Situated
an easy one hours drive from both Dubbo to the west and
Orange from the south east lies an impressive expanse of
water when at capacity is more than three times larger than
Sydney habour. It’s three main feeder rivers are the
Macquarie, Bell and Cudgegong rivers as well as numerous
streams and creeks flowing in from the surrounding ranges.
The locals call it simply “The Dam” but on occasion
when the wind whips through the vast valleys the waters
can resemble the open ocean with large waves and wind swell
making small boating less than ideal with many a tale of
tinnies being swamped on the way back to the ramp after
a days fishing.
The
dam is a great draw card for the area with fisherman
traveling from near and far to try their luck chasing
some of the stocked native species such as golden and
silver perch, catfish and the green legend Murray cod.
There is also an under rated eating pest fish the redfin
that is a welcome by-catch to many anglers and the European
carp has been targeted on light tackle and fly by some
die hard sport fishos, I call them “The poor mans
southern barra” as they can be sight fished in
the shallow bays and go like the clappers when hooked
and are willing to slug it out longer than most of the
other fish caught in the dam.
To the outsider the dam is a very daunting body of water
for as you top the rise after entering the main entrance
the main basin appears and stretches for miles into
the distance leaving you scratching your head as to
where to start in this intimidating place.
The same rule of thumb can be used in nearly all dams
and lakes when chasing natives on artificial and natural
baits, just look at your sounder if you have one and
concentrate your efforts in water between six and thirty
feet looking for drop offs and old creek beds as well
as trolling your lures over pronounced points at different
depths and speeds.
The
whole family can enjoy fishing for Redfin in good
conditions
Trolling
is by far the best way to locate actively feeding fish
as you can cover a lot of ground in a relatively short
time with up to four rods out at once with a varied
collection of hard bodies being used.
Once you catch or get a hit off a fish continue on for
a short distance before turning around and working the
same route again because you will often catch one or
more fish in the same area, I can recall one redfin
session that accounted for over seventy fish being pulled
from one school in less than one hour with every pass
resulting in triple or quadruple hook ups and let me
tell you that these feisty fellows don’t go to
bad on light tackle.
The golden perch or yellowbelly were often thought as
a greasy feed when coming out of stocked impoundments
but for some reason the Burrendong fish are a lot leaner
and cleaner fleshed than from other areas namely Windamere
dam.
The bait fisherman can also have great catches at times
with bobbing yabbies, shrimps, worms and grubs between
the drowned timber resulting in a mixed bag of fish
for the table.
An
average sized Yellowbelly caught by the Author on
a Feral Cat lure.
The
lake is serviced by three camping and caravan parks
making it ideal for taking the whole family or just
the mates along, the main one being Burrendong Waters
(0268467435) with Mookerawa (0268468268) only twelve
kilometers away to the south and Cudgeegong being
accessible from the Mudgee - Wellington road behind
the sleepy town of Goolmah.
Although the kiosk’s have a good range of ice,
fuel and bait with the closest town for major supplies
and services is Wellington and it’s less than
half an hours drive from the main park.
So
for those heading to the central west of NSW for any
reason, why not put Burrendong on your itinerary as
there is heaps to do at the dam and within the hours
drive you also have such attractions as the Western
Plains Zoo, Old Dubbo Gaol and the Wellington caves
to name but a few.
Peter
(swano) Swanson
Solid
fish like this 7kg Yellowbelly love big hard body
lures just on dark
Fact
Box Surface
Area: 8900
Hectares
Capacity: 1 188 000 ML
Construction Date: 1967
River System: Macquarie River
Maximum Water Depth: 50 meters
Average Water Depth: 45 meters
Fish Present
Murray Cod, Golden Perch, Silver Perch, Brown Trout,
Rainbow Trout, Eel-Tailed Catfish and Carp. Stocked Fish
Murray Cod, Golden Perch and Silver Perch Boating
There are no boating restrictions Lake Burrendong.
Public boat ramps provided. Camping
Camping permitted at Burrendong State Park & Mookerawa
Waters State Park.
Bush camping is possible around much of the lake forshore
with some good camping sites on the Macquarie &
Cudgegond River arms. Hotel / Motel Accomodation available
at Wellington (30km) and Mumbil. See Accommodation
page for details
A
selection of hard body lures to get the job done
