Googong Dam

A friend took me fishing to nearby Googong Dam, while his kind wife looked after Audrey and Eli.

Googong Dam is near Queanbeyan and supplies some of Canberra's water. Despite its proximity to Canberra I hadn't been there before - we often take day trips to Cotter Dam but for some reason haven't ever ventured to Googong.

It's a really beautiful spot. The water is clear (as you'd hope with a reservoir!) and it's a lovely expanse of water with very few people milling around. There's a large housing estate being built nearby so I suspect some of the tranquility will disappear but for now it's fabulous.

My mate had a tip-off about a 'secret spot' to fish - this is always the way with fishing - everyone knows an undiscovered area where the fish practically jump out of the water and a piece of string and bent rusty nail can land you a monster specimen which as well as providing a meal for a family for a week can be mounted above your fireplace for your grandchildren to admire. The guy I went with is a marine biologist so as we traipsed over hills and cut through grassland I did have some faith in his secret fishing location.

In the end (during about 5 hours) we caught one fish between us. A medium sized redfin perch. Not even a native. The only debate was whether to throw the fish back in or not. In the end we did. 

Despite our lack of success, the area is undoubtedly beautiful. I know my Dad (a keen fisherman) would have admired how picturesque it is. I'm sure we'll take a trip out there again. Perhaps we'll just have a family barbecue next time and leave the fishing to others.