Lake Samsonvale is a great bass to start from

LAKE Samsonvale, known to anglers as North Pine Dam or NPD for short, near Brisbane is the best bass fishery in Australia, judging by catches over the past few months

Lake Samsonvale, also known as North Pine Dam, is a great place to fish . Picture: MORETON BAY LIBRARIES

LAKE Samsonvale, known to anglers as North Pine Dam or NPD for short, near Brisbane is the best bass fishery in Australia, judging by catches over the past few months.

The impoundment was created in 1976 by the construction of a dam on North Pine River at Petrie, north of Brisbane.

NPD was built to provide water for residents of what is now Moreton Bay Regional Council. It covers an area of about 2200 hectares and holds 215,000 megalitres which, by comparison, is a little over half the size of Lake Somerset.

The Pine Rivers Fish Management Association, a voluntary, community-based fish-stocking group, was formed in 1993 to, among other things, undertake fish stocking of Lake Samsonvale and improve the lake as a recreational fishery for the benefit of the general public.

Raising money to buy fingerlings to stock the dam was a challenge for the association.

It approached Seqwater, the owner of the dam, to allow boating access under a permit scheme. After lengthy negotiations to ensure access would be adequately managed, the PRFMA was granted a licence to establish the scheme in 2001.

NPD has been stocked with bass, golden perch, silver perch, Mary River cod and saratoga. Since the inception of the stocking program, PRFMA has put more than 2.5 million fingerlings in the water, a sensational effort that resulted in a world class fishery.

The main land-based fishing areas are McGavin View, Bullocky Rest and Forgan Cove and access gates to these areas open at sunrise and close at sunset.

McGavin View, beside the dam wall on Vorges Rd, Whiteside, has plenty of shady trees, two playgrounds and barbecue facilities.

Bullocky Rest, on the western side of the dam at Forgan Rd, Joyner, is another sensational outdoor area that has great barbecue facilities, picnic tables and a playground.

If you prefer less-structured facilities, Forgan Cove, also off Forgan Rd, Joyner, has waterside access where you can ¬unfold your chair, sit back and wait for a bite. Anyone fishing on the dam must have a stocked impoundment permit, which costs $50 a year and is available online at qld.gov.au/recreation/activities/boating-fishing/rec-fishing/dams. Boating access is only available through the boating access scheme.

The number of 12-month permits issued is restricted and are available from mid-August at a cost of $110 for a single or $150 for a family You can apply at prfma.com.au.