KEEN freshwater fishos will have heard of Googong Dam. Built in the late 1970s on the Queanbeyan River the dam is just over the NSW/ACT border and acts as a backup water supply for the region. In the most recent drought Googong’s water level dropped significantly, at present, however, its water level is 100 per cent. While the dam is a water supply, the federal government had the foresight to approve rec fishing at Googong – shore based only initially. Boating was later allowed; restricted to paddle, sail or electric powered craft.
A deep waterway, Googong’s main basin drops away to over 60m. The majority of fishing is concentrated near the shoreline in 15m or less. During the height of winter, water temps are often measured in single digits. Googong was a healthy mixed fishery in the ‘80s and ‘90s, with good numbers of stocked silver and golden perch and Murray cod, and trout; the ‘90s in particular provided a short boom period for big browns. Ongoing brown trout stockings stopped when endangered Macquarie perch were later discovered in the catchment.

While carp are found in the region, Googong remains free of the introduced pest, although there have been reports of recent sightings that are being investigated by NSW DPI.
Nowadays, Googong’s more of a native stronghold, although trout are occasionally caught. Browns are still found in the catchment; my nephew recently caught a healthy kilo-plus fish on a Deception Shrimp trolling for goldens. Rainbow trout are stocked annually but aren’t caught often, possibly due to the high numbers of redfin in the dam that tend to eat them. Being a noxious species, anglers are encouraged not to release the redfin they catch. The good news is they taste great, so fresh reddie fillets can save a quiet day on the natives. If you’re taking kids fishing they’ll also be well entertained when a hot reddie bite is on.
The majority of Googong fishos target natives, with Murray cod the main drawcard and there are big fish to be caught for those prepared to put in the time. As in any impoundment, Googong cod don’t always bite but when you catch one you’ll probably be amazed by its condition. There are some chunky cod in there!
WHERE & HOW
Fishing Googong after a 20 year absence has been a challenge. While mates and I often walked long distances to reach less pressured shore-based spots, these days my outings are all boat-based and it’s taken time to learn the productive areas.

Like most impoundments, finding a food source is key in Googong and if you locate active schools of redfin, natives won’t be far away. Concentrating efforts near structure like the submerged trees that line a lot of Googong’s shoreline in sustained high water can pay off. Points and rocky drop-offs are well worth trying too, as is fishing stretches of bank that have had the wind blowing onto them for long periods.
In late spring and early summer when the water temp reaches the mid 20 degrees range, redfin are very active, often near the surface chasing small gambusia, galaxias and other redfin! In winter when the water temp plummets the native action slows up, but active fish can be found by fishing above thermoclines that typically form 5-6m down and show up on a good sounder as a consistent band of “clutter”.
If you can’t see them working the top, a reliable way to find redfin is also with your sounder. While traditional 2D shows up schools of redfin, using live sonar like Active Target makes it even easier. Working the shoreline with my AT transducer in forward mode scanning submerged trees, redfin show up as they swarm on the bottom or near structure, lighting up the screen like a Christmas tree.
Vertical fishing is an effective technique here, for both redfin and natives on the hunt, with soft or hard vibes; I’ve found the Samaki Vibelicious 70mm, Berkley Pro-Tech Vibe 60, Rapala Rippin’ Raps and Atomic Hardz are all worth trying. Soft plastic 3-4” grubs on jigheads or rigged Ned or Texas style are also very effective on Googong redfin.
Dropping vibes or blades down to redfin gets results. If active they’ll swim up to them as they sink and once on the bottom, short lifts and drops usually gets lures eaten.

On live sonar you’ll know if your lure selection is good; redfin react to most lures but if they don’t bite a quick change can make the difference. When they’re aggro and you’re catching plenty, the commotion can bring in goldens or cod, both identifiable on live sonar. In the first six months I lost count of how many natives I saw on Active Target. Some were clearly cod but my catch rate was dismal, for whatever reason. Thankfully the hit rate on goldens was much better with several hooked and landed. My only recent cod success was on a trip with fly fishing guru Dave Longin. We’d followed some reddies working the surface to a tree-lined bay. I was getting the boat in position for Dave who quickly pulled a few 25cm fish out. Something was stirring them up and Dave prompted me to cast my redfin-lookalike Biiwa Submission Shad at a narrow channel between trees. A few cranks and I got a slamming hookup and a cod, at last! While under 80cm in length the fish was built like a beer keg; typical of the amazing condition of Googong natives. Like the cod, Googong’s goldens are also living it up, with 50cm-plus fish often looking like they’ve swallowed footballs.
ELECTRIC FISHING
To more effectively cover water on Googong you need a boat – or kayak/canoe. As mentioned, Googong is “electric-only” so boats need to have enough battery storage to travel and potentially fish all day without running flat. When I first fished Googong by boat, deep cycle batteries were just becoming available. For boat or canoe trips, mates and I used car batteries to power low-thrust motors and had some close calls when winds picked up and the juice ran out. Deep cycle batteries were expensive and we could usually only afford one, so good planning was needed to avoid getting stranded.
Battery technology has advanced a lot since then with lithium-ion models now readily available and prices coming down. Many Googong regulars have boats rigged specifically for fishing the dam. Some run state of the art efficient electrics such as Torqeedos that provide good speed and long range for getting to more remote spots around the dam. (Check out Romen Dikovski’s boat in April Boat Fishing).

While my 3.9m Quintrex Hornet with a 30hp E-TEC on the transom doesn’t have a Torqeedo fitted, it manages pretty well. Powering the 55lb bow-mount Minn Kota Riptide are two deep cycle batteries connected in parallel to provide 180ah – this also runs the Lowrance FS9/Active Target live sonar. There’s a third battery, a 110ah deep cycle, that powers an old tiller steer Minn Kota electric used as a backup and for slightly faster travel across the dam. If you plan to operate an electric-power boat on Googong you need to obtain a free permit from the ACT Government via Access Canberra at www.environment.act.gov.au.
PLAN AHEAD
Being a waterway with restrictions, a trip to Googong involves planning if you want to maximise your chances of success. Whether boat or shore-based it pays to know where you’re heading before you set out, mainly because the access gates to the dam are closed outside daylight hours and you don’t want to have a ranger hunting you out if you overstay your welcome. If you’re boat-based, you need to consider the weather and the potential of equipment failure i.e flat batteries. Before I plan a Googong trip I closely monitor the weather, in particular the wind forecast. Being reliant on electric power to get back to the ramp it can be a challenge in strong wind, especially when running into it. I tend to go out on light to moderate wind days, with wind direction dictating where on the dam to fish for a trouble-free return home. Typically, outside of a southerly I’ll often head across to the eastern shore where there are ample bays to fish for hours and if the wind picks up from the north/east/west it’s usually not far to travel north and make a beeline across the main basin, aided by a tail wind. If a fishable southerly is predicted, heading south from the northern end to start is a good option as you’ll have the wind behind you coming back.
WHERE TO LAUNCH & FISH
For boaties, a dual lane concrete ramp is available on the western foreshore peninsula, Drumstick Point. The end of the point is popular for kayak launching. Parking for vehicles and trailers is available in car parks above Drumstick point and there’s disabled parking at the bottom. There are also public toilets, barbecues and disabled fishing platforms. A walking trail from here heads south along the foreshore for shore-based anglers and bushwalkers.

The bay directly in front of the carparks is well worth fishing. When I fished Googong regularly over 20 years ago the carpark bay produced plenty of good rainbow and brown trout, goldens and silver perch. Goldens too could often be polaroided from the bank on sunny days as they cruised weedbeds looking for shrimps, mudeyes and yabbies. If they didn’t spot you the goldens would often take a fly or lure. This bay is still popular with shore-based anglers although the majority of fish caught are redfin.
Overall, for shore-based fishos there’s plenty of good water at Googong, especially if you don’t mind walking a bit further. Heading south to Shannons Inlet has always been worth the effort as its higher banks give a good view into the water where natives can be spotted cruising. Further south there’s good fishing to be found in several bays and as the dam narrows toward the Tin Hut Inlet end which meets the Queanbeyan River. Accessing Tin Hut Inlet is possible on foot from Googong Foreshores but more easily reached by car via Burra Road and London Bridge Road. Parking, barbecue and toilet facilities are also available.