4 minute read
Fish crowd-pleasing Cania Dam
Ever popular Cania Dam attracts anglers from all over all year-round.
And for the recent holiday period, things were no different, with both parks full, the dam proved a very desirable destination.
The cottages at Cania Dam were also occupied, with not much time for a clean-up in between visitors.
Heaps of anglers were among the bushwalkers and families enjoying the parks and the scenery.
With plenty of water-based activities on offer, it was good the weather was warm, and the water clean and cool.
The fishing didn’t disappoint either, with some good fish being landed despite the skiing and boating also being enjoyed.
For months now, good bass and yellowbelly have been caught at Cania.
I recently caught my best Cania bass of 50cm using a 10g blade.
It’s always great to catch even the smaller models of this species, and there’s been plenty of those.
The water level has dropped to about 27 percent – low enough that some solid stumps and fence posts are starting to show, which would make a mess of any motor or hull.
So, caution is well advised when motoring around and sticking to the main river channel would be the wise thing to do.
The Cania Dam Fish Stocking Association held their family fishing competition on November 11 and 12, 2023 and what a great weekend it was.
The weather was absolutely fantastic and plenty of anglers and locals turning up made for a great time, plus they all helped support the CDFSA raise some funds for purchasing more fingerlings.
Cania Dam is on the Stocked Impoundment Permit system, as are many dams now, so along with money collected from us buying a fishing permit, there’s extra support from us attending these fundraising fishing competitions, so stocking groups can afford to buy more fingerings to put in the dam.
More fish for us to catch!
During the comp, saratoga were a definite catch and release only species and the best for the weekend was an awesome 80cm.
At the previous event, there were only a couple of toga caught, so it was great to see so many more at the on-water weigh station.
The weekend also saw heaps of bass, golden perch (or yellowbelly) and eel-tailed catfish caught, along with a few silver perch and sleepy cod and plenty of spangled perch and garfish.
The latter two species were fairly easy to catch, with a bit of bait under a float just off the bank – kept the juniors at the boat ramp area busy for hours.
I have noticed that spangled perch have been very active, landing many when chasing bass and yellowbelly, with some of the biggest spangled you’ll probably find.
All species except saratoga could be released or kept, with most choosing to release, but there’s nothing wrong with taking a feed home. Plenty of great prizes were on offer, including some awesome raffle and lucky draw prizes, and there were many happy winners.
Always popular is the weekend accommodation in one of the Cania cottages donated by Nev and Del, who look after the houses and grounds at the dam recreation area.
The highlight of the weekend was the drawing of the Quintrex tinnie, Mercury motor and trailer with registration.
Lucky Sophie Thompson from Rockhampton proudly towed this prize home.
It was also great to see a few stalls there selling all sorts of fishing gear, as well as boat dealers and Maritime Safety Queensland officers assisting the public with their knowledge of rules and regulations.
Cania Dam certainly is a great place to visit and stay a while.
Get in touch if you’d like more information.
Happy fishing.
