The 8th Murray Codference was held at Shepparton on Saturday, 8th November 2025. The day was action packed, with lots of learning, networking, tackle browsing and prizes! The theme of the day was “Fishing is More Than Catching” and we heard excellent talks from VFA’s own Taylor Hunt on Victoria’s native fish resurgence, Anthony Forster about decades of inaction on Carp and Andrew Briggs quest to save Macquarie perch and the wetland stocking trials.
Keynote speaker Taka Kawasaki discussed the international trends in Daiwa fishing technology and the enormity of the fishing industry and how it is a valuable to the economy. Gage Wright spoke on his story from how he went from making fishing lures for himself to turning it into one of Australia’s leading lure brands for chasing Murray cod.
Robbie Alexander gave a candid talk about the positive impacts fishing has on social and mental health followed by Steve Vidler opening up about his journey to establishing a long career in breeding and stocking native fish. Andrew Colston shared the importance of family and his passion for fishing and how he incorporates the two by fly fishing clearwater streams for cod with his son Tommy.
Cassie Price, CEO of OzFish discussed the large movement of recreational fishers standing up for river health by building and establishing habitat and fish hotels for native species. Annique
Harris spoke about the collaboration between the VFA, DEECA and ARI and the undertaking of native fish research and monitoring.
Lubin Pfeiffer shared his best native fishing experiences and lessons. All while inspiring those still chasing a trophy sized cod to keep working hard to reel in the reward of a lifetime. Colby Lesko counted down the best impoundments to catch a large cod with Lake Eildon taking the top spot! For those living in the cities and suburbs, Alan Bonnici gave away secret tips for locations to target native fish in urban waterways.
The MC of the day was VFA board member Wambui Migwe who did an excellent job engaging the crowd and VFA Director of Fisheries Management and Boating, Luke O’Sullivan, chaired the Q&A sessions which saw a wide variety of questions on topics such as Murray cod, carp and fishing gear!
The day ended with a debate chaired by Steve Threlfall between Robbie and Colby on the topic “To live scope of not, that is the question!”. With good arguments from both sides the crowd was split evenly for the vote, and no winner was crowned.
Trelly’s Outdoor supplied a whole heap of prizes to be won from hats to fishing rods! There was plenty of tackle browsing to be done and exhibits to explore between sessions. It was a great day with around 300 happy cod punters attending! We’ve been inundated with loads of positive feedback about the day! A massive thank you to everyone who helped make the day a fantastic fisheries engagement event!
