The Australian Capital Territory asks for no fishing licence in its public waters: the ACT Government’s page says so, and the Fisheries Act applies instead. Its fishing is the urban lakes of Canberra, stocked by the territory with Murray cod and golden perch, the Murrumbidgee and Cotter reaches inside the territory, and the trout waters of the ranges; Googong Reservoir, managed by the ACT, runs on New South Wales rules.
Reports current for Monday 9 November
Every one of the 3 Australian Capital Territory waters we cover has a live read this morning. They are all sitting in the middle of the scale today. Water is around 19 °C. Pressure is holding steady on most of them, so the day comes down to water temperature and wind.
Best right now: Lake Burley Griffin 3/5, Lake Ginninderra 3/5, Lake Tuggeranong 3/5
Live verdicts from this morning's reports.
Canberra’s central lake, formed in 1964 and restocked with Murray cod and golden perch on alternate releases, fished without a licence under the Fisheries Act and the NCA’s lake rules.
Belconnen’s urban lake, stocked by the ACT Government with Murray cod and golden perch and fished from public foreshores with no licence, with the Bureau reading the level.
The town lake of Canberra’s south, stocked by the ACT Government with golden perch and Murray cod, fished from public paths with no licence and read by the Bureau at the dam.
Species activity across the covered waters, written for the southern year. Peak of the year: December.
1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.
Seasonal surface curve for the dominant water type here, in degrees Celsius (estimated, not a reading).
Read from the agency page named on each row, on the date shown, and calculated for 2026 from the rule as written: a date written as a day of the week is computed, not copied. Species with no published closure are not listed, which is not the same as open.
| Fishery | 2026 | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Murray cod | Closed 2026-09-01 to 2026-11-30 | Murray cod may not be targeted from September to November; the ACT open season runs 1 December to 31 August, 55 to 75 cm, two a day outside the Murrumbidgee. | ACT Government, recreational fishing in the ACT, read 2026-09-27 |
| Water | Type | Live data | Peak month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Burley Griffin fishing report | Lake | BoM gauge | Mar |
| Lake Ginninderra fishing report | Lake | BoM gauge | Mar |
| Lake Tuggeranong fishing report | Lake | BoM gauge | Mar |
The ACT Government’s recreational fishing page states that no licence is needed for recreational fishing in the public waters of the ACT, and that anglers must follow the Fisheries Act. It divides those waters into open waters, trout waters and prohibited waters on a map, asks for every protected species to go straight back, and bans a short list of baits and gear: fish eggs, live fin fish, frogs, tadpoles and green prawns as bait, and gaffs, spears, bows, poisons, explosives and firearms. Penalties reach A$5,000.
Lake Burley Griffin, Lake Ginninderra and Lake Tuggeranong are the urban lakes on this site. The territory’s Fish Stocking Plan 2022-27 describes their fisheries as created by stocking, puts the yearly release in Canberra lakes at about 50,000 fish, Murray cod and golden perch, and records that trout stocking in the urban lakes was dropped once the fish showed poor survival and growth there by the mid-1980s. Lake Burley Griffin is managed by the National Capital Authority, which funds the territory to stock and monitor it.
Each lake page carries the daily report and links the ACT page for the rules. Bag limits, minimum sizes and the trout waters season sit in the directorate’s brochure and declarations, and this site has not transcribed them. The same stocking plan names the mainstays of ACT angling as Murray cod, golden perch, brown trout and rainbow trout, with redfin and carp sought by some anglers. Googong Reservoir lies in New South Wales, so it sits on our New South Wales hub with the NSW rules and fee.
No. The ACT Government’s recreational fishing page, read on 27 September 2026, says no licence is needed for recreational fishing in the public waters of the ACT; the Fisheries Act rules apply. See our ACT licence page.
Googong is in New South Wales even though the ACT manages it, so the NSW rules and the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee apply there, as the ACT page itself notes; see our New South Wales licence page.
The three urban lakes, Burley Griffin, Ginninderra and Tuggeranong; Googong Reservoir is on our New South Wales hub because it lies in New South Wales.
The facts on this page were checked against these pages, from the agencies, park services and operators that manage the water on 27 September 2026; anything we could not verify was taken out.