Imagery: Esri, Vantor, Earthstar Geographics

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Lake Windamere

Stillwater

20.5 km²

Water area

Species recorded

Access places

Stocking records

A big Cudgegong River storage south-east of Mudgee, rated by NSW Fisheries as one of the state's best dams for trophy golden perch, with silver perch and Murray cod alongside.

Lake Windamere is a big storage on the Cudgegong River, about 30 km south-east of Mudgee in the Central Tablelands, and NSW Fisheries gives it a reputation as one of the best stocked dams in the state for trophy golden perch. Fish over 60 cm are regularly caught, and the lake is a spring destination for fly anglers chasing them.

It is one sheet of water held behind a single dam wall, with a river arm running up the Cudgegong that you can reach by canoe or kayak. The recommended way in is Cudgegong Waters Park, a gated camping park south of the wall with a boat ramp.

The main trip is spring golden perch on the shallow edges, and it is the one to plan around. From late August the water starts to push into the low teens and the fish move up into the shallows. On calm, clear spring days the big ones can be seen cruising the weed edges looking for a yabby or a small fish. Come in spring, fish the sun-warmed banks first, and keep the fly close to the bank in water from a foot or so deep to a few metres. A quiet approach matters more than distance.

The second trip is the slower months, when the perch sit deeper. Fish the standing timber and the rocky points, and in our experience an early start gives you the best of any shallow fishing before the light is up.

Silver perch and Murray cod share the same water, so keep a heavier outfit handy and read the current NSW guide before you target cod. Book the park before a peak weekend, then work the sunny edge nearest the ramp before you go looking for water further afield.

Species records

Historical records and regulatory mentions. They do not establish current abundance, a suitable angling target or permission to fish.

Golden Perch

Stocking history 2020–2026

Murray Cod

Stocking history 2019–2026

No live gauge

No gauge readings are available for this water.

Season

Access & parking

Driving directions

Water and habitat

FlyLife’s writers describe Windamere as built for irrigation, stock and domestic supply in the valley below, and note that its level is steadier than many regulated dams, which they credit for the extensive weedbeds and the rich food supply along the margins. For you, that means the shallow, weedy bays are the first place to look, and the fish that use them are the same ones the NSW guide says grow exceptionally heavy for their length.

The shoreline is a mix of weed edges, rocky points and slopes, and standing timber. Fish hold around all three, and the season decides which one pays.

Fish and forage

Golden perch lead the lake, and silver perch, Murray cod and large eel-tailed catfish are recorded with them. Rainbow and brown trout have been stocked but are rarely encountered. Local speculation is that the trout slip up the Cudgegong in wet spells. Golden perch and Murray cod are both listed as stocked here, so the fishery is topped up rather than left to chance.

The perch feed along the weed margins on smelt, mudeyes, galaxiids and yabbies. In our experience a yabby pattern worked slowly along the weed and a small baitfish fly cover the spring edge fishing between them. Take both in a couple of sizes.

Stocking history

Reported past stocking. These records do not establish survival, present abundance or a current stocking programme.

Stocking recorded for Lake Windamere

12 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.

Murray Cod

Golden Perch

Latest source records

2025/26

Golden Perch · 61,500 · Site financial-year total

2025/26

Murray Cod · 29,999 · Site financial-year total

2024/25

Golden Perch · 76,999 · Site financial-year total

2024/25

Murray Cod · 33,000 · Site financial-year total

2023/24

Golden Perch · 60,999 · Site financial-year total

NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (Fisheries) ↗

Golden Perch

Macquaria ambigua

2020–2026 · 6 records · Lake Windamere

NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (Fisheries) ↗

Murray Cod

Maccullochella peelii

2019–2026 · 6 records · Lake Windamere

NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (Fisheries) ↗

When to fish it

Spring is the season. The NSW guide calls it the prime time for the big perch after a cold winter. FlyLife’s writers put the main run from late August, as the water warms, to around mid-November, and rate spring through early summer as your best chance on fly. Early in the run the first sunlit banks are the warmest water and draw the fish. By early October they spread to a wider range of depths, so work a little deeper (a few metres) and drop to a lighter leader.

Water temperature is the thing to watch. One fly angler reported almost no response on cold days and steady follows once it warmed, so a cold snap in spring is a reason to wait a few days rather than push on. In summer, fish the early morning edge and then go deeper around the timber.

THE YEAR ON THIS WATER

Golden perch push into the shallows

Fish run · Aug–Nov

A guide’s read, drawn from the NSW fishing guide and FlyLife’s writers. Fish move up onto the sunlit edges as the water warms from late winter, and the main spring run is usually done by mid-November.

Yabbies, smelt and mudeyes along the weed

Food · Sep–Dec

New weed growth along the margins draws the bait in. A yabby pattern and a small baitfish fly cover most of it.

Deeper timber and rocky points

Fly · Dec–Mar

A guide’s read. Once the edge bite fades, expect fish to sit deeper around standing timber and rocky points, with the best of the shallow fishing early in the morning.

How to fish it

Start shallow and slow. On a calm morning in spring, walk or drift the weedy bays and look for fish cruising before you cast blind. A floating line suits the shallow weed edges early, and a sinking line or weighted fly takes over as the fish drop to deeper water around the points once the sun is up.

Vary the retrieve. One angler reported that a constant strip or a quick stop drew no follows, while a mix of short and long pauses was far more effective. Strip, pause long enough for the fly to settle, then move it again.

Bank fishing deserves a go. FlyLife’s writers say it often beats the boat for the perch, since a boat can be intrusive in the shallows. If you do use a boat, shut the motor off well short of the edge and fish the water with a drift or a quiet paddle.

When nothing else is working, fish the rocky points and the medium-grade rocky slopes along the shore.

Access and safety

NSW Fisheries names Cudgegong Waters Park as the best access, just off the Castlereagh Highway and 13 km south of the dam wall. A fee applies at the 24-hour gate, and you should contact the park office to arrange access before you arrive. The park has a boat ramp, toilets, showers, barbecues, cabins and powered and unpowered sites, and a small shop with limited food and some tackle. It can be busy at peak times, so book ahead.

The access card lists the other places recorded for the lake. Confirm with the park or the managing authority before you rely on any of them.

The lake margins carry kangaroos, wallabies, goats, water dragons and a lot of birds, which makes a good break from a slow morning. As on any big inland storage, check the forecast before you go out, wear a lifejacket in a boat or kayak, and keep an eye on wind across open water.

2WD · State Land · Assisted access

View place

Directions

Regulations

No water-specific rule was found for Lake Windamere. Check the current NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development fishing guide before you fish, including its rules for Murray cod and any closed-waters list.