Cania Dam is located north of Monto and is highly regarded as one of the better dams for fishing, stocked with Australian bass, golden perch, silver perch, and saratoga.
As a stocked dam, a SIPS permit is required for fishing, which helps fund the dam to have fish stock added to the dam for recreational purposes.
Cania Dam is a man-made structure on Three Moon Creek built in the early 1980s. The lake flooded the old gold mining town of Cania. The Scenic Lookout above the dam has a list of names from the Cania Cemetery and a few headstones set in a monument and can be walked to or driven to from the Cania Dam recreation areas.
There are two parts to drive into and park and can easily be walked between via a grassy section. Both have picnic tables and BBQs to use, one of them has a boat ramp and toilets, the other has a building that appears to be available for function hire, but I couldn’t see anything on the building for details.
There is a sign near the boat ramp promoting the Lake Cania Fishing Classic held the 2nd weekend of November with free camping and hot showers for paid competitors. The building may be used during this event.
There is plenty of shoreline along the dam and from what I have read fishing from the shore is successful at Cania Dam. There are a couple of ropes from a tree at the southern end.
We were staying at BIG4 Cania Gorge Holiday Park caravan park which is only a few kilometres away and a good base to visit Cania Dam and Cania Gorge National Park from, as is Cania Gorge Tourist Retreat a few kilometres further from the dam. There were quite a few campers with boats that headed out every morning for a day out at the dam. There is no camping at Cania Dam itself, other than for the fishing event mentioned earlier.
There used to be a tackle shop and kiosk at Cania Dam, but there was a sign outside it when we were there (July 2018) stating it has permanently closed. There are holiday houses at Cania Dam, which I presume could be rented from the tackle shop but now requires calling the caretaker directly.
To get there:
From Monto, head north along the Burnett Hwy for 9.2km and turn right into Cania Rd. Follow Cania Rd for 12.5km, passing through Moonford, to reach the entrance of the Cania Gorge National Park. Continue for 12.3km further. Head straight through the roundabout for access to one of the areas, or turn right at the roundabout to head to the boat ramp and where the cottages are.
From Thangool, head south along the Burnett Hwy for 69.9km and turn left into Cania Rd. Follow Cania Rd for 12.5km, passing through Moonford, to reach the entrance of the Cania Gorge National Park. Continue for 12.3km further. Head straight through the roundabout for access to one of the areas, or turn right at the roundabout to head to the boat ramp and where the cottages are.
Cost: Free, SIPS permit required for fishing
Hours: Free
Toilets: Yes
Bins: Yes
Tables: Yes
Seating: Yes
Water: Yes, not potable so bring drinking water
Food: No
Wheelchair accessible: Yes
Pets: No
BBQ: Yes
Playground: No