More anglers ditching the online rat race

Grundy

I’ve pulled back from the social media fishing scene of late. There was a time when I was building a reasonable presence online, and while I was lucky to dodge the trolls (for the most part), I have witnessed several unsavoury discussions revolving around everything from whether or not a fish was a cod, trout cod or hybrid, through to negative comments on people’s choices related to tackle and tactics.

Most of the very best Canberra anglers have long since abandoned social media, and keep their catches on the down low. I know of one Canberra angler who recently landed a 124cm cod from the bank at Googong and followed it up with a river metrey the next day, which took his tally to over 30 metreys landed during his short angling career. When I asked if he was going to post the images online, he laughed and shook his head.

I completely understand. Fishing (for me anyway) is about getting away, not competing with anyone or attempting to one-up other anglers. The thrill of the hit is all the rush you need, and the last thing anyone wants is for some online troll to try to bring down other people’s angling experiences. I expect many more anglers will realise this as time goes on. With cod season now well and truly in full swing and all Canberra waterways fishing well, I hope the attention will stay on the fishing rather than the dross that appears in online forums.

Lake Burley Griffin is really starting to fire. This is great news as the lake really does offer something for everyone at the present time, from the novice through to the experienced angler. There are plenty of small to medium sized redfin holding close to shore along a variety of locations across the lake. I hadn’t fished the entrance to Sullivan’s Creek for some time, but I finally went back last month, and found a great reddie bite. The fish were switched on to wriggler-style plastics, and it was simply a case of casting out near the sunken weed beds and I usually got a hit on the drop. I also picked up a small yellowbelly. Speaking of yellas, there are some nice fish holding off the points behind Weston Park. There is one particular bay at the back of the park which is fishing really well. The water flows from the park down to the lake via a small waterfall, and the golden perch hold right in close to the flowing water, looking for an easy feed. These fish will readily take a ZX40 or a paddle tail plastic at present. There are piles of redfin sitting about 5m off the edges along Diddams Close and near the old police jetty, and they are hitting all manner of lures. The fish range in size from 15-40cm, and it is possible to run up a cricket score in a few hours of fishing. I had a lot of success simply drifting my kayak and lifting a ZX blade in a slow arc off the bottom. If the fish didn’t hit on the lift, they hit the lure on the drop. There have also been fishing through the night. MURRUMBIDGEE RIVER

Despite the rain, the river has continued to fish well. There are lots of small cod around, and these fish are acting aggressive as they are feeding up in preparation for the cooler months. Paddler and winged style surface lures are producing lots of strikes, with many smaller specimens also hitting much larger lures intended for bigger fish. The fast water is the place to start fished slow near the bottom. The cod are sitting in the usual spots, with the wharf at the Governor General’s residence and adjacent points proving to be profitable hunting grounds for cod fishos casting from a boat.

Lake Tuggeranong has copped a bit of rain recently, but this has been good as the oxygen levels in the lake if you’re fishing at dawn or dusk, but the traditional snags like half-submerged boulders are also worth several casts, especially if you’re casting spinnerbaits during the day.

SURROUNDS

As mentioned earlier, there have been some massive fish caught at Googong. Both boat/kayak and land-based anglers have had some serious encounters with big greenfish in recent weeks. Most of the really big metre fish have been landed by those slow rolling large plastics in around big snags, but swim baits are also getting plenty of attention have improved and the fish have come on the bite. Now is the time to target redfin on surface lures along the margins of the lake, with the wharves behind the college being the best place to flick small poppers at dawn and dusk. There have been a few nice cod caught by boat fishos targeting the drop-off that’s 10 or so metres out from the dam wall. Most cod have been fooled into taking a spinnerbait, but there have also been a couple of crackers caught on surface lures. The golden perch have been a bit quieter around the edges, but there are plenty of small golden perch schooled up in the middle of the dam, and these fish seem to be hitting every lure that is dropped down in front of them.

Lake Ginninderra is a boat/kayak fisho’s paradise some stonking golden perch caught by land-based anglers walking the margins near the dam wall, and hopping creature style plastics along the middle of the water column. A few nice cod have also been landed by those from the resident goodoo. The redfin are feeding in packs and can be caught using blades, vibes and wriggler style plastics, while the golden perch are cruising the shallows and will hit a medium-sized swimbait.