Holiday Destination: Lake Barambah
Wayne Kampe

JUST occasionally I tend to get a little, well, self-serving in my selection of holiday destinations to bring to the notice of QFM readers. While I always try to select a place that is of genuine interest, I do occasionally have a vested interest in a location, in so far as I've had it on my 'must see' list for a while. There - now it's off my chest and I feel a lot better! In truth, the lure at this locality is a powerful one and in two words it comes down to this: big bass.

Yes, Lake Barambah (or Bjelke-Petersen Dam as it's more commonly referred to) is one very important destination for the angler who likes to enjoy pleasant surroundings and give some solid native fish a run for their money. Featuring prominently on the BASS circuit, the venue has enjoyed a reputation of a producer of big fish when they are in mood to co-operate. What really fired me up was the fact that a member of a fishing club I'm associated with caught a 57cm bass on a lure on his first visit to the dam. Now that is one big mother of a bass in anyone's language!

GETTING THERE

Having digressed somewhat I will get back on the track and first locate our destination for readers. It's about three and a half hour's easy drive from Brisbane, and could best be described as north west of the city. The Brisbane Valley Highway via Esk or the D'Aguilar Highway via Kilcoy will lead to the town of Nanango where the Burnett Highway leads to the dam turn-off. The dam site is situated a few kilometres west of the Burnett Highway some 40km north of the town of Nanango. If approaching from the north, the turn off is around 20km from the town of Murgon and about 20km from Goomeri. A very prominent sign makes this an easy location to find, no matter from which direction on the Burnett Highway the visitor approaches.

The short drive from the Burnett Highway out to the dam is interesting. Some very extensive vineyards have been established on either side of the access road in the immediate vicinity of the dam, and although the vines are fairly small at this stage I'd reckon that combining a tipple with some fishing will no doubt be very popular with visitors once the vines start to produce their elixir of the gods.

The access road leads to well-established camping grounds, in the form of the Yallakool Tourist Park. These camping grounds have a very attractive western outlook. The dam waters lap the bank just below the lower camp sites and the area enjoys the benefit of a breezy hillside location with good numbers of native trees scattered about the place to offer shade and refuge for the many native birds that inhabit the area.

I stopped in to have a bit of a boil up at one of the camping tables and was immediately set upon by cheeky noisy minors that squabbled over fallen crumbs and small pieces of bread roll. At mid-afternoon it was as calm and peaceful as one could wish for, and just nearby attractive wading birds were making the best of the dam's shallows as they sieved the exposed weed beds for food. To complete the picture for readers, I'll throw in a small raft of pelicans and a pair of proud black swans with their four cygnets so that the vista of a very attractive wildlife habitat can start to take shape.

YALLAKOOL TOURIST PARK

The Yallakool Tourist Park has both powered and un-powered sites. These are very large grounds, with some 300 un-powered sites! Non-campers are also catered for, and self contained cabins, bunkhouses that offer separate rooms, and even a couple of cottages are available for the visitor. I noted that the campsites were for the most part on quite level ground and, when seasonal conditions permit, there is no problem with residents at the grounds enjoying a small camp fire at night.

Speaking with the managers, Allan and Elaine Walters, I was pleasantly surprised at the amenities offered at Yallakool. Cabins, cottages and bunk houses for visitors to live in. The self-contained cabins offer TV and sleep five persons. Cottages sleep four, a three bedroom house sleeps six, and the bunk houses offer eighteen rooms each able to sleep four persons. There are camp kitchens associated with the bunk houses and these kitchens offer stoves, sinks, and fridges plus dining room. Occupants will need to bring their own cooking and eating utensils.

One feature of this Tourist Park that will appeal to some folk is that pets may be taken on site, upon arrangement with the managers. Naturally, dogs will need to be leashed whilst there. There are BBQs in the adjoining picnic areas for residents and visitors to use, and a tennis court and children's playground offer useful outlets for spare energy after battling fish.

A kiosk offering hot meals (sit-down or take-away) plus basic food stuffs, ice, and a very good range of lures is situated at Yallakool Tourist Park. No other stores are situated at the Lake, but the towns of Murgon and Goomeri are only a matter of minutes of driving time away. The infrastructure at either town will accommodate most visitor's needs with regards to replenishing the larder or other requirements.

FISHING THE LAKE

And now for the lake, and some fishing. This is quite large body of water, and while the dam is fairly narrow it stretches well to the south and offers some interesting arms with standing timber aplenty. Main launching ramps are situated within the grounds of the Yallakool Tourist Park and next to the picnic grounds near the dam wall. The ramps are in excellent condition and launching even large craft will present no problems.

The combination of weed beds around all margins and the substantial areas of submerged trees means that there is excellent habitat for freshwater shrimps, which in turn provide fodder for fish to grow large in a short time. Bait fishing for golden perch, eel tailed catties and, of course, bass is very productive around the timbered reaches, and while bait does account for a lot of fish in the dam, lures and fly are also favoured fishing methods.

I spoke to resident guide Matthew Mott at the kiosk in the tourist park and he enthusiastically showed me photos of some whopper bass taken in Lake Bjelke-Petersen during the last couple of years. Fair dinkum, some of those photos would have weighed 500 grams alone! On a more serious note, Matthew mentioned that the dam had been firing since the onset of spring and double figure catches of fish were common on most charters. Both bait and lure fishing were productive, and with the onset of summer fly angling should come into its own as well. Matthew operates a Custom Twinfisher 4.3 metre power cat on the dam, and his boat is a familiar sight up on the top reaches. He can be contacted on (07) 4168 4811.

In my view, anglers fishing the dam would be wise to maintain a broad view on the method adopted. Bait fishing is certainly very productive, but on the right day the fish will really fire up on lures as well. Take a look at the photo of Phil Blanch of Murgon with his lunker golden! Phil was reviving the fish (one of several bass and goldens taken on lures during the morning) for release when I photographed it.

For visitors who are in need of a fishing license in regard to this stocked impoundment, one can be purchased at the kiosk. And if fishing is not the be all and end all for you, why not just enjoy the scenery and perhaps take a pleasant stroll around the dam? It's a mighty pleasant place, that's for sure.