Three dams, world record fish and pristine wild streams

When it comes to freshwater fishing, the Mackay region has three world-class fishing impoundments which can be fished all year round, plus the pristine Pioneer River and Cattle Creek which offer stunning scenery and sensational fishing.

Head west from Mackay to find Kinchant, Teemburra and Eungella Dams which are known as some of the best fishing spots in the world for world record barramundi and sooty grunter.

With the recent completion of the Habitat Enhancement Project at Kinchant Dam, it has never been easier to catch a legendary metre-plus barramundi in the Mackay region. Over 194 structures have been deployed in the dam, creating 36 angling hot spots. 

Barra in the dams range from frisky juvenile fish to monsters pushing above 130cm. Don’t just take our word for it - in 2011 a 135cm, 41.5kg world record (on 15kg line) barra was caught in Kinchant Dam and similar sized fish have been caught in recent rounds of the ABT tournament. 

While Kinchant is known as the region’s “big barra” dam and is usually fished from dusk deep into the night, Teemburra is more of an allrounder. With hundreds of hectares of semi submerged timber, countless weedy bays and three old creek beds, Teemburra is popular amongst those who like to cast at timber snags and enjoy close-quarters battles. Fish range from 40cm “rats” to 120cm monsters, so come prepared. 

Sooty grunter, on the other hand, might not fill both your arms for a photo, but for their size - they fight hard! Mackay is famous for its sooty grunter and every year in May Eungella Dam hosts the World Sooty Championships. Eungella and Teemburra dams regularly produce trophy-size sooties up to and over the magic 50cm mark, but nothing beats walking or canoeing this region’s wild freshwater streams to target wild fish. From Funnel Creek, inland of Sarina, to Cattle Creek, deep in the Pioneer Valley, anglers can fish wild streams with pristine rapids and bankside vegetation reminiscent of high-country trout streams. Casting small poppers at dawn is explosive and working bankside snags with spinnerbaits and divers can offer white-knuckle action!