The Macquarie is the Central Tablelands' native river. Between Bathurst and Burrendong Dam it runs as a string of rocky, cover-strewn pools joined by faster runs, and those pools fill with Murray cod and golden perch that push up from the dam when the water allows. You drive here for cod on a big fly.
The river has three parts, and a dam is the divide that matters. It begins where the Campbells and Fish rivers meet above Bathurst, runs through the town and down to Burrendong Dam, and that upper river is the water to plan around. The dam itself is a separate water. Below the wall the river carries on through Wellington and Dubbo, spreads into the Macquarie Marshes and reaches the Barwon near Brewarrina; for that long plains river, note the closed water at South Dubbo Weir.
The easiest trip is the town water. Bathurst is where bait fishing is popular; a local fishing site names the parks at Eglinton, just downstream, as water with a little less pressure. Fish a bead-head Woolly Bugger along the rock and the cover for golden perch and cod, and check the current NSW rules for both before you go, for any cod closed season and for the size and bag limits; trout cod are named among the river's fish, so check the current protected list too.
The second trip is the river below Bathurst for carp. The water there is often gin-clear, and in our experience a plain nymph landed in front of a feeding carp is a good bet. It is the fishing that keeps a slow cod day honest.
The third trip is trout, and the listed trout waters are the tributaries, not the main river. All the tributaries of the Macquarie upstream of and including Lewis Ponds Creek are listed general trout waters, so check the current NSW fishing guide for the trout season and limits before you fish them; rainbows are described as the usual target upstream of Burrendong. The Macquarie itself is left out of that listing.
Check the current NSW rules for cod, then pick a pool with rock and cover and fish it slowly.
Water and habitat
The Macquarie starts above Bathurst where the Campbells and Fish rivers join. From a spot near Bathurst known as The Forge down to where the river enters Burrendong Dam, it becomes a succession of rocky pools strewn with cover, joined by faster runs. The pools are where the natives sit, and they are well populated with fish that migrate up out of the dam when the levels let them.
That migration is the thing to understand. In our reading, the fishing in the pools rises and falls with the dam: water that lets fish up from the lake is good news, and a long dry spell likely leaves the pools to the fish already in them. The live card lists the river's many gauges; check the one nearest the stretch you plan to fish.
The gradient profile shows the fall from the tablelands to the plains. The steeper fall, over gravel with stretches of bedrock, sits in the upper river; downstream the profile flattens into a long plains river with a sandy, then fine bed. The bank cover chart describes the corridor's vegetation, and it is worth a glance before you pick a stretch, because cod hold under shade and timber and goldens hold against rock.
Below the dam the river is a different animal: a plains river running past Wellington and Dubbo and out into the marshes.
Fish and forage
Murray cod and golden perch are the most prolific fish here, and especially so near Burrendong. Both are stocked, as the release chart shows, and a Central West guide writes of many more cod and yellowbelly in the river than in earlier years. A FlyLife writer who grew up in Bathurst admits to leaving the cod fishery on the doorstep alone as a boy, and to being hooked after a first cod on fly near the town.
Silver perch live in the lower river and near the impoundments. River blackfish and trout cod are here too; a trout cod looks enough like a small Murray cod that you should know the difference before you fish, and check the current protected list in the NSW rules.
Rainbow trout and brown trout are the introduced salmonids, and rainbows are described as the usual trout target upstream of Burrendong. A FlyLife writer records a small brown from the river in Bathurst itself, so trout do turn up in the main river, but the listed trout waters are the tributaries.
European carp are plentiful and, below Bathurst, often in water clear enough to sight-fish. Redfin are recorded too.
The forage is small fish. Australian smelt, bony bream, Murray River rainbowfish, unspecked hardyheads, flathead gudgeons and carp gudgeons are all recorded, with goldfish and gambusia in the mix. That points to a bead-head Woolly Bugger in black or olive, size 4 to 8, as the searching fly, a sparse baitfish pattern for goldens, and a big bulky fly with a heavy hook for cod.
When to fish it
The warm months are the native season. In our experience cod and golden perch feed hardest from late spring through autumn, at dawn, dusk and after dark, and the surface fishing for cod is a warm-water game. Check the current NSW rules for any Murray cod closed season and fish for them only when the season is open.
Since the goldens push up from Burrendong when levels allow, a good bet after a rise is to fish the pools closest to the dam first.
Carp fish best in low, clear water through the warm months, when you can see them working the edges below Bathurst. For trout in the listed tributaries, check the current NSW fishing guide for the season dates.
Winter is slow for everything, in our experience. The natives go deep and quiet, and the carp are the only fish likely to show themselves on a warm afternoon.
How to fish it
For goldens, fish a bead-head Woolly Bugger on a six- or seven-weight with a floating or intermediate line. Cast to the head of a rocky pool, let the fly sink to the bottom, and bring it back in short strips with long pauses along the face of the rock and past every piece of cover. Goldens take on the drop, so watch the line. Move pool to pool; a pool with no take in twenty casts is usually a pool with no fish in it that day.
For cod, step up to an eight- or nine-weight, a sink-tip and a large, bulky fly, and read the cover the way that page describes: cast tight to timber, rock ledges and shade, let it get down, and strip slowly. Fish heavy tippet, because a cod goes straight back into the cover it came from. Low light is your friend, and on a summer night a big surface fly walked across a pool is how cod are taken on top.
For carp, walk the edges below Bathurst on a bright, calm day with polarised glasses. Find a fish that is feeding rather than cruising, put a plain unweighted nymph a metre ahead of it, and lift gently when the fish tips on the fly. A five-weight is enough, with a strong leader.
For the trout tributaries, fish them as small tablelands streams: a four-weight, a dry-dropper, and an upstream approach. That is a different trip.
Carry forceps, a big net and a soft mat for cod, keep the fish in the water while you unhook it, and let it swim off under its own power. Check, clean and dry your gear before the next river.
Access and safety
The access card names the angler access sites and boat ramps along the river, and there are a great many. Bathurst is the town water, where bait fishing is popular. A local fishing site names the parks at Eglinton, just downstream, as water with a little less pressure, and in our view it is where a first visit belongs.
Off the beaten track, the Bridle Trail is a historic 4WD-only route from Hill End to Bathurst that runs alongside the Macquarie and the Turon, with six camping sites along it. The rivers cannot be reached for the full length of the track, so do not assume every camp is on the water. Check current track conditions and take a real 4WD; it is not a road for a family car.
Away from the parks, do not assume the bank is open to you; ask at the house before you cross a fence.
Treat every pool as deep and every rock as slippery, and remember that, as on any hill-country river, the water can rise after a storm. Do not wade a coloured river you cannot see the bottom of, and if the gauges show a rise, fish the edges from the bank. As on any bush river in summer, watch where you put your hands and feet on warm rocks.
Regulations
No rule was found that applies to the whole river. Three water-specific items from the NSW fishing authority touch its tributaries or parts of it.
First, the trout listing. The NSW fishing guide for the Central Tablelands and the state's trout and salmon closure notification list all tributaries of the Macquarie River, but not the Macquarie itself, upstream of and including its junction with Lewis Ponds Creek as general trout waters. Check the current guide for the trout season and limits on those tributaries; the river itself is not in the listing.
Second and third, two standing closed-waters notices. One at Burrendong Dam and one at South Dubbo Weir prohibit fishing by any method in the water each notice describes. Read the current notices for their exact extent before you fish near either.
Murray cod, golden perch and the trout are covered by statewide NSW rules for size, bag and any closed season; confirm the current protected list before you fish. Those rules change, so before you leave open the current NSW fishing rules and regulations, confirm the fishing fee and exemptions and check the freshwater bag and size limits, including the cod and trout season dates.
