Fishing Urbanisms

Our National Capital, the residents dream land set in a picturesque rural bush.

Seems quite fitting we own the title given our prestigious landmarks, tourist attractions and hallmark political seatings. Walter Burley Griffin sure came up with a solid plan, incorporate a well planned scenic locale with the fringe benefits of future urban sprawl. With development come control measures such as water quality control ponds, infrastructure such as dams all with a taste of aesthetics. Sans our manmade lakes in the south/North most have a reason for being there beyond simple outlooks.

If you look closely our city is littered with bodies of water (I use that term loosely). New estate styled developments with huge farm landscaped ponds, smaller wastewater runoff filtering into pools, river runoffs, urban creeks, suburban anabranches and the humble Yabby pond.  You may walk your dog past one every day, stargaze as you drive past or simply share the same suburb. Many of us will remember pulling Yabbys from the rural outskirts at old BMX Tracks/Woolsheds but when more focused angling addictions take hold they are never given a second thought.

Half a dozen years ago I was invited on a fishing trip after work, where we ended up I would never of picked. A series of old, muddy ponds lay on the outskirts of one suburb with a creek running below. Fully expecting to hit the creek the first cast into the much smaller pond catching me by surprise. Turns out we spent the next few afternoons hopping between ponds losing count at the number of large Redfin gracing our lures. It was an eye opening experience and I have to say since these days I have never looked at a body of water the same, anywhere.

In a few short afternoons I learned a lot. Angling skills that will stay with you for life such as seeking, searching and reading water better. Over the next few months similar sorties in polarising locations (More flow and activity) brought pleasing results, this time though the species differed. Schools of Goldfish taking bread on tiny hooks with not an impoundment in sight, yet still coming wave after wave. Natives such as Cod and Yellowbelly well entrenched in such a setting one could only describe as truly lost, yet still visible to the trained eye. With even more research and a healthy fascination I received reputable Intel on Trout a mere stone's throw of Black Mountain Tower. The latter was eventually put down as urban myth, but to this day though I still have my doubts.

To think all these explorations mentioned above were nestled within suburbs, away from our larger impoundments and, back then, future planning. We started paying attention to certain areas with outflows and again not only found a diverse range of fish but healthy numbers too. With food being brought to them specimens were incredibly coloured and aggressive. One thing we started to uncover was we weren't alone, seeing the tell tale signs of previous angling 'Urbanisms'.

With plenty of other fishing needs and wants in life these areas of life were quickly forgotten, then the drought broke. Seeing torrents of water gushing through areas neck high were you once stood before kept me mindful on many of the purposes of these areas. Warmer months brought the unwanted threat of snake bite with bitterly cold winters taking any waning away. Suddenly I didn't feel as compelled to seek recompense and sought my addiction elsewhere. People would ask me what the fishing was like in Canberra and to be honest I didn't know how to explain what I had been up to.

Fast-forward a couple of years and I still glance at Canberra water scanning for any signs of activity. Visually I've been rewarded but I haven't been in any position to rekindle any past. Recently though I took an outfit and a handful of lures to a place I had never been before, the result was a brace of Redfin (All under a major road). I take no credit in founding the principals, nor to the strange looks I received by passing pedestrians and cyclists. But take note, that dodgy bastard hanging around the underpass with a fishing rod might not be so dodgy after all... He just may be onto something (Pun intended!)

Derek 'Paffoh' Steele
www.importtackle.com