Fishing in Australian Capital Territory

The Australian Capital Territory is a small, landlocked territory carved out of the New South Wales tablelands, built around a planned city and the rivers and lakes that run through and around it.

The fishing here is entirely freshwater — no coast, no estuaries — and it divides fairly neatly between the urban lakes and impoundments in and around Canberra and the cooler streams and rivers that drain the ranges to the south and west.

Lake Burley Griffin sits at the centre of the city and gets fished hard for Murray cod, redfin perch, and carp.

Lake Ginninderra and Lake Tuggeranong are similar — accessible, productive for redfin and cod, and easy to fish from the bank with soft plastics or bait.

These urban lakes are classified as open waters under the ACT's Fisheries Act, meaning you can fish them year-round, though seasonal rules still apply to certain species.

No licence is required to fish the public waters of the ACT, but the rules under the Fisheries Act do apply — check the ACT Government's current regulations before you go. The Murrumbidgee River is the backbone of the territory's fishing.

Below its junction with the Gudgenby River it's open water, holding Murray cod and golden perch alongside redfin and carp.

Spin fishing with hard-bodies and soft plastics covers most of the water well, and the deeper bends and rocky structure are worth working carefully for cod. Head further into the ranges and the character of the fishing changes.

The Cotter River and its tributaries — Paddy's River, the Tidbinbilla River, Naas Creek — are cooler, clearer, and more suited to trout. Rainbow and brown trout are the target here, and fly fishing or small inline spinners are the standard approach.

These waters tend to fish best in the cooler months, autumn through spring, when water temperatures drop and trout become more active. Summer can push fish into deeper, slower sections.

Sullivans Creek runs through the ANU campus into Lake Burley Griffin and is as urban as fishing gets in the ACT — carp and redfin in the bends and culverts, occasionally something better pushing up from the lake.

It's not glamorous, but it's accessible and often overlooked. The ACT is a small fishery and it gets noticed. Catch-and-release on native species, particularly Murray cod, is widely practised and makes sense given the pressure these waters see.

The territory manages its waters with stocking programs and seasonal protections — worth understanding before you fish, not after.