Canberra Fishing Report | September 2023
LOCAL LAKES & RIVERS
Spring has officially begun in the Nation’s Capital with the wattle in full bloom.
The Murray Cod season has now drawn to a close, but it ended with a bang for many local anglers.
Multiple fish over the metre recorded including 2 cracking specimens by Klaas Pichelmann.
These were caught on the super popular Irukandji Sicario Soft Plastics, including the newly release massive 11 inch model.
Spring also marks some of the best Golden Perch fishing of the year.
The fish are hungry after their winter slumber and can be seen cruising the shallows in search of food and warmer water.
This can be a great opportunity to sight cast to fish. Googong in particular fishes well as the water is generally pretty clear, and fish can be spotted a lot easier.
Soft plastics like the Keitech easy shiner, Berkley Gulp Minnow and ZMan Crawz are all tried and tested presentations.
Flies are also a worthwhile option. Slow sinking flies with Marabou or Zonker material are best.
These can be fished super-slow and create a lot of movement on their own without the angler having to impart much action.
The local Redfin population are also becoming increasingly more active, and will start to school in larger numbers.
On the right day, cricket scores can be caught once a school is located and kept active. When you encounter a school, fish hard and aggressively. This can make the school more active and keep them in a feeding frenzy!
SNOWY MOUNTAINS
With the rivers still closed until the October the lake fishing has fish been as good as ever!
The majority of reports coming through have been good catches of Brown Trout.
This is not uncommon, as the bulk of Rainbows are continuing to spawn in the rivers.
Browns have been seen rising around the edges on small midge. These fish can be polaroided on a calm sunny day. Small nymphs and midge pupa are a great option.
Fish have also been responding well to Woolly Buggers stripped fast on sinking lines.
The browns are quite aggressive this time of year, as they’re trying to regain condition lost during their winter spawn.
Hard bodied minnows like the Daiwa Double Clutch Rapala, Floaters and Bullet Lures have also been catching good numbers.
Popular Areas have been the Buckenderra Arm, Rushy Plains, Frying Pan, Braemar Bay & Yens Bay.
The Rivers are looking in great condition for the upcoming season.
Good numbers of fish have been spotted in the Eucumbene River which is a great sign.
The iconic Thredbo River also looks in great shape as snow melt has kept the levels healthy.
Nathan Walker with and aggressive Brown caught stripping streamers.
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN-STORE
We have a busy month ahead in store with plenty of new products hitting the shelves.
The new series of Primal rods will be dropping prior to the season opening including the RAW CCC Freshwater and the MEGA CCC Saltwater models.
The NEW Freestone Waders & Wading Boots will also be in-store soon. These have had a complete re-design and look to be an absolute winner with some serious tech!
We’ll also be holding a talk night in-store with Snowy Mountains Fly Fishing Guide, and Fly Program Founder Matt Tripet on September 21 from 6:30pm.
Be sure to check our Instagram and Facebook pages for more information.
There’ll be some great raffle prizes on the night, as well as a FREE BBQ & drinks.
Please call (02) 6239 1323 for expressions of interest.
The Canberra Anglers Association are holding their annual ‘LEARN TO FLY CAST’ event near Questacon, ACT.
This is the number one event on the Canberra Anglers calendar with big turnouts most years.
If you ever considered learning to Fly Fish or even improve on your current skill level, this is on event you don’t want to miss!
It runs over 3 consecutive Sundays. The 10th, 17th & 24th of September.
Boss Outdoor Canberra will also be working in conjunction with the event on the 10th & 17th and will be demoing some of the finest Fly Rods on the market thanks to Manic Tackle Project.
These will include rods from Primal, including the new RAW CCC as well as the incredible handcrafted masterpieces from US made Scott Fly Rods.
They’ll be paired up with some quality Airflo Fly Lines including the new ridge 2.0 technology.
Feel free to come along and have a test cast
For more information, please visit www.canberra-anglers.asn.au or visit our social media pages.
Come and Learn to Fly Cast and Test some of the finest rods available.
