A small stocked trout creek in southern NSW that finishes in the backed-up water of Khancoban Pondage, fished with light gear for brown and rainbow trout.
Khancoban Creek is a small trout creek in southern NSW, and the reason to fish it is plain: NSW stocking records list brown and rainbow trout released into it, so there are fish to find in water you can cover with a light rod.
The creek has a simple shape. It runs down from its source and finishes at one bottom end, where it meets the backed-up water of Khancoban Pondage and the Swampy Plain River. The gradient chart shows how steeply the creek falls along its length.
The creek trip comes first. Browns and rainbows are the fish. Choose one of the access points on the access card, walk to the water and fish upstream with a dry and a small nymph through the warmer months, which in our experience is when a creek like this is at its best. Spend your time on the pools and the deeper runs, and walk quickly past the thin, even water where a trout has nowhere to hide. Before you go, read the current NSW fishing guide, including its trout-water and closed-waters lists, because the season and the methods allowed come from the guide and you want both settled before you string up a rod.
The second trip is the pondage at the foot of the creek. It is still water with its own page, and in our experience it is the place to go if the creek is low and clear or you want room to cast for an afternoon. Do not treat the two as one day’s fishing by accident; they ask for different gear.
Start on the creek with a 3 or 4 weight and a box of small dries and nymphs, and check the NSW guide before you leave home.