Canberra

Downside to the upgrades

CANBERRA Toby Grundy

The ACT Government are undertaking significant building works along the shores of Lake Burley Griffin. This has been going on for some time, beginning with the new boardwalk beneath Commonwealth

The old Paddle Boat Wharf is gone but new wharves mean new opportunities.

Avenue Bridge.

Now, I’m all for making the lake more accessible to children, the elderly and the disabled but it has saddened me to see many of my favourite fishing pontoons ripped out and replaced with some new infrastructure

that now covers some of the most productive golden perch fishing in Canberra.

The old Paddle Boat Wharf is a perfect example. I caught countless yellas off the old wharf and also witnessed some epic captures, like a 62cm golden perch, which tore under the pylons and took several minutes to land. This little spot was a winter favourite as the natives would seek refuge under the wharf through the colder months but could be coaxed out by a well-presented plastic or shallow diver.

That being said, there is hope that the fish won’t venture too far from their original haunts as is evidenced by the foreshore development on the opposite side of the lake. All the old wharves here were removed many years ago and replaced by a new restaurant district. The fishing slowed for a while

after the redevelopment but there have been some great captures along the new foreshore boardwalk in recent months.

LOCAL LAKES

Lake Burley Griffin is still fishing quite well. There are redfin hanging

around the shallows and these fish will readily take a plastic slow rolled around the rocky ledges behind the museum. This spot is a great choice when the wind is up, as the trees provide a weather break and the action can be incredible, especially at dawn and dusk. If after a golden perch, try the three pontoons, which sit behind the play equipment at Weston Park. Casting out deep here and slow rolling divers is a sure way of hooking up to a golden perch, but don’t forget to drop a few plastics right at the edge of the pontoons as the yellas will also sit underneath the structure. The Murray cod have been hitting surface and it is possible to catch more than one in a session. Try the points opposite the Governor General’s residence and cast as close to the half-submerged reeds

as possible.

Lake Ginninderra is providing consistent action for those fishing weedless offerings along the bike path from Diddams Close round to the college. Creature baits attached to a ‘punch rig’ are the lure of choice and it is a case of slowly working the lure along the bottom, which allows the yellas plenty of time to latch on. Redfin will also be fooled by this technique and there are some truly enormous reddies in Lake G.

If fishing for cod, be prepared to put in a lot of work and focus on fishing surface after dark. Big paddlers are a great choice, but snake-like lures also work well.

Lake Tuggeranong is a bit hit and miss and this has been the case for some time. Although the redfin fishing has been reasonable of late, the natives have started to shut down with fewer and fewer fishos catching anything of merit. It could be that the lake is starting to settle after all the rain and when Lake Tuggeranong settles, the fishing does get tough. That said, I do know of a few anglers who are still hooking into some good cod. These anglers mostly fish at night and keep their fishing on the down low going so far as to refrain from posting their fish on any social media platform. Hopefully though, the lake will fire up again during winter.

The Murrumbidgee River is starting to come

good. I don’t know how long this will last but at the time of writing this piece, the water is clear and even the fast water is fishable. There have been some nice cod caught over the past few weeks including a big 104cm specimen, which came from a large pool and took a liking to a slow rolled spinnerbait. There is some significant rain forecast over the coming weeks so now is the time to get down the river and throw some surface lures around. It is even worth going for a quick walk and sussing out some of the new snags, which have formed after the floods. These areas will be prime areas and should hold willing fish. SURROUNDS

Googong Dam is producing plenty of native fish at present. There was a lull in the fishing action during late April and into early May but things are picking up. Golden perch are feeding up along the steeper areas of the dam and these fish can be caught using a variety of lures and techniques from twitching Wriggler style plastics on the spot or slow rolling swimbaits.

The cod are on the bite and are sitting close to the bank near the drop offs on the edge of the halfsunken timber. The redfin are holding in the shallows and will hit a slow rolled paddler plastic attached to a beetle spin.

The yellas are firing. Googong is producing good catches.

Now is the time to try the river.