Fly fishing the Darling Downs and Granite Belt

North of Toowoomba, Cooby Creek Reservoir is the water behind Cooby Dam at Kleinton, about 20 km out of the city. Around Warwick there are two. Lake Leslie, on Sandy Creek about 10 km west of town, is the big one; the trail guide gives it 1,288 hectares. Connolly Dam, at Silverwood south of Warwick, is the small one at about 64 hectares, with arms up Rosenthal Creek and Fitz Creek.

Around Stanthorpe, in the Granite Belt’s wine country, Storm King Dam sits on Quart Pot Creek just south-east of town. Glenlyon Lake, the water behind Glenlyon Dam on Pike Creek, is a much longer trip south-west; the trail guide puts it at 95 km by road from Stanthorpe. Lake Coolmunda is on Macintyre Brook, off the Cunningham Highway east of Inglewood.

Out on the western Downs, Chinchilla Weir holds back the Condamine River about 8 km from the town of Chinchilla, on the Chinchilla to Tara road.

Sunwater owns Leslie, Glenlyon, Coolmunda and Chinchilla Weir. Councils and local stocking groups look after the others.

Golden perch are the everyday fish. The trail guide names them the main species at Leslie, and calls Coolmunda a top-rated spot for them. The guide’s advice is to fish for them in spring, when they turn active, and in the evening. It also says they feed on small insects, yabbies, small fish and shrimp, and that small lures work best. In our experience that means a small, buggy fly fished slowly.

Murray cod take more patience. The guide’s picture is of a fish that holds in fast water, deep holes and heavy cover such as big logs and standing trees, and ambushes from there. It says first and last light in the warmer months are the times to try, and that cod slow down from about April or May. In our experience big flies pushed into the timber, with a strip strike, are the fly angler’s version; the Murray cod in timber page has the detail. Glenlyon is the dam the guide names for big cod.

Silver perch have small mouths, and the guide notes that shrimp is their main food, so small flies are the only sensible choice.

At Leslie, the trail guide points to the water near the wall, where fish-attracting structures have been sunk, and to a spot locals call Blackboy Cove. It also suggests fishing the drop-offs into the old drowned valleys that run through most of the dam, which a sounder will find. At Connolly the popular spots are Picnic Point, the two creek arms and the rock wall.

If you want a likely fish on a first visit, go to Leslie in spring and work the edges in the evening for golden perch. If you want the one big fish, give Glenlyon your time, and plan for first or last light. If you have a kayak and a morning, Connolly is small enough to cover; the trail guide notes a campground for self-contained caravans and bush campers.

Cooby Creek Reservoir is the nearest to Toowoomba, and golden perch have been recorded there as well as stocked, which makes them the fish to start with. Its water is monitored for blue-green algae, so look for a current alert before you drive.

Spring is golden perch season across the region, and the trail guide notes that Glenlyon’s cod spawn in late winter and early spring. Summer is the time for cod, early and late in the day. From about April or May the cod go quiet, so a winter trip is better built around golden and silver perch.

Check Queensland’s current freshwater rules, and whether the dam is in the stocked impoundment permit scheme, before you fish.

Sunwater posts facilities and alerts for the dams and the weir it owns. A line on the map is not permission to cross the land around it: fish from the public foreshores and recreation areas, and ask before you cross anyone’s paddock to reach the water.