The Bielsdown River flows through the middle of the town. In less than a 5 minute walk from Dorrigo’s shopping and accommodation centre you can be soaking a worm, casting a small lure or a wet or dry fly for rainbow trout up to 2.5 kg.

The fishing around Dorrigo is varied as rain and spring fed streams flow through open highland meadows around Ebor. Others streams flow through rainforest and heavy undergrowth that delivers a true wilderness experience. Both rainbows and browns can be caught. Even the small streams have very large trout but they didn’t get that big from being easy to catch. Some of the main streams around Ebor, for example, can be found here.

Catch and release is encouraged as a lot of effort has been made by the community to make sure that trout stocks are plentiful for visitors and locals.

Dorrigo is the eastern part of the large New England trout fishery which is the northernmost in Australia. The lifeblood of the fishery is the L.P Dutton Trout Hatchery, near Ebor (an hours drive from Dorrigo), which supplies local angling clubs with brown and rainbow fry that are then regularly stocked into New England trout waters.

It is well worth visiting and touring the hatchery which is on the Point Lookout Road that branches off the Armidale Road south of Ebor (about an hours drive from both Armidale and Dorrigo). This wonderful facility, only one of two in NSW, has bred and released millions of trout hatchlings. It is a great place to bring the family for a picnic.

Download a copy of this map HERE

Visitors can and should buy some feed at the hatchery and feed the fish. This inexpensive activity promises to not only educate, but also excite, the smallest child to grown adults. But it is very difficult to visit the hatchery and not want to fish every stream on the Dorrigo Plateau! More information about the L.P Dutton Hatchery is at http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/recreational/resources/stocking