Awoonga Dam ( Lake Awoonga ) - Benaraby. Qld

Built across the Boyne River south west of Gladstone, the Awoonga Dam is a rockfill structure with a concrete upstream face slab. The embankment was formed from rock excavated from a quarry on the Eastern side of the dam wall. The embankment is over 650 metres in length and 54.4 metres in height, with a volume of approximately 2 million cubic metres of rock. The spillway’s height is 40 metres AHD. This design of the current dam allows for further raising, if necessary, through the addition of gates to the top of the spillway. The current capacity of the dam is 777,000 megalitres.

The Gladstone Area Water Board with the Gladstone Port Authority has begun a breeding program Mangrove Jack and mullet for stocking in Lake Awoonga. Approximately 300,000 fish are released into Lake Awoonga each year (200,000 barramundi and 100,000 mullet, and small numbers of mangrove jack). The fish are bred at our purpose-built fish hatchery, operated jointly by the Gladstone Area Water Board and the Gladstone Port Authority. The hatchery is one of the largest breeders of barramundi fingerlings in Queensland and our mangrove jack breeding program has resulted in Lake Awoonga holding the largest stocks in Australia with over 13,000 released.

Since 1996 over two million barramundi fingerlings and 340,000 mullet fingerlings have been released into Lake Awoonga. Barramundi in the 10-25kg range are regularly caught from the lake. the largest barramundi caught to date was 29.8kg. The fish you may encounter in Lake Awoonga are: Agassiz’s Glass Perch, Banded Grunter, Barramundi, Bony Bream, Eastern Rainbowfish, Eeltail catfish, Fly-specked Hardyhead, Forktail Catfish, Gudgeon, Long-finned Eel, Longtom (Alligator Gar), Mouth Almighty, Sea Mullet, Snub-nose Garfish, Spangled Perch. (Present in low numbers: Hyrtl’s Tandan, Mangrove Jack, Saratoga, Silver Perch, Sleepy Cod, Sooty Grunter & Yellowbelly)

The Board has a continuing fishery monitoring program in place using net surveys, to evaluate the success of the restocking effort. Although not deliberately stocked, redclaw crayfish have become well established at the lake.

The Barramundi closed season does not apply to Lake Awoonga.

Fishing Guide / Charter Operator Johhny Mitchell - Lake Awoonga Guided Barra Fishing Charters.Johnny has a well earned reputation for consistently producing barra for his clients on lure and soft plastics. You can contact him on: Ph 0429 723 757 send an Email or visit his website

Boating on Lake Awoonga
No Boating Restrictions apply on Lake Awoonga except for a no boating zone in front of dam wall.
A two (2) lane boat ramp is currently open 24 hours.

Boat Hire & Bird Watching
A decked out fishing boat can be hired from Lake Awoonga Barra & Birds - Rod Harrison.
This is a great option for those travelling from long distances to fish Awoonga, you can leave the boat at home to save fuel on that long drive, or better yet, fly into Gladstone and be on the water the same day! Access to ramp below restuarant, no waits, no walks, 24 launch / hour recovery. Email or visit website

Recommended Accommodation at Awoonga Dam Just a few kilometers from Lake awoonga is the Awoonga Geteway Lodge. Here you can stay in the air-conditioned comfort of self contained cabins and keep easy access to your car or boat. For further details contact Mark & Lynnette Lorberg. Awoonga Gateway Lodge. 231 Awoonga Dam Rd. Benaraby. Ph 0749750033. Fax 0749750044 Send them an Email or download a brochure HERE>>
	Click on images for larger view

Related Topics:
Winter Barra - Shallow or Deep? - Garry Fitzgerald
Gearing Up for Big Lake Barra - Jason Bird
Hot Spots - Lake Awoonga - Johnny Mitchell

Click on images below for larger view

Awoonga Dam in 1981	3D View of Lake Awoonga	Airial view of Awoonga Dam	Airial view of Recreation area
Satelite Image of Lake Awoonga	Map of Lake Awoonga after dam upgrade	Map before wall was raised	Lake Awoonga is home to big barramundi

Some of the above images courtesy of Gladstone Area Water Board

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Lake Awoonga Map

Willowgrove on the River Holiday Park Barra Heaven Willowgrove Boyne Barbie Boats Greenacres Hilltop Motel Awonga Dam Lake Awonga
For those who dont have a boat or are just passing through, a good way to see the lake or catch a barra is to hire a barbie boat. No boat licence is required to drive them. They are available on Lake Awoonga or the Boyne River and fit upto 10 people on board. For further enquiries Email Boyne Barbie Boats

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