Thompson Creek Dam

[Guest]

What a top day Brad (breambusters) and myself had today at Thommos Dam .

Up at 4 am and ready to roll at 4.30 and Brad was right on time.

Easy trip in the wee small hours and we made it to Maccas for an early brekky and coffee.

This was to be Brads first trip to the dam and my 5th and we made haste towards the waters edge in anticipation of a mornings lure fishing for Rainbow and Brown Trout.

First cast and I get a hit and miss and second cast with a pink tassie devil and Brads on !!!!! .

I run for the trusty camera and Brad is elated at his first Thompson Creek Rainbow and a fine hen she was too.

We continue casting and I was amazed at how low the water level was from the last time I was here

The going is hard with heavy mud and slippery conditions at every turn.

I am next to score a fiesty hen as well and with a smile on our dials we trudge ahead. A few missed opportunities including a very big fish which spat my silver celta staright back at me and I cursed a lot and kicked the ground in disgust at missing a potential PB .

We stopped for a bite to eat and take in the scenic beauty of our surroundings and the fresh chill in the air let us know that we were truly in a wonderfull peice of Australia.

We didnt stay all day and the decision was made to head back towards the wall and Brad took the lead and just as if by magic both his legs dissapeared into the mud and I mean right down to his crouch and he was stuck firm with his ass in the mud as well .

Straight away I knew what to do .......... I called International Rescue and Thunderbirds were go !!!!!.

With my trusty sidekick "the log" I managed to get Brad out of the shit or mud as we now know it.

We trudged back to the wall with monumental amounts of mud on our shoes and all over ourselves,but a great day out was the verdict and it was a pleasure fishing with Brad once again.

Thanks for the trip up mate and letting me snooze all the way home after we ate a whole packet of tea biscuits and a can of coke each.

The Tassie Devils did the damage this time and they were great to cast into the brisk Southerly that was blowing on the Dam.

And just a quick note I took a picture of the Dam Rules Sign and there is definately no fishing allowed from the Dam wall.

Cheers Swordfisherman

I almost forgot to mention the Wonder Scarf that Roberta made for me in cammo green worked a bloody treat as well.

[domza]

great report mate, i hope to get to this dam one day

he is not the only one that has got 'stuck in the mud' i once beached my boat at lake Lyell and jumped off the bow and went straight down to the hips.

[Davy]

great work and some top fish there stewy!

lol i remember those "gag magic" show bags!

Well done guys.

[robeebee]

Where is Thompson's creek?

[mrmoshe]

Very nice sesh there Stewy & Brad. Those were very nice fish in anyone's language...excellent too considering how little water is in that dam.

Umm...fishing from the dam wall will definitely get you a rock fish by the looks.

You blokes certainly were keen to fish in mudholes like that. Lucky the gear didn't sink into the goo with Brad.

Great report.

Cheers,

Pete.

[Bream Mad]

Great work guys,

Nice rainbows there, very good condition!!!

Pity about the low water levels and quicksand

I was up there the weekend before last and only fished the rivers for one dropped small brown

sounds like a good day by all. did you try wang dam (wallace), apparently it has been producing similar specimens and the weather is always nicer than thommos.

cheers

BM

[Jewhunter]

Great stuff fellas!

Nice to see a couple of fat fish caught. How did they fight Stewy?

Looks bloody cold as usual up there at this time of year.

Where has all the water gone? I have never seen it that low & I thought it was low last year.

Incredible really. When I first fished it the water was about 12 foot down from the top of the dam wall! It looks like a pond atm.

Cheers,

Grant.

[breambusters]

As stewy says it was a great day at Tommos.

Stewy had warned me to come prepared for some cold weather so I donned my trusty ski suit and it did the job for me, especially when I was bogged up to my crotch, for which I owe a debt of gratitude to international rescue otherwise I would still be there as I can assure you I could not have got out on my own. I was estatic, to say the least when I hooked and landed a beautiful rainbow on my second cast. This is trully a pretty place and well worth the early morning start not to mention the excerise from the walk in and out.

Thanks Stewy, look forward to another session at Thommos in the future.

Cheers

Brad

[Sharky]

Man trout are good looking fish. I need to have a decent crack at these fresh water criters in the near future.

[Steve07]

Very nice fish mate,they look nice and fat

hope some rain comes over that dam soon

looks like its close to drying up by lookin

at those photos;

steve

[wrasseman]

Great report,

Certainly sounds like a fun day out. Nice fat rainbows there. Though by the looks you may as well be hitting that dam hard now as there won't be water there for much longer.

Cheers

Col.

[ianoc69]

Great report - good fish and nice pics.

Water Level looks low.

Just a question: Did that outfit Stewy was wearing (Beenie+Sunnies+Scarf) come out of the Gag Magic bag that Brad was holding.

Sorry Stewy - Just Jokes mate - I couldnt help myself.

[Penguin]

Nice fish and some nice pics guys,shame there was not much water in there.

penguin

[pmak]

Great catch there guys. Pretty healthy looking fish considering the size of the pond - maybe all the bait fish have no where to hide with the water levels that low.

[arpie]

Hi Stewy & Brad!

Awesome fat fish!!! Did you keep one for a feed? They are Beautiful smoked (the ony way I eat them, actually!)

So glad to see the Wonderscarf got an outing, Stewy! Keep it in a plastic bag (so it doesn't pick up any fishy smells) near your tackle box or just leave it in your car! Looks like you were in a spot where it was truly needed .... 'specially the 5am start!! Brrrrrrrrrrrrr! I think you looked very smart!!!

Had mine on yesterday! Very brisk up here!

Where the bloody hell is Thompson Creek Dam??? I've been away from Aussie for so long I don't know where a lot of these places are??? Wallace is up the mountains somewhere, isn't it? (As against ours down here .... Wallis!)

Cheerio

Roberta

[Robbielites]

Roberta,

TCD is just out side lithgow between Wallerawang and Portland.

Cheers.

Robbie.

Edit.

I just found this...

Thompsons Creek Dam is situated about 5km from the Township of Wallerwang on the way to Portland. It is about 40km from Bathurst. It was opened to public fishing in November 1999 so it is a fairly new fishery. It is on private property owned by the local power company 'Delta'. It has been stocked several times by NSW Fisheries with brown, rainbow and brook trout. Rainbows are the most common catch. Browns turn up less frequently but are usually bigger is size. There have been no reports of Brookies being caught so they don't appear to have been a success. NSW Fisheries state that Access hours are from an hour before sunrise to three hours after sunset. Fishing gear permitted is fly and lure only. Bait fishing is prohibited and there is a bag limit of two.

There is some fantastic fishing to be had in this Lake and seems to have been the most consistent fish producer of all the impoundments in the Central Tablelands area, in recent years. There are some bigger fish being caught now up to 3 kg. Winter fishing is a curiosity since the rainbows travel up and down the shoreline in close obviously anticipating any sort of spawning opportunity. Don't be fooled into thinking they are an easy catch though as they can be notoriously fussy.

Most fly and lure techniques work well in the dam. In the winter I like fly fishing with a small nymph under a dry such as a Royal Wulff. The dry acts as indicator when the nymph is taken. Sometimes the rainbows during these months will respond to Glo-Bugs fished slowly amongst the schools of travelling rainbows. During the warmer months, large wets after dark can produce the big browns the dam is becoming famous for. There are at times some good insect hatches during the day - keep and eye out for them.

Edited June 15, 2007 by Robbielites

[arpie]

Well done, Robbie! Great stuff!

Cheers

Roberta

[Flattieman]

Nice trout, fellas! That dam seems to produce the goods!

Flattieman.

[Guest DV8]

Swordie

how long does it take to drive to TCD from for example Sydney centre on a saturday morning??.

davo

[choad]

give yourself another half hour to walk to the dam from the locked gate.