Bass
Fishing at Lake Barambah (Bjelke Petersen Dam)
Situated
15 kilometers from the town of Murgon in the Burnett Valley
is Lake Barambah. Opened in 1989 after the construction
of the wall (Bjelke-Petersen Dam), it takes its name from
one of the original sheep stations in the district. Stocked
with fingerlings by DPI and the Bjelke-Petersen Dam Fish
Management Committee it has come of age during the last
few seasons producing good-sized golden perch and horse
bass. Continual stockings have ensured that there is are
varied sizes of silver perch, goldens and bass although
it seems that the Saratoga released here may have gone
over the wall at some stage as there are reports of 'toga
being caught in the creek below. Further stocking may
be needed to reintroduce these fantastic sports fish or
to bolster the remaining population.
When
full, Lake Barambah has plenty of navigable & fish
holding water in the timbered areas. A leisurely troll
through the trees is one of the more productive ways of
locating schools of bass and once found can be cast at
with lures or flies or jigs. On a recent trip there with
Ipswich based sports angler,Trevor Cowell, several large
schools of fish were located in the sticks and in particular
the one with the white paint around it (I can see a stampede
looking searching for it). One of the better lures we
found was my old favorite the Deception Shrimp and poor
old Trevor nearly had a coronary after getting bricked
on his purple Ringtail lure. Feeling dejected he tied
on a Viper and had better luck snaring two fish in ten
minutes before changing.
There
are always a few scattered fish in any impoundment but
at the moment most of the bigger fish are up the back.
Places like Treasure Island aren't producing as well as
in the past but this could change overnight given the
right weather patterns. One quite large school was located
on the sounder and was jigged and cast at for an hour
for nothing. Returned to trolling the timbers and instant
success.
Lake
Barambah is a medium sized impoundment covered by large
sections of submerged trees that is open to all forms
of boating and has great facilities. There are two boat
ramps available, one near the wall and one at the camping
ground although there is not a lot of parking at the latter.
There is a limited supply of bait, tackle, ice & food
at the kiosk.
Accommodation
is available in Murgon or at Nanango. Lake Barambah or
Bjelke-Petersen Dam is located 250 kilometers or a leisurely
three hours drive northwest of Brisbane via the Burnett,
D'Anguilar and Bruce Highways. Camping and caravan sites
are available as well as self-contained cabins and bunkhouses.
There is a camp kitchen for guests and boat hire is available.
