A small dam on Meadow Creek outside Orange, NSW, stocked with brown and rainbow trout and fished with bait, lures and fly.
Lake Canobolas is a small dam on Meadow Creek, about 10 km outside Orange, built in 1917, and the reason to make the short drive is trout: NSW stocking records list brown and rainbow trout released into it in recent seasons, and most anglers here target those two along with redfin. The dam is also named as holding Murray cod, silver perch and golden perch. Start with bait or a lure, or put a woolly bugger on a sinking line in the cooler months. Read the current NSW DPIRD freshwater guide before you fish.
Species records
Historical records and regulatory mentions. They do not establish current abundance, a suitable angling target or permission to fish.
Stocking records list brown trout, rainbow trout and golden perch. The stocking chart shows which seasons each went in. The dam is also named as holding redfin in large numbers, which is why a lure that looks like a small fish is a reasonable thing to carry.
Stocking history
Reported past stocking. These records do not establish survival, present abundance or a current stocking programme.
Stocking recorded for Lake Canobolas
13 source records · latest 10 reported periods
Labels such as 2023/24 cover July to June. Each financial-year record is a site total, not an individual release. Missing periods are not reported as zero.
The methods anglers use here are mixed: worms, grubs, shrimp or small yabbies as bait; summer hoppers fished under a bubble float; lipless crankbaits, spinnerbaits and jigs on a spinning rod; and fly patterns that match summer insects. In the cooler months a woolly bugger on a sinking line is the fly to try.
Access and safety
Vehicle access is described as available from 7.30 am until sunset, so check the signs on arrival. Walking to the dam is described as possible at any hour. A wheelchair-suitable fishing platform is named. Canoe launch facilities are described as provided; check the signs and the current NSW DPIRD guide for any boating limits.
Regulations
Take any season, bag, size and licence requirements from the current NSW DPIRD freshwater and trout fishing guide before you fish.