What a catch: the best places to go fishing in the NSW central west

Whether it's heading down to the local creek or taking the boat out on the lake, people love fishing. Even if they spend hours with your lure cast out, for not even a bite.

In the Central West region of NSW, the popularity of fishing still captivates thousands of people, with multiple clubs and events held to promote the time-consuming pastime.

So what are people looking for when they go fishing west of the Blue Mountains and where are the best waterholes?

And what fish can we expect to catch out here?

Well we've spoken to a local fishing stalwart to learn more.

The most popular fish in the region is the Murray cod, golden perch, rainbow trout and brown trout.

The Murray cod is the largest exclusively freshwater fish in Australia, and one of the largest in the world, but its population has declined significantly since European colonisation due to over-fishing, river regulations and habitat degradation.

Anglers can only take two Murray cods from NSW waters every day and have a limit of only four in their possession, while only being allowed to take ones that are 55-75cm long.

They can only be caught during December to August, to avoid peak breeding season, so you'll have to throw them back if you catch them in September, October or November.

You can take up to five golden perch a day, with a limit of 10 in your possession. The legal length must be 30cm.

Trout rules vary, depending on whether you're fly-fishing and the type of waterway you're fishing from.

But native fish are constantly threatened by the invasive carp and red fin perch, which have infiltrated our NSW waterways in the mid-1800s.

Colin Gordon has been fishing in Bathurst for decades.

He is currently the secretary of the Sofala branch of Central Acclimatisation Society (CAS), which puts about 125,000 rainbow trout and brown trout into different streams in the Central West each year.

It helps run the annual Sofala Carp Blitz, to help remove invasive carp out of the Turon River, with all money raised going towards the restocking of local streams.

So it's fair to say Mr Gordon has plenty of experience when it comes to fishing in the Bathurst region.

He says budding anglers can fancy their luck fishing right in Bathurst, down at the Macquarie River, around the Gordon Edgell Bridge, the old Denison Bridge and Evans Bridge.

The Fish River near O'Connell is also another popular spot, as well as the Campbells River, which flows north into Chifley Dam.

"You can get down on the Bridal Track too below town and out towards Hill End, that's where you're more likely to encounter your native species," Mr Gordon said.

"Windermere Dam [near Mudgee] is another well known dam. It has a massive golden perch population, well known for its trophy-sized golden perch."

Impoundments like dams are also popular spots in the Bathurst region, including the aforementioned Chifley and Windermere dams, as well as Burrendong Dam near Wellington, Wyangala Dam near Cowra, Oberon Dam and Sofala Dam.

Gosling Creek Reservoir is a popular fishing hole for Orange anglers and is regularly stocked with yellow belly and trout, which is permitted from the foreshores.

Lake Canobolas is also regularly stocked with the same fish, but redfin is a common pest, but boating on the lake is restricted to unpowered boats. Facilities for launching canoes are provided.

Spring Creek Reservoir is a new waterholing that has just opened for fishers, being stocked up with hundreds of trout, cod and yellow belly.

The availability of Spring Creek Dam as a recreational fishing area is a continuing of Orange Trout Acclimatisation Society's legacy of educating, promoting and developing recreational fishing.

"Having another opportunity like this in Orange for people to get out and fish and and have a bit of fun and learn, I suppose, well, absolutely, that's what OTAS does," Rodney Tonkin said.

For anglers keen to try their luck a bit out of town, Ophir Reserve is another common spot, with plenty more to do out there than fish, at the location where payable gold was first discovered in NSW back in 1851.

Up further north in Dubbo, there's fishing spots a plenty around the region.

For freshwater fishing, Lake Burrendong is a popular choice, known for Murray cod, golden perch, and eel-tailed catfish.

The Macquarie River, which also flows through Dubbo, also offers opportunities for Murray cod, golden perch, and introduced species like carp and redfin.

Bogan Weir near Peak Hill is also a popular spot with boat ramps, while the Cudgegong Creek north of Gulgong is another good location.

It's quite surreal to think that social media platform TikTok is helping more people get into fishing.

The popularity of the hobby was shown only last week when on Thursday, July 10, when 160 teenage fishers and their families came together in Sydney's inner west as part of a NSW Government and TikTok push to get more teenagers involved in angling.

The gathering is part of the phenomenal growth in interest, mostly from teenage boys, in fishing, driven by social media communities, particularly on TikTok, and the Minns Government's highly successful school fishing education program Get Hooked.

Fishing content creator Peter Phung, who goes by his FishTok username Shroom, said the future of fishing is looking strong.

"Having grown up fishing waterways across Sydney, #FishTok has allowed me to showcase this wonderful pastime to people, inspire them, and use TikTok to make them feel as though they're fishing with me.

"From rigging techniques and target species to simple recreational leisure, TikTok has opened up fishing to new enthusiasts and I can't wait for these people to fish with me in person during these school holidays."