A Fish River storage beside Oberon on the central tablelands, where stocked rainbow and brown trout share the water with young Murray cod and golden perch, fished from the bank or a boat.
Oberon Dam is a stocked trout lake on the edge of the town of Oberon, and it is easy to find. The local writers name bank access at the dam wall and at reserves on the town side. Rainbow and brown trout are the reason to come, and by local accounts they grow big and healthy here.
It is a single storage on the Fish River, a lake shut off by a wall at its lower end. The fishable edges split into three. There is the dam-wall end, which runs on past the picnic area into the golf course; the Kelly’s Lane side, off Edith Road; and the reserves at the town end, off Jenolan Street and The Reef Road. Large areas of private land border the bank between them.
Start with dusk or dawn at the dam wall in autumn or spring. This is trout water, mostly stocked, and the local writers say to match hatches along the edge at those hours and to throw large dark streamers after dark. A Woolly Bugger in black or olive is a sensible first fly. If it is still and the lake has just filled over spring, look for midge rising on the flats before the wind comes up.
The colder months are the next trip, and a good one for fly anglers. FlyLife’s writers suggest working a team of wet flies from the shore or a drifting boat, parallel to the bank or into windy points. Stay out of the shallows if you want trout, because small redfin typically crowd them. The local writers call the browns territorial at first light, so a big minnow or streamer then is worth a few casts.
The natives are a longer game. Murray cod and golden perch have only been stocked for a few seasons, so treat them as a bonus on a warm summer evening rather than a reason to drive up. If you do try, a large dark fly on a heavy hook is the shape of what the writers list for them.
Check the current NSW fishing guide before you go, and ring the tourist centre in Oberon if you are bringing a boat.