Canberra

Impoundment fish on the chew

CANBERRA Toby Grundy

I am happy to report that the fishing in Canberra seems to be on the improve. After long wet weather periods and several cold snaps, things have started to settle (a little, anyway)

Lake Ginninderra is starting to fish well.

and the fish have come on the bite across a number of ACT impoundments. The solid fishing action may not last, so now really is the time to get amongst it and target all of Canberra’s three lure-chasing species – redfin, golden perch and Murray cod.

The cod are hitting surface lures.

LOCAL LAKES

Lake Burley Griffin is fishing reasonably well. There are large populations of redfin holding along the edges of the concrete walls which lead up to Commonwealth Avenue Bridge. The fish are feeding on small baitfish, so it’s a case of matching the hatch and slow rolling either a small, brightly coloured vibe, or 80mm wriggle-style plastic coupled with a 1/8oz jighead parallel to the concrete dropoffs. If you’re chasing golden perch, head to the isolated willows on Bowen Drive and flick small, naturallycoloured paddle-tail plastics under the overhanging willow branches and allow the lure to sink before twitching the lure on the spot. This is a great way to connect with one of

the larger resident yellas.

There have been a few good cod caught by anglers casting large plastics around the old wharves which still haven’t been ripped out by the ACT Government after the foreshore renovations.

Lake Tuggeranong is still a bit hit-and-miss, but

that being said, there have also been some exceptional captures there of late by a few anglers who keep a low profile. I was lucky enough to accompany a small group of dedicated anglers who fish the lake at night on one of their expeditions. Among the multitude of redfin caught, I witnessed an angler catch a big golden perch and a medium-sized Murray cod. I won’t give away the spots fished or the lures used, but I had no idea that the lake fished so well at night.

If night fishing is not an option, the ever-present carp are worth a look as these fish are hitting paddle-tail plastics through the day, especially around the drain near the scout building.

Lake Ginninderra is

really picking up. The golden perch are now active and are hitting lures around the edges of the large weed beds, which can be found in a variety of locations around the lake. These fish are responsive to a range of different lures and techniques. However, I have found that a small diver in a chrome finish fished slowly adjacent to the weed near the police jetty to be the most effective method.

There are also plenty of redfin hitting lures, and there have also been a couple of cod caught by anglers fishing paddler-style surface lures at dawn near the dam wall. I like to fish the lake when there is a bit of wind on the water. The fish seem far more active and more likely to hit lures.

Gordon Pond is a great place to cast for golden perch. There have been many fish caught here in recent weeks, with most fish caught sitting around the 45cm mark. I caught several fish using a Jackall TN60 in black king gill, and by focusing my efforts along the rock wall. There have also been plenty of reddies and carp caught by anglers fishing with bait, with the fish preferring scrub worms fished on a running sinker rig with around 30cm of leader right around the pond.

The Murrumbidgee River is still high and dirty but the

fishing actually hasn’t been too bad. I have caught a few fish using smaller, paddler style surface lures at dawn and dusk but all these fish came from slow back water as opposed to the faster flowing sections. Anglers have also had success using spinnerbaits fished slow and close to the bank, and there have also been a few goodsized yellas caught in these areas which were fooled by fishos using larger blades and vibes. I do want to make mention of the increased numbers of snakes along the ‘Bidgee. I have been fishing the river for 20 years and have never seen so many snakes. Make sure if you do decide to fish the river, wear gators, fish with a friend and carry a beacon. SURROUNDS

Googong Dam is steadily on the improve. The roving packs of reddies are back and pushing bait to the surface. Small poppers cast out past the last line of trees and worked back to the bank is a good way to catch a surface reddie, as is using a Jackall Micro Pompadour. The golden perch are also starting to come on the bite and can be targeted in a variety of locations and by using lots of different techniques. These can range from twitching wriggler-style plastics along the bottom through to slow rolling medium-sized swimbaits along the middle of the water column. There have also been several large cod caught by boat anglers fishing large spinnerbaits and plastics along the steeper edges at the southern end of the dam.

Fishing through the rain is paying off for some anglers.

The author with a solid specimen.