# Three Mile Dam



## etr420 (Jan 7, 2008)

Has anyone fished Three Mile Dam (just off the Snow Mountain Highway near Kiandra) in recent years? I'm likely to be overnighting there on Friday and thought I'd try fly fishing from the yak.

http://southernson.com/nsw/kosciuszco_n ... le_dam.htm
http://tinyurl.com/25ghzy (map)

This small dam used to be famous for night fishing for large trout which lurked just out of reach of shore-based fly casts. Unsportsmanlike cads, according to legend, resorted to tricks like floating their lines out on the wind with balloons. These days I guess they would turn to remote controlled helicopters or boats:






Regards

Ed


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## Rstanek (Nov 5, 2007)

Dad and I are planning a trip into that area in April, and I noticed this dam on Google Earth and wondered the same thing. I'll be interested to find out. There's always Lake Eucumbene fairly close...

Cheers,
Rowan.


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## etr420 (Jan 7, 2008)

I'll let you know Rowan. That area generally is prime trout fishing country. Three Mile Dam is a good camping area and close to the Eucumbene river (above the dam) which is one of Australia's top trout streams. The more serious fly chuckers are rather possessive of it, I should point out. But you're also close to the upper Murrumbidgee river, accessible from Long Plain Road or the Bullock Hill Trail (basic campground on Tantangara Creek above the dam, walking distance to the junction of the Murrumbidgee), and not too distant from the Yarrangobilly River, Tantangara dam, with various trouty creeks around it and, as you point out, Lake Eucumbene. So there's plenty of kayak and shore based fishing available.

If your trip is taking in Tumbarumba and Batlow you might want to check out Paddy's River dam - lovely little camping spot hidden in the Bago forest, plenty of trout rising when I passed through in December. Probably need a 4wd to get to it - for certain if it's wet. Here a link to a photo I took in December:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2049/227 ... 97cd_b.jpg

Note the trout rising just above the middle of the photo.

Then there's the other Snowy dams, Blowering, Talbingo, Jounama etc in some of which you can have a go at natives as well. Most of them are kayakable.

Best regards


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## koich (Jul 25, 2007)

Go.

All reports I have heard the hatches are going ballastic there of an evening and during the day when the hatches aren't on, the hoppers are everywhere. Lets of shallow weed beds in close, tailing fish everywhere during summer afternoons.

It's your best chance of landing a brookie these days, and some of the browns in there are ridiculous. Plus, it's pretty. Launching shouldn't be a problem, I haven't yakked it but I've fished it a few times. I prefer fly on streams though.

Let us know how you go with the launching, I'd be keen to set up a big yakking meet up that way at a later stage in the year, after winter when it isn't snowbound.


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## etr420 (Jan 7, 2008)

Well, the wheels more or less literally fell off my trip to Three Mile Dam. Specifically I spent Saturday and Sunday at a 4WD training course and managed to irrepairably damage a tyre. There were some issues with my spare, and so I spent Sunday night and Monday morning in Cooma, waiting for a new tyre (when I should have been fishing). I was then on a deadline to get back to Canberra. I did, however, get to spend about 2 hours at the dam in the middle of the day. Quite hot and sunny and despite the place looking very fishy, I didn't catch anything.

It's a lovely spot, lots of shady camping and picnic areas, fireplaces set up, including one next to the boat ramp under some trees, and would be perfect for an overnight stay, fishing at dusk and dawn. The dam was built in 1882 to provide water for a mining operation at Kiandra.

I went for a paddle and a fish - one hit near the reeds just at the western end of the dam wall. I was using a pink Tassie Devil, which I also trolled without success. I didn't have the sounder, but plumbed the depths which seemed to be around 5 or 6 metres out in the middle. Water was gin-clear.

The boat ramp is very kayak friendly. I was able to park right next to it and drag the Hobie down to the edge, and launch it with the pedals inserted. The dam is a perfect location for lure or fly fishing into the edges, and with the aid of a sounder you could troll for those legendary giant brownies. Unlike most impoundments in NSW, this dam is closed during the trout closed season.

I met a local at the boat ramp who informed me that 1. there are lots of trout in there, small but very sweet and, 2. no point fishing for them so close to a full moon - you need a dark moon to catch trout (exactly the converse of what I was always taught). He said he'd drawn a blank the night before at Tantangara Dam.

To get there: proceed along the Snowy Mountains Highway, turn onto the Link Road (a.k.a. Kings Cross Road) to Mt Selwyn and Cabramurra near Kiandra (turnoff is about 1 hour, 90km from Cooma, or 1 hour, 91km from Tumut). The main turnoff to Three Mile Dam is then 5.4km on the right, signposted "Three Mile Dam Rest Area". There's also a turnoff to the dam wall (Wallace's Creek Fire Trail, not signposted) about 1km before this, but it was being upgraded at the time of my visit. I don't know if you could easily launch a kayak there.

The boat ramp, in case you have a GPS and are trying to find it at night, is at: S35.88647 E148.45091 (WGS84) and you're at an altitude of 1475m. Google map of area:

http://tinyurl.com/yp4ej8

The boat ramp is on the eastern side of the little peninsula protruding into the dam. The dam wall is at the northern end.

Here are some photos.





































Hope this provides an idea of the size and nature of the location.


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## etr420 (Jan 7, 2008)

I had the same thought. Absolutely perfect spot for it. Comfy deck chair, esky, bottle of wine...


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