Lake Awoonga is a big storage near Gladstone with two public ramps and blue catfish on its species list. FlyLife's writers also describe it as a year-round barramundi option on fly, surface poppers included. That fish is not on the lake's recorded species list, so treat it as their account.
It is a single sheet of water held back by one wall, Awoonga Dam. The Gladstone Area Water Board runs the storage, and it gives the public two places to use it: a main recreation area and a bush camp. Those two are your ways in. Everything else is a matter of where the edges sit on the day, because the level moves a long way with wet and dry years.
The easy trip starts at the Lake Awoonga Recreational Area. It has a boat ramp, shelters and toilets, so you can launch, fish the morning and evening, and sit out the heat of the day. No water-specific rule was found for the lake, so check the current Queensland rules before you go. Start here on your first visit, and fish the edges and bay mouths nearest the ramp properly before you spend the morning running the boat around looking for better water.
The second base is the Boynedale Bush Camp, which also has a ramp. It suits an early start close to the water. The same advice applies: check the current Queensland guide first.
Pack a slim baitfish fly and something to fish slowly near the bottom, then check the Queensland rules and the current storage level before you leave.
Water and habitat
Awoonga is an impoundment, and its edges are its character: bays and a shoreline that shifts. Storage levels have moved considerably since the dam wall was raised in 2003, following the climate rather than any fixed pattern. That matters to you because the water you fished last time may not be where you left it. In our experience, when a lake like this is high, fish push up into newly flooded edges; when it is down, the mouths of the bays are a good place to start.
Fish and forage
Blue catfish have been recorded here, and a fly worked slowly near the bottom is a good bet for one.
The small fish are the forage. Splendid rainbowfish, flyspecked hardyheads, Agassiz's glassfish, western carp gudgeons, speckled gobies, snubnose garfish and mouth almighty have all been recorded in the lake. Most are short, slim and silvery or lightly coloured, so in our experience a small baitfish fly in white, pearl or pale olive is a good match.
When to fish it
No season is recorded for the lake's fish. FlyLife's writers describe winter sight fishing in the weedy bays. In the warmer months, in our experience, first and last light are the comfortable times to be on the water, with the middle of the day for sitting out the heat.
How to fish it
Carry a floating line for the shallow edges and an intermediate or sinking line for working a fly slowly along the bottom. For blind fishing, cast tight to the edges and the bay mouths and retrieve with long pauses.
Access and safety
The two public places are the Lake Awoonga Recreational Area and the Boynedale Bush Camp, both run by the Gladstone Area Water Board, both with boat ramps, picnic shelters, barbecues and public toilets. That is a description of what the board provides, not permission to fish from any other part of the shore. Ask the board if you want to go elsewhere.
As on any large storage, check the forecast before you take a small boat out, carry a life jacket, and come back in when the wind gets up.
Regulations
No water-specific rule was found for Lake Awoonga. Check the current Queensland fishing rules, published by Fisheries Queensland, before you fish.