At Jindabyne the fish were patchy but hungry, and trollers and fly fishers did well. One troller used lead core line and flat line to take nine rainbows and nine browns to 2.5kg, using green Tasmanian Devils in the morning and black and gold in the afternoon.

At Eucumbene the fish were harder to find, but trollers at Braemar reported some nice browns and small rainbows, just legal size, taken on fly near Providence Portal.

Tantangara provided a few fish on fly during the day but strong easterlies put the fish down before the expected evening rise got properly under way. Bait fishing with scrub worms and mudeyes was more successful later at night.

There were some pleasant surprises in Canberra's urban lakes. Keen lure tosser Greg landed 30-50 redfin each session on the shores of Lake Tuggeranong, with the best fish about 35cm. Hard-bodied minnows and soft plastics were both effective, and a few were taken on spinning blade and spoon lures.

Many anglers caught golden perch and some small Murray cod in Burley Griffin, on yabbies, scrub worms and spinnerbaits. Best locations were Black Mountain Peninsula and near Scrivener Dam. Two anglers fishing upstream from the lake near Dairy Flat bridge and the new bridge over the Molonglo River caught and released 13 golden perch, all taken on worms.

Family groups also had fun fishing with worms and lures in Lake Yerrabi, landing some small redfin and good-sized golden perch. The most productive spot was directly opposite the skate park.

Some of the best fish came from Lake Ginninderra. Keen regular Matthew McCauley was a big winner, with one golden perch, three redfin and a massive 107cm Murray cod, all on worms. The big cod was taken on 3kg braid with 4kg mono leader and took 45 minutes to land. It is believed to be the largest cod ever caught in the lake, and was released. Yabbies also were a top bait in the lake.

The annual Grouch Cup at Wyangala Reservoir attracted a good crowd. There were good bags of golden perch and one silver reported, and the best Murray cod was 98cm.

On the coast, estuary, rock and beach fishing was hampered by strong winds, rain and discoloured water.

Offshore was more productive, with reasonable numbers of flathead and a few snapper each morning, on squid, striped tuna and soft plastics. Black Magic snapper snatchers also hooked some good snapper.

At Broulee one group landing big flathead gave the fishing away after a huge great white shark made menacing gestures around their 4.6m tinny. The shark was at least as long as their boat and kept eyeballing them at close range on each pass. When it finally looked like chewing on the motor, they decided it was time to go.

Annual social fishing competition the Canberra Cup will be staged on Lake Burley Griffin from February 5. Fishing will be from 6.30pm to 9.30pm each Thursday for eight weeks. Prizes include $1500 cash, a Mariner 10 Propel kayak, Shimano rod/reel combos and tackle shop gift vouchers. For details contact Adam Samios on fshing@my2hooks.net or 0422 717 077.