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Lake Lyell was built in the early 80's largely to supply cooling water to the nearby Mount piper power station. It is located just two and a half hours from Sydney at the south end of Lithgow Lake Lyell is one of Sydney's closest trout fishing lake destinations. It is well stocked by fisheries and good catches are regularly reported.

From my experience fly fishers have a love hate relationship with Lake Lyell. I guess that comes about because when the trout are allusive (generally sitting deep) and outside of the range of most recreational fly fishers, particularly those with just a floating line as is often the case, they can be very hard to catch. If you do add deeper water techniques to your skill base all that can change. A second aspect that puts anglers off Lake Lyell generally are the blue green algae blooms that often occur in summer. Whilst unsightly and apparently toxic my experience is that the blooms, except at their very worst, don't put the fish off and in fact rainbows in particular often use the blooms to provide shade on hot summer days.

How to get there

Take the Great Western Highway out of Sydney past Katoomba and the Blue Mountains and down White Mountain toward Lithgow. Just a couple of kilometres short of the Lithgow town centre at the BP service station and eatery at South Bowenfels turn south onto the Rydall, Sodwells, Tarana Road. Lake lyell is just 12 kilometres doen that road. Shortly after first seeing the lake you will come to Sir Thomas Mitchell Road. That will take you to the northern shore and the upper reaches of the lake. Just beyond that there is a second access to the lake which take you to the foreshore opposite the recreational area. The access is in fact the old road that existed prior to the valley being flooded to create Lake Lyell. Alternatively you can continue over the dam wall first coming to a well set out recreational area which affords good boat and bank access or if you continue just a kilometre or two you will see that you can also access a couple of the bays and headlands.

For additional information search various towns in Google Maps.

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The recreational area which is in the Farmers Creek arm on the south side of the lake and just over the dam wall has some great facilities. Access is via a boom gate which require a $4 fee and it's worth noting that you will need the correct change. Sometimes you can get change at the recreational area kiosk but more often than not the closest point to get change is the BP service station and eatery back on the highway. The recreational area also has toilets, a couple of undercover BBQ areas as well as a concrete boat ramp. The recreational area also provides camping facilities which you can pay for at the kiosk which seems to only be open in peak tourist seasons and times.

Open season

Lake Lyell does not have a closed season per say but occasionally is closed due to excessive blue green algae blooms.

Target species

Lake Lyell has been in operation for over 20 years and has matured into fairly natural fishery. Target species are brown and rainbow trout in a range of sizes typically from 30-45cm and some larger fish turning up not irregularly. Also in recent years fisheries have stocked bass in lake Lyell and whilst they are targeted in the upper reaches they can turn up any where in the lake as a by catch. Growth rates for the liberated bass have been slow and that is put down to competition for food and of course the slower winter months. The bass that are caught are generally medium range but in good condition and specimens over 40cm are not uncommon.

Food chain

The shore and the bottom of the lake are largely sand / mud composite and support prolific weed coverage. Mudeyes and damsels dominate the nymph population and there are also mayfly, caddis and midge activity. Add to that the dominant food source of resident populations of gudgeons and other small fish (unfortunately including some gold fish) as well as yabbies and mudeyes and terrestrials dominated by beetles, ants and hoppers flying or blowing into the lake from ample riparian vegetation ranging from pasture to scrub and trees Lake Lyell has most of the food sources covered.

	What trout eat - sub alpine NSW and Vic - trout activity What trout eat - sub alpine NSW and Vic - food sources

Techniques

Lake Lyell can be moody and the fish tend to be more pelagic that many lakes and consequently can be found feeding at almost any depth in any part of the lake.

• Aspects of Lake Craft

A whole range of fly fishing techniques can therefore applied including: both dry and wet fly loch style fly fishing; prospecting from the bank or a boat for gudgeon feeders or yabby feeders; static fishing techniques; dry fly fishing with a single fly; fishing a wet under a dry or even even polaroiding.

Trout in Lake Lyle typically are in the 30-40 cm range and their feeding time is pretty well aligned to the activity time for their dominant food source gudgeons. Lake Lyell is unique in that it is more akin to being a daytime fishery than most lakes. The gudgeons become active about an hour before sunrise and are active on and off all day but almost close down soon after sun set. The gudgeons are not very active at night at all and consequently night fishing at Lake Lyell is problematic at best.

Fly suggestions

Most lakes have a dominant colour in the fish food sources and for Lake Lyell I think that is olive/brown. That colour should dominate your fly selection particularly for wet flies.

I don't generally use wake flies in Lake Lyell and sacrifice that for one of my dropper flies. If you want to try a wake fly both a winged olive wake fly or a leggy wake fly in dunkeld or Kate McLaren colours.

Droppers including my bag fly, an olive fur fly, small olive bugger or a damsel.

Attractors:My favourites are cormorants, dunkelds, scotch poacher and Murdoch.

Point flies including my bag fly, Mrs Simpson, olive buggers including banded buggers, small MaGoos and damsel buggers

Dry flies: Mayflies, beetles including the red tag and cock-y-bonddu, ants and of course hoppers and elk hair caddis.

Hot spots

Lake Lyell trout are very pelagic in their behaviour moving around a lot searching for food. Consequently at one time or another it is possible to catch fish almost any where in the lake. Keep on eye on fishing reports for clues as to the location of fish at any particular time. Those reports will generally push you toward shallower bays when it's cooler or overcast and toward the rocky points, banks and drop off's when the suns rays are at their strongest.

By in large Lake Lyell is fed by the Coxes river and the old river bed and adjoining bays are always worth a look.

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