A carp angler fishing from the Police Wharf in Lake Ginninderra this week thought he was going to land the fish of a lifetime when he tangled with one of the giant fish that live in the area.
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He had been trying for many weeks to hook one of the monsters but failed each time when they detected something suspicious about his baits and refused them. Eventually one of them fell for a juicy scrub worm offering and he hooked up.
He played the fish for some time and was becoming confident that he could land it when suddenly the braided line parted and the fish was gone.
Upon inspection he discovered the reason for the line parting. The ceramic ring in the tip runner had become dislodged and the new raw steel surface cut through the line, which was under extreme tension within a few minutes and the fish was gone. The angler was disappointed but will return another day with repaired or better gear to tackle the big fish.
He knows how big some of the fish are because his colleague fishing next to him hooked and landed another carp weighing over 10kg shortly afterwards.
Carp aren't everyone's favourite fish but to a dedicated carp angler they are the holy grail of freshwater fishing. The local lakes carry large numbers of outsized fish, with the current known record a fish over 14kg captured in Lake Tuggeranong several years ago. Larger fish are likely to reside in any of the older lakes.
Other fish active
A few golden perch and redfin were caught this week in the local lakes, on lures and bait. Redfin to 27cm were caught on soft plastic jig spinners in Ginninderra and Yerrabi and a couple of golden perch were hooked on live yabbies in Burley Griffin and Ginninderra. No Murray cod were reported.
At Googong lure and fly fishers never saw or hooked a fish but bait fishers with live yabbies found some nice golden perch. The best location was Tin Hut Inlet where the fish were feeding close to shore and the best fish weighed 3.5kg.
At Wyangala Reservoir an angler trolling a large spinnerbait in the Abercrombie Arm was pleasantly surprised to hook a Murray cod measuring 81cm. This was a personal best for the angler and he returned the fish alive after securing some trophy photographs.
Mountain lakes patchy
Anglers who braved the ski traffic and endured a three-hour trip to Lake Jindabyne or Lake Eucumbene reported mixed results with the fish.
One group trolling Tasmanian Devils in Jindabyne had a great run, bagging out several times during the weekend on rainbows to about 1.2kg and browns to about 1.5kg. They found fish in several locations but did particularly well at Kalkite and in Creel Bay.
Bait anglers reported a couple of small rainbows and one brown on wood grubs and Power Bait at Waste Point and Creel Bay. Fly fishers tried East Jindabyne, where some smallish fish were rising but failed to get a hook-up. They then tried Hatchery Bay, where bait fishers had reported taking some good fish recently but again failed to get a hook-up. School holiday children playing in the area and throwing sticks and stones into the water didn't help.
At Eucumbene bait fishers with wood grubs and Power Bait scored again, with some smallish rainbows at Seven Gates and Yens Bay and one large brown estimated at 2kg near the dam wall.
Clubs busy
Local angling clubs ACT Fly Fishers and the Canberra Anglers Association have had a busy couple of weeks. Both clubs enjoyed night talks from champion Tasmanian fly caster and angler Peter Hayes, with big attendances on each occasion.
ACT Fly Fishers had a successful weekend at Dixieland, a private multi-lake fishery near Adaminaby, landing some large fish.
Canberra Anglers Association is preparing for the annual pre-season fly-casting classes for the public. They will be held on the lawns in front of Old Parliament House on the three Sundays prior to the October long weekend opening of the 2015-16 trout season.