Opera House traps kill water rats, platypus and tortoises and are to be used only in private waters such as farm dams. One group observed at Buckenderra recently insisted on using the traps even though they had been advised of their illegality.

Admittedly they were in no condition to understand what they were being told. One of the group was so drunk he fell overboard and had to be rescued by his equally inebriated colleagues. Caring anglers can help retain the credibility of their sport by continuing to exert pressure on undesirables such as these whenever the opportunity rises.

Give them a hard time until they see the error of their ways and wildlife and the rest of us will all benefit.

Fish are still down deep in Eucumbene and Jindabyne and are hard to find using most conventional techniques. The only group successful recently used lead core line or a downrigger to get down to where the big browns and some of the rainbows were stationed.

Most of the fish caught were stuffed full of small yabbies. The browns also are still patiently waiting for rain to tempt them into the Eucumbene and Thredbo rivers on their annual pre-spawning run. As soon as there is substantial rain there will be a mass movement of fish to the streams, followed predictably by a mass movement of anglers taking advantage of the largesse.

The annual Carp Out fished on Lake Burley Griffin last weekend was a great success, according to the organisers, The Canberra Fisherman's Club. Large numbers of carp and redfin were weighed in and about 1.1 tonnes of carp consigned to a processing plant for conversion to garden fertiliser.

The carp were caught on bread, sweetcorn and especially hand-made corn, aniseed and garlic-flavoured boilies produced locally. The heaviest carp weighed 5.8kg and was caught by Wendy Dawes. Greg Collins landed the heaviest redfin, weighing 0.6kg.

Bass are at peak activity and providing great sport in the Clyde, Shoalhaven, Bega and Brogo rivers and especially Brogo Reservoir.

In the mornings they are taking surface lures and flies then switching to sub-surface patterns later in the day. Fish the snags as a priority, but watch for fish in open water when there is a hatch or fall of insects, including termites, cicadas, moths and grasshoppers.

Burrinjuck is certainly worth a visit at present even though the water level has dropped to about 35 per cent. A Murray cod measuring 110cm was caught on a deep diver during a night session, followed by others of 95cm and 75cm.

Plenty of smaller cod were taken on spinnerbaits and deep divers, mostly in the Main Basin, around Wade Island and in the lower reaches of the Murrumbidgee River.

Golden perch also were active, with catches of 8-10 fish from a single tree a common event. Shrimps and yabbies were the best baits and the black Gulp soft plastic grubs worked their magic again. Other were trolled on Burrinjuck Specials and Jackalls.

School holiday fishers should enjoy some good fishing at the Moruya Breakwater and Tathra Jetty, which have yielded good hauls of salmon, tailor and bonito in recent weeks.

Dr Bryan Pratt is a Canberra ecologist.