It’s taken a while, but Canberra’s local fishing scene is finally hitting its straps after a sluggish start.
Catches of redfin, golden perch and small cod continue to be reported from all of the urban lakes.
Redfin are in plague proportions in Lake Burley Griffin.
Certain locations are hotter than others. The action in Lake Burley Griffin’s west basin is almost guaranteed, with redfin in plague proportions at times.
Some anglers have been lucky, catching well over 100 fish in a session, mostly on small diving lures and soft plastics.
The reddies are on the small side, but there are few over 30cm in amongst the tiddlers.
Elsewhere on the lake there a few golden perch and cod being caught in the Molonglo River and Molonglo Reach areas. The recent rain should spice things up even more.
Two much smaller lakes – Lake Tuggeranong and Yerrabi Pond – are also fishing very well.
The area under the bridge at Tuggeranong is proving a handy little spot for golden perch, redfin and under-sized cod on lures. Late evening is the best time, with small spinnerbaits and vibes the top lures.
Yerrabi Pond is also worth a look for perch and reddies. It’s such a weedy lake, which makes it difficult to prospect with lures, so try to focus on obvious gaps in the weed.
The mountains have been crying out for rain, and this week delivered modest falls that should improve trout fishing in the short term at least.
As I write this, it’s raining steadily in the Snowy Mountains, which is just what the doctor ordered for the alpine streams, and major rivers like the Thredbo, Eucumbene and Murrumbidgee.
This weekend and next week shape as good times to hit these waterways with dry flies or small hard-bodied lures.
It’s been an excellent summer on the coast for large dusky flathead. By ‘large’ I’m talking about genuine ‘crocs’ over 80cm.
Fish of this calibre have been caught this season in just about every estuary system from St Georges Basin to the Victorian border.
However, it’s a shame to see a few of these large breeding female flatties killed by a very small number of ignorant anglers.
While it’s not illegal to catch and kill a trophy lizard, it is irresponsible.
A single adult female dusky flathead can lay up to 8 million eggs in its lifetime, so it’s paramount that these fish are returned to the water to reproduce.
All flathead over 70cm are female, so anglers lucky enough to snare one of these big girls should make every effort to release them unharmed.
Fish of this size aren’t terrific eating anyway, tending to be a little dry and flavourless, so it makes no sense to keep them for the freezer.
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