# Lake Burley Griffin - Yellowbelly



## victor-victor (Jan 12, 2006)

Lake Burley Griffin is located in the middle of Canberra and I regularly fish this lake as it is close to home. This lake is home to Murray Cod, Golden Perch (Yellowbelly), the odd Trout, Red fin and Carp.

I try target Yellowbelly but lately been catching heaps of Red Fin. When the weather becomes cooler the native fish should be back on the bite.

Today I caught my PB :lol: yellowbelly using a soft plastic from my Yak and took about 10 minutes to land as I was using 4 Lb line and did not want to loose the fish.

I was unable to measure my catch, but I estimate the size to be around 60 cm and around 4 to 4.5 Kg.

A few Pics of my catch today but found it hard to photo by myself with fish in one hand and camera in the other.

Yellowbelly with 80 mm squiddy hooked cleanly on the side









This was hard to photo with one hand on the fish and the other on the camera.









I quickly paddled to shore trying to get a better pic before releasing the fish









Pic of the pesky red fin


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## Kevin (Aug 29, 2005)

Awesome fish Victor,

I'm looking to catch something sililar in Eildon but not as successful as you so far. Great capture on the 4lb line too.

Well worth the effort over the photos (as long as the fish doesn't unduely suffer) as we all get to see the capture and you have them forever now.


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## Mushi (Aug 31, 2005)

Very nice on the 4lb!
How does a big yella fight like?


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## Peril (Sep 5, 2005)

Impressive, Victor. I'm sure that was a lot of fun.

Don't you eat the redfin? I thought they were good for that.


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## victor-victor (Jan 12, 2006)

It has been a month with my new yak and I have been trying to target Yellowbellies and finally some luck!

Mushi when the first bite they can go like the clappers for a short distant and start act like a sinking torpedo looking for snags or the bottom. They do like keeping pressure on the line but they don't seem to like jumping out of water and spitting out what ever annoys them. They will give extra effort to dive when seeing the surface.

Fighting the fish is just keep the pressure on the line and allow it to run.

Peril they are not bad to eat but you do need to be carefully prepared as the flesh can dry out. I have eaten them at times but not often.

I have been catching Red Fin at the moment are around 6" - 8" but I have been finding the first catch in the school is a little larger (last 8 times going out) and after that they are all too small. If I can catch enought large one's then its a feed.


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## sam60 (Aug 30, 2005)

good catch Victor....LBG has heaps of spots to fish....from near the carillion to over near black mountain and little places everywhere.


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## troppo (Feb 1, 2006)

Nice looking fish. Nice size too! Sounds like fun.


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## sunshiner (Feb 22, 2006)

Hi Victor

I used to live in Canberra about 20 years ago and I had a Coleman Scanoe. In those days there seemed to be very few fish except carp in the lake so it's good to see that things have probably improved. Anyway, I caught quite a few nice yellowbelly on lures in the 'bidgee, at that picnic spot near where the Cotter River flows in (can't think of the name of it at the moment).

Also caught some Murray Cod and Rainbow trout in Googong Dam -- is that still fishable?

Nice fish -- well done.


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## Polar (Sep 1, 2005)

Hi Victor
where in your opinion is the best place to launch for a fish in the Lake?


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## victor-victor (Jan 12, 2006)

Hi Sunshiner,

Googong Dam used to be my stable fishing hole (from shore) and a good
place to catch a feed. I hear some good catches of yellowbelly and
I don't hear much about trout being caught.

Googong Dam is a real mess at the moment, with the drought and the 
fires a few years ago. The water levels have dropped remarkably and
the fishing has not been the best. Fish can still be caught but requires
much luck and much effort (those 10% anglers who cat 90% of the fish
are still doing OK).

The southern entry, Tin Hut Dam, the water has all dried up and all
you can see is scrub where the dam water used to be. The Main entry
near the Dam wall looks a sorry sight. If you remember the old platforms
over the water where you could throw a lure or two, they are now 
20-30 meters above the water line. The ramp is so long now, you will
need a day pack to park your car and walk back to your boat.

Two weeks ago I decided to give Googong another go on the Yak, caught 
plenty of Red Fin, saw some trout (wish I brought my fly rod with me) 
but weren't interested in my lures. The water situation still make's me
feel real sad. I will be trying to fish it more regularly as the temperatures fall a bit.

In Canberra the local gov has taken an interest in the urban lakes
and have been stocking LBG with natives (Last time trout was stocked
was in the mid 80's). Lake Ginniderra and Lake Tuggeranong have been stocked 
with natives for the last five years. These Lakes are becoming a
good place to take the Kids for a fish. The only problem we are 
having is Algae blooms every year and tend to discourage people 
using them.

The Murrumbidge flow through the ACT is very low and not a great place
to fish anymore.


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## victor-victor (Jan 12, 2006)

Hi Polar,

There are several places you could launch, 
Black Mountain Peninsula there is a boat ramp and fishing on the opposite
of the peninsula where the water is deep is a good place for Yellowbelly during
the day. Fishing anywhere from the Peninsula to the Dam during summer
you can't go wrong.

Another good place to launch is Molongo Reach, near Dairy Road Bridge (near the LBG Kayak
sheds) but you might need to walk your Yak 20 meters unless the gate is open. Fishing
in the river is not bad.

You have the more popular places to launch, near the police launch or Weston Park.

I usually fish on the weekend mornings around Black Mountain Peninsula and during
the week (if I have the engery) Molongo Reach after work.


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## Polar (Sep 1, 2005)

Cheers and thanks for the info Victor - Iam going to give Lake Tuggeranong a go tomorrow hopefully


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## PeterJ (Aug 29, 2005)

Well done , great fish . The reddie is a ripper and almost as good to eat as flatty


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## wildfishhero (Aug 25, 2008)

Thanks for the tips victor. I had no idea you could even use sp's on yellowbelly's! well done to catch such a great specimen.


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## samrota (Mar 27, 2008)

Very healthy fish there mate. Nice and plump. Would of been a blast on light line. Well done.


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## josho (Nov 3, 2007)

excellent effort mate well done

Josho


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## OneLastCast (Mar 4, 2008)

I recenttly caught a 5IB yellow belly and a 65cm Murray Cod out of the Murrumbidgee despite the low levels. The fish are still there as well as the holes they live in.

I caught them on bread when I was fishing for carp!

I did not target them!


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## anthropomorphic (Sep 27, 2007)

That is a nice fish, well done. (esp getting through the redfin plague to get him)

If you're after reddies, no yak required, most weeks I hit the lake after work at least 1 night and manage double figures, if you can stand at the drinking taps and hit the dunnies, road and water with a cast you're in the general area, all along there there are lots of fish.

Definitely beats crush hour traffic (all 20 mins of it), watching the sun go down over the Brindies and the lycra clad eye candy jiggling past is certainly the way to relax after a hard day warming a chair.....

Cheers,
anthropomorphic


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