Autumn arrives with redfin catches everywhere

CANBERRA

Toby Grundy

The local lakes are exploding at the seams with redfin at the time of writing this report. There are big packs of reddies feeding up out deep and in close, and they are hitting almost any lure that even remotely resembles a mosquito fish.

Every year, the local lakes in Canberra experience an influx of mosquito fish and this year, we’ve gotten an April hatch. Mosquito fish are a staple part of a redfin’s diet, and golden perch are also very fond of the small, invasive species. At present, when a big autumn yella materialises and belts the lure in front of the chasing reds…well, that’s what fishing in the cooler months is all about.

Lake Burley Griffin continues to fish really well. Though the water clarity is lacking, this hasn’t stopped the redfin. It has been a few years since I have experienced sessions where I can start with vibes, switch to divers and then finish with small surface lures and catch fish on each lure type and on almost every cast.

I have found that whether you’re throwing subsurface lures or surface offerings, the

Lake Tuggeranong is still worth a crack despite the fact that the oxygen level is once again dropping right across the lake. The mosquito fish are as prevalent in the lake as they are in LBG, so the same methods that are paying dividends on Burley Griffin are also working on Lake Tuggeranong. Shallow running divers like the Ecogear SX40 fished slow near the islands at Greenway is a good way to pick up a few fish as is targeting the pontoons behind the College with small vibes like the Jackall TN50. If you’re after a cod, try surface lures after dark up at the spillway or if you’re in a boat/kayak, head towards the dam wall and cast spinnerbaits parallel to the wall and employ a ‘pause/hop’ style retrieve.

The cod fishing has been good lately.

I want to also make mention of the cod fishing. There have been a number of small cod caught by anglers targeting yellowbelly along the points around 10m from Carillion near Kings Avenue Bridge. This area also holds carp and reds, but the smaller cod have pushed up into this area looking for food and seem to be hanging around long term.

Lake Ginninderra is fishing much the same as the other two major lakes, with and small divers right along the sand bank behind the dog park can yield some good captures, as can hitting the pylons under the bridge during the heat of the day with vibes and blades like the ZX35 in dark knight colour. The cod are proving a little harder to catch than the reds and yellas, but fishing surface at night at the old it is a case of finding some half-submerged reeds and taking the time to watch the area 5-10cm below the surface. If a school of mosquito fish are sitting close to the reeds, the redfin and yellas will be holding close by, and it is simply a matter of casting a small diver out a few metres from the reeds and retrieving at a steady pace. Watching a pack of reds appear underneath a lure is always exciting, but lure needs to make a bit of noise via a rattle, and that the best results come when I match the colour of the lure to the colour of the mosquito fish. Green, brown and translucent coloured lures work best, and make sure you follow the bait. The bait will tell you when the fish are around, as the mosquito fish will dart for cover and often breach the surface when larger predators are around and chasing. mosquito fish sitting close to the edges, and yellas and reds sitting a few metres out, waiting for the bait to make a mistake. Fishing plastics police jetty or along the dam wall are both good strategies for connecting with a big green fish.

Redfin are everywhere at the moment.

The Murrumbidgee River is still running a bit fast, and the water is turbid, but the fish are on the chew. The surface fishing has been quite good but most anglers have found consistent success by fishing spinnerbaits and swim baits in the slower pools and varying the retrieve speed on each cast. The resident river yellas have also kicked up a gear and are hitting lures meant for cod, so it pays to bring a lighter outfit to each session along with the heavy stuff, and have a few casts with smaller blades and vibes.

Googong Dam is providing some outstanding angling opportunities, and should only get better and better until winter well and truly sets in. There are plenty of redfin about, and these schools of fish are sitting close to the bank looking for food and will eat almost any small lure put in front of them. The area from the car park to Shannons Inlet is a great place to go for a walk and cast some lures, with the golden perch also feeding up in this area.

If you’re fishing from a kayak/boat, head over to Bradleys Inlet and cast spinnerbaits and large plastics right in tight to the sunken shrubs and timber. The cod often hit on the drop but if they don’t, employ a fast retrieve becauase the fish will chase lures hard at this time of year.