Canberra

Putting in the hard yards

CANBERRA

Toby

Grundy At the end of August, the cod in Canberra did switch on, and for about a week, locals got their goodoo fix before closed season. Cod season 20/21 started so well but the steady rain through most of autumn and winter meant that the river stayed in flood for long periods, and the water clarity in the local lakes went from murky to almost non-existent.

It will be a cod season remembered for all the wrong reasons, with COVID restrictions keeping most anglers off the water, and there were very few memorable moments. That said, while there weren’t many highlights, I do want to mention the 135cm cod Andy McGovern landed while walking the banks at a local impoundment. This fish was truly enormous and did encourage a number of anglers to seek out a few more fish in the final days of August.

We now turn our Hopefully the cod action in August bodes well for summer. There was some late season cod action.

which lead to the bridge.

YERRABI POND

Yerrabi Pond remains a good choice for anglers who are willing to put in anglers started catching bulk 50cm+ yellas on a regular basis. However, since that time, those in the know have kept their

door; I’m not sure why. I have never caught such a sickly-looking redfin out of LBG.

If we get a run of warm days, the entrance to the Molonglo River will hopefully fire with large golden perch actively pursuing the bait in this area from mid-September. The walkway near Regatta plenty of big fish on offer.

Lake Ginninderra has been a source of frustration for me lately. For most of winter I was always able to count on this fishery to provide me with a fish or two each fortnight, but more recently I haven’t been able to convince anything to hit a lure. This could be because the water

The yellas are hard work but worth it.

attention to spring, but with a large amount of rain predicted up until well into summer, things may not improve for some time yet.

LOCAL LAKES

Lake Burley Griffin is hard work. I fish this lake weekly, and lately I have found it particularly tough. I would go so far as to say that the fish are almost completely shut down. Usually, I can find pockets of activity in a couple of regular haunts but even these spots have produced little action of late. I did pick up a redfin and small yellowbelly just before writing this report, and while the golden perch was in top condition, the redfin looked like it was at death’s Point is also worth a look as the reddies tend to bunch up on the gravel beds looking for an easy meal.

Lake Tuggeranong produced some decent cod at season’s end, and there have been a couple of solid reddies caught along with a few golden perch. As always, anglers using Livescope tech have fared the best by focusing their attention on feeding fish out in the middle of the waterway, and dropping blades and vibes next to the fish before jigging the lure up and down. Tuggeranong is always a good choice if you’re fishing in early spring, as it is possible to fish most of the waterway in an afternoon and there are The yellas at LBG remain in top condition.

is especially turbid and cold. However, like Lake Tuggeranong, this smaller waterway is worth a crack as the golden perch grow to enormous sizes and respond well to plastics rigged weedless and hopped on the spot a few metres out from the sunken weed beds the work for a big golden perch. This pond bucks the trend of the other local waterways, with anglers picking up nice redfin along with the XL sized yellas.

This neat little fishery achieved cult status a few years back after several images off social media because it’s easy to identify a Yerrabi yella in a photo, due to the colouration of the fish and unique backdrop.

The goldens have never stopped biting, despite what social media may indicate, and a well-placed creature bait attached to a ned rig hopped close to the edges on a cloudy day will more often than not get a strike, as will a paddle-tail plastic attached to a small skirted jig. The trick is to fish these lures slowly and be prepared to almost crawl the lure along the bottom while giving the lure plenty of long pauses between lifts of the rod tip.

If all else fails, try pond hopping. There are plenty of ponds filled with redfin right around the Canberra area. I don’t want to give away anyone’s secret spot but there are plenty of local wetlands around the place which contain large ponds filled with fish that will readily take a wriggler plastic, Jackall TN50 or even a fly.

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