JUST like his dad at the same age, 12-year-old Finn Caldwell loves fishing. If there's a body of water, Finn is a strong chance of casting a line and trying his luck.

Like his dad, Marcus, Finn enjoys spending time fishing with friends at the Cooma Creek. Unlike his dad, Finn isn't able to enjoy clear flowing water and safe access to the creek.

Last year, Finn caught a 40cm brown trout between Sharp and Massie streets. Now, with the long grass and dirty creek, he is unable to fish with friends at the creek.

The Cooma Creek is a regular talking point amongst locals, be it for trolleys thrown in it, overgrown weeds and and its untidy look.

Marcus is hoping a joint effort from Snowy Monaro Regional Council, community groups and community members can help the town take its first steps towards improving the condition of the creek.

Cooma Creek flows through the CBD of town and joins with the Cooma Back Creek at Nijong Oval. Marcus said its current condition is embarrassing when compared to other country town creeks such as Tumbarumba.

"Surely we can do better with the appearance of Cooma Creek. I drive through other country towns a lot for work and their water streams are the pride of the township. Ours is a disgrace and really embarrassing," Marcus said.

"My son, Finn, and his mates would rather be fishing than sitting at home playing computer games. But you wouldn't know what's in the long grass, you wouldn't let them near it in the current state.

"The weeds have completely taken over, in spring Finn would walk the creek and count the number of trout he could see. We walk it now and you cannot even see the water let alone the fish.

"The creek has changed a lot since I was a child playing with my sisters in it. We would fish, catch yabbies and swim."

Marcus is calling for Council to apply for grants to tidy the creek. He said the community would help where allowed to clean-up the waterway.

"There are grants out there we can apply for. Give some recent school leavers a traineeship in land conservation or something similar, skill them up, improve the quality and appearance of the creek."

Earlier this month, Marcus and Finn found dead fish in the creek, near the Massie Street causeway. Both are hoping recent meetings with Council and community groups will lead to a positive outcome.