A campground lake in the Snowy Valleys, stocked with rainbow trout, Murray cod and golden perch, with a camp at the water's edge.
Mannus Lake is a camp-and-fish water in the Snowy Valleys of southern New South Wales, the sort of place you pitch a tent at the edge of and cast from before breakfast. Stocking records list three species an angler can target: rainbow trout, Murray cod and golden perch, though the records are low confidence, so treat the mix as a good bet rather than a promise.
It is one body of water. The council’s account of the way in is Jingellic Road, then Mannus Lake Road to the campground, so the camp is the natural place to start.
If you have a single day, fish for the trout first. In our experience rainbows are the likeliest fish for a fly in the cool of the morning and the last hour of light. A bead-head Woolly Bugger in olive or black, stripped slowly along a drop-off or weed edge, is a sensible first fly while you work out where the fish are sitting.
If you are staying a night or two in the warmer months, shift to the natives. Murray cod and golden perch are fish of structure, so cast a hopper pattern or a small popper close to the bank, a fallen limb or any hard edge, then leave it still for longer than feels natural. Evenings are the better bet.
Because these are stocked fish, do not count on big ones. Treat a day here as a relaxed fish around a camp, not an expedition, and bring something to do for the hours when nothing is feeding.
Read the regulations section before you cast, then rig up at the campground and start with the water closest to your tent.