100KMS AROUND CANBERRA
As a 1960s-born Canberran, I spent a lot of time learning about fishing on the capital’s local waters. Canberra’s manmade lakes and local streams were often haunts for my school fishing buddies and I growing up, where we learnt to bait fish or spin for trout, silver and golden perch, carp and redfin. In later years we ventured further to the NSW south coast, Burrinjuck Dam and the Snowy Mountains. While Australia’s national capital regularly makes headlines for what happens in Parliament House, for local fishos and visitors there’s often more interesting activity taking place in local waterways. Here’s a rundown on some of the waterways worth checking out.
LAKE BURLEY GRIFFIN
The brainchild of Walter Burley Griffin this manmade ornamental lake named in his honour was filled in the early 1960s by damming the Molonglo River. Designed as a centrepiece for the national capital and situated smackbang between the city’s northern and southern suburbs “LBG” as local fishos know it offers good fishing opportunities, land and boat based. Previously, LBG was well stocked with trout
