career are the roles he and his father have on the water.

"I've learned everything off Dad, he says. "I've grown up from very young fishing with him.

"I think it's at the stage now where he's sort of taking a step back and I'm captaining the boat and driving around and he's just there as a passenger enjoying it.

"So times have changed I guess over the last three years. Whereas he used to take me fishing, now I think I'm taking him for a fish."

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