Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water, Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra has dished up a true monster from the deep.
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Marie and Tom Haalebos were casting lures literally in the shadows of Parliament House on the weekend when they hooked one of the largest fish ever encountered from Lake Burley Griffin.
The mammoth 130cm, 70kg Murray cod, which took a liking to a 70mm Jackal vibe, was landed, photographed and promptly released by two very satisfied anglers.
It's definitely the largest cod I've seen hauled from the lake, but there would certainly be others like it swimming around.
Well over one million native fish have been stocked into the lake since the 1980s, so it's a pretty handy little fishery to have right on our doorstep.
In addition to cod, there are large numbers of golden perch in the lake and a few solid specimens have been caught this week by anglers in boats targeting schools of fish.
Redfin are on offer, too.
Rough conditions have abated on the coast and the fishing, as predicted, has improved.
Offshore anglers are heading out wide again and reporting a few bluefin tuna about, mainly north of Batemans Bay and all the way up to Kiama.
The estuaries have a little colour in them after getting about 100mm of rain and they're fishing well for bream and big silver trevally.
A few massive silver trevs have been caught from the Quarry Wharf at Moruya. There are also good reports coming from Merimbula and Pambula.
Solid winter bream are cruising some of the smaller lakes and backwaters. Anglers are nabbing these fish on soft plastics and flies.
Six-metre seas have carved out new gutters on many beaches and they should fish well for salmon and tailor this weekend.
