All roads lead to Lake Lyell this weekend for the Fishing Factories Redfin Challenge that will see not only some great prizes for the best or “luckiest” fishers on the day, but also a chance for anglers to rid the waterways of the class one noxious pest.
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With Lake Lyell nestled at the foot of the blue mountains, the dam is a picturesque fishery long famous for its holdings if big Brown and Rainbow Trout, and now also Australian Bass and of course the tasty pest Redfin.
Local Dubbo fishers Gordon and Harry Cowen have won two of the last three Fishing Factory Redfin challenges, and will be keen to see Dubbo again set foot on the podium in both the most fish caught and biggest fish sections.
They will have some hot competition from Richard Gear and Nadine Roach from Oberon who are also no stranger at the events presentations, as they seem to have a knack for catching some of the biggest Redfin in any given dam they choose to visit.
Lake Lyell is situated on the outskirts of Lithgow approximately three hours from Dubbo.
It was originally built in 1982 by Delta Electricity for the Mount Piper and Wallerawang Power Stations.
The capacity is 34500MI, surface area 238ha, with the maximum water depth at 38m. Facilities include kiosk, boat ramp, amenities block with hot showers, toilets, disabled toilet, covered BBQ area, kayak hire, picnic benches, park, designated swimming area, powered and non-powered camping sites suitable for vans, tents, camping trailers, caravans and motorhomes.
You can call (02) 6355 6347 to reserve your site.
According to NSW DPI Fisheries, Redfin perch were first introduced to Australia in the 1860s for angling, and are now widespread across much of NSW, ACT, Victoria, Tasmania, south-eastern South Australia and the south-western corner of Western Australia.
Redfin are a popular sport fish with some anglers because of their taste qualities.
However, they are also voracious predators of other fish and invertebrates, can destroy recreational fisheries in enclosed waters by building up large numbers of stunted fish and eliminating other species, and can devastate native fish populations by carrying the epizootic haematopoietic necrosis (EHN) virus.
For these reasons, Redfin are considered a serious pest and in December 2010 Redfin were listed as a Class one noxious species in NSW.
Event organiser Ian Mclean can be contacted on 0478 083 066.
- You can send your photos and stories to matt.hansen@hansenrealestate.com.au
