Canberra

Get into the goodoo

CANBERRA Toby Grundy

Cod season 21/22 is here, and the anticipation is reaching fever pitch in Canberra. After long periods of lockdown, the easing of restrictions has increased the level of excitement as anglers can now travel to fishy locations. maximum disturbance across the water.

The other thing to remember is to bring a light spin stick on each cod excursion, because casting for a yella can be a great way to pass the time if the cod aren’t willing to play the game. I usually arrive at a likely cod spot an hour early so I can catch a few yellas before the sun starts to set. Fishing is a

Don’t forget the light spin gear.

I always keep my eye out for new release cod lures which always seem to drop (ironically) during closed season. I like to fish with a lot of new lures during the opening weeks of cod season because I find the fish have usually wised up to the usual suspects like spinnerbaits, but will readily hit something they haven’t seen before. This year I’ll be focusing on surface lures, and the first thing I’ll be casting is the new DStyle Hatch. I’m a big fan of lighter cod lures, and the Hatch is the perfect mix of a light lure coupled with plenty of size, and big wings to create confidence game, and having a few fish on the board always makes me want to fish longer and harder, all the while knowing the fish are biting. LOCAL LAKES

Lake Burley Griffin is fishing really well. I have been out in my kayak over recent weeks and I quickly found the reddies holding just off the points leading from the rowing lanes up to the wharves at Weston Park. There are also plenty of golden perch holding near the reed-lined banks at the Daramalan rowing sheds. This part of the lake is often overlooked by anglers fishing from the shore, but when the

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wind pushes the bait up into this area during late afternoon, it is possible to catch several golden perch by slow rolling vibes parallel to the reeds. The cod are holding a few metres out from the rock walls along Lady Denman Drive and can be fussy. Large plastics slow rolled through the middle of the water column can get the cod interested but more often than not, the cod end up being a bycatch for lucky fishos targeting yellas on light spin.

Lake Ginninderra continues to improve. Though the weed issue remains a problem, the fishing has gone from strength to strength through spring and now into Golden perch are on the chew.

Low light periods are always good times to target goodoo. directly opposite the college. The fish tend to push up into this area in early summer to hunt the baitfish. Match the hatch with a wriggler plastic in dark green. SURROUNDS

Googong Dam is my pick of the summer fisheries. The redfin are hitting surface lures, the golden perch are thumping any kind of lure fished close to the trees, and the big cod are actively patrolling the edges in search of an easy feed. If you’re walking the bank, head to Shannon’s inlet and cast small- to medium-sized swimbaits out past the sunken trees and shrubs. Slow roll the

summer. The golden perch are holding close to the reeds but will readily take a wriggler plastic in darker colours, and also can’t resist a shallow diver worked close to the bottom. Slow rolling mediumsized swimbaits just above the large weed beds which hope of landing one of the resident green giants. Lake Tuggeranong has held massive cod for a long time but they have been proved elusive and difficult to catch. The widely circulated and recent videos and photos from last season featuring huge swimbaits and

This coming cod season will be interesting.

line the edges of the lake near Diddams Close can result in a cod strike. The bigger fish bite well at dawn and dusk, and there is also a bite window at around 3pm.

Lake Tuggeranong will really start to fire over the coming weeks. A number of anglers unlocked the secrets of this fishery using Livescope tech towards the end of last season. Other fishos, having seen the spectacular results, have wised up and will be fishing Tuggers hard in the The reddies are back at Googong.

big cod in easily recognisable locations will mean that most anglers know exactly where to go to hook a cod, and I’m sure it won’t be long before we see a 120cm cod come from the lake.

For those fishing for yellas, try the shallow banks lure close to the bottom but insert a few pauses as the lure gets close to the snags (even the tiniest shrub) because Googong natives sometimes need a second look before committing. If you’re fishing from a boat, go to the back of the dam and fish the steep rock walls for cod.

The Murrumbidgee has been in flood for some time and it could be that the river remains in flood for many months to come. This doesn’t mean the fish won’t be biting but it may be a case of putting in a lot of time on the water to work out where the fish are holding. The landscape of the river will have changed so much since the closed season that it may be a case of testing out areas where there were no fish before, because the regular haunts may now be fishless.