OVER the years I’ve spent a lot of time travelling to various impoundments in Queensland chasing barramundi, bass, yellowbelly and saratoga. Most of these dams have camping and accommodation on site. From an angling perspective dam fishing can vary from easy to frustratingly difficult. The usual pattern is that it takes a few sessions to work things out, and weather conditions play a big part in your success or failure. I’ve had good fishing in all the dams described below, and the following is a simple guide to six dams that is just an overview of accommodation, fishing methods and other important aspects related to each dam. Most of these dams require a Queensland stocked impoundment permit for recreational fishing. Bag and size limits apply but most anglers stick to catch and release fishing as the eating qualities of most impoundment species is quite poor.
Lake Borumba
Situated to the north west of the Sunshine Coast, this pretty impoundment offers good fishing for bass and yellowbelly and is also one of the best dams to chase saratoga in Queensland. Being less than 2 hours drive from Brisbane it is a popular spot for local tourists. There is a camping ground near the dam and the Deer Farm is also close by with on site caravans and cabins. The boat ramp is of excellent quality and is located near the dam wall. Water skiing is popular in the main basin of the dam. Most of the fishing action takes place in the numerous tree lined bays further up the dam.
Small spinner baits work well for both bass and saratoga. The key to finding saratoga is to look for “lie down” spindly bushes covered in spider webs. These provide the fish with a good food source and they are often schooled up around a good ‘lie down’ bush. Both bass and saratoga also respond to surface lures early in the morning and at dusk. There are some big saratoga in Lake Borumba and fish over 70cm are quite common.
Trolling the points in depths of 5 to 10 metres produces plenty of bass and a few yellowbelly. The same areas can be worked with spoons, soft vibes and soft plastics. The lake generally has an abundance of small bait. In the upper sections it is common to see large herds of red deer drinking from the lake, and it has a beautiful sense of tranquillity to it. If you are in south-east Queensland it is an easy drive for a weekend away.
Lenthall’s Dam
This relatively small dam is located near Maryborough and is quite heavily stocked with both Australian Bass and barramundi. Over the years this dam has had considerable fish loss due to floods but is fishing well at present. Some of the barramundi are approaching a metre in length and there are good bass up to 50cm. There is a camping area close to the lake with a maximum 3 day/ 2-night stay. The dam has a speed limit of 6 knots and outboard motors up to 60hp are permitted.
While quite a small impoundment, the dam has some sensational surface fishing for both bass and barramundi. It is a tricky dam to fish in some ways. If you target bass, barra commonly eat your surface lures and often fray through lighter leader. If you increase your leader size, you may miss out on some superb bass fishing. Hard 20-pound fluorocarbon is the best compromise in this pretty lake. While I haven’t fished Lenthall’s for a while, it is the only dam I know of where you can catch barra and bass in roughly equal numbers. If you are heading further north to fish other impoundments, Lenthalls is a great stop over point to spend a day or two. As well as surface lures, soft plastics, shallow running hard bodies and spinner baits are very effective in this beautiful little dam.
Lake Monduran
This big impoundment is formed by the Kolan River and is located just north of the town of Gin Gin and is a famous barramundi fishery. Like many Queensland impoundments it has had a history of losing big populations of large fish over the wall in time of floods. Prior to the last big flood, quite a few monsters were caught in this lake with some fish estimated at over 100 pounds in the old scale.
The good news is that the dam has been vigorously restocked and anglers are catching plenty of barra in the 60 to 80cm range. The dam also holds a big population of fork tailed catfish and is stocked with Australian Bass. There is good camping and cabin accommodation available right next to the dam.
Commonly referred to by many anglers as “Lake Misery”, this can be a tough impoundment to fish particularly in cold conditions. I’ve found that persistent casting using soft plastics and shallow running hard bodied lures to weed edges and points produces results, and side scanning is a valuable tool. Just recently I fitted a Garmin Pan Optics unit to the boat, and this has been a great help when looking for feeding fish. In places such as Lake Monduran this can greatly increase your success as it allows you to search and find fish and even lets you identify the size and species.
As the weather warms up, I think Monduran will fish well this Spring. It has had a huge re stocking effort, has plenty of bait and the fish are growing fast.
Cania Dam
Cania Dam is one of the most picturesque dams in Queensland and is located near the Cania Gorge national park, near the town of Monto in central Queensland. This dam is well stocked with Saratoga, Australian bass and Yellowbelly. It also has a large population of eel tailed catfish. There are a couple of excellent campgrounds nearby and cabins are available as well. This is a popular destination for families in school holidays and there are some excellent bush walking tracks in the area that also has abundant wildlife.
The fishing is generally excellent in this dam, with plenty of big bass and Saratoga available. This dam has both steep walls, long bays and small creek mouths. When fishing Cania Dam I’ve found surface lures provide plenty of action in low light conditions, and as the sun rises spinner baits and shallow running jerk baits cast to the edges work very well. In the middle of the day or when it is hot in summer the fish tend to hold in deeper water and vertically jigged soft plastics, spoons and vibes all work very well. When specifically targeting saratoga, it pays to work up towards the end of long narrow bays, particularly if there is any fresh running into the dam. Small jerk baits and gold spinner baits work well.
Trolling is another good method in this dam and is a great way to find where the bass are aggregated. In general, a mix of lure depths covers the water column, and trolled spinner baits are another effective method. At times large schools of bass hold in the middle of the dam, particularly towards the dam wall. There are quite a few quality bass in the 45 to 50cm bracket in this dam and they really hit a spinner bait very hard.
Cania Dam is an excellent place for a family holiday and is a great place to teach kids how to fish. I’ve generally found the fishing easy in this dam and it is a far easier body of water to sort out than most Barra dams.
Lake Awoonga
This huge body of water is located near Gladstone in central Queensland. In years gone by it was Queensland’s premiere barramundi dam, and many thousands of big Barra over a metre long came from this dam. The floods in 2011 and 2013 had a devastating effect on this fishery, with just about every barramundi plummeting over the dam wall into the Boyne River below. In recent years, after extensive restocking, the dam is starting to come into its own again, and while there aren’t many metre fish yet, a lot of solid fish over 90cm are turning up on a regular basis.
There is plenty of good local accommodation available close to the dam, and a good concrete ramp that tends to be quite crowded when the Barra are on the bite. Awoonga is a large dam with probably over a hundred kilometres of fishable edges. A lot of the fish are caught quite close to the boat ramp and areas such as Riverstone and New Zealand Bays, Grevillea Creek and the Eagles Nest being well known spots. As with Lake Monduran, a good sounder with side imaging or Pan Optics makes a big difference in searching for fish. In general, the dam fishes best at night, and the week leading up to the full moon is my preferred time. I like to use a mix of hard bodies, soft plastics and soft vibes in this dam. I like to find an area that fish will move through on a ‘patrol’ and keep casting repeatedly. Often, on side imaging sounders, I can see the fish move into my casting area just before I get a bite.
If the early pattern was anything to go by between 2005 and 2010, we should start to see some trophy fish over 120cm start to turn up in a couple of years. This is one of the more popular Barra dams to fish and while it can be tough, it rewards those who are persistent and find a pattern. This often takes a day or two. Lake Awoonga has an excellent guided service available run by Justin Nye at Gladstone Fly and Sportfishing. You will learn more with Justin in a day than you will in a week on your own.
Kinchant Dam
This small dam is located near Sarina, south of Mackay, and has some outstanding barramundi fishing. There is a camp site on the lake and basic cabins are available. As well as barramundi, Kinchant Dam has a healthy population of big Sooty Grunter. This quite small dam is quite close to Peter Faust and Teemburra dams that are within a few hours’ drive.
The good thing about this dam is that its small size makes it relatively easy to fully explore, and if you have any experience fishing in other impoundments you will find that your knowledge is transferable to this dam. Kinchant has long weed beds and weedy points as well as a very long rock wall. The best fishing is at night, preferably with plenty of moon in the sky.
Good methods to try include casting soft vibes and hard bodied lures along weedy channels and points, trolling the rock walls and anchoring wide of any major point and continually casting towards it. Barramundi patrol the edges in quite large schools at times and side imaging on your sounder is a great help in finding fish.
Trolling is a good method to explore the dam.
I like to use long soft threadline outfits, a relatively loose drag and I troll the lure a long way back, generally between 60 and 90 metres. The best lure I’ve used for this is the Lively Lures Arafura Barra, one of the deadliest impoundment lures ever made.
Some huge fish come out of Kinchant every year. In one of the 2019 ABT competitions a fish of over 45 kilos was caught.
The above is an overview of just a few of Queensland’s dams. Hopefully soon we will see travel restrictions ease and anglers from all states will be able to enjoy these impoundments.
