Tuesday 4 December 2018

Christmas has come early for freshwater anglers thanks to the stocking of 235,000 Australian bass fingerlings into 17 lakes and rivers, including a record 81,000 into Blue Rock Lake.

Victorian Fisheries Authority Target One Million Coordinator Craig Ingram said most of the bass had been stocked into Gippsland to improve inland recreational fishing opportunities.

“Bass stockings are funded by fishing licence fees and the State Government’s Target One Million plan, which aims to grow participation to one million anglers by 2020,” Mr Ingram said.

“Australian bass are an iconic sportfish that can be caught by beginners and experts on a range of tackle including bait, fly and lure.

“Our bass stocking program has been a huge success in Gippsland with several high-profile fisheries such as Blue Rock Lake now hosting bass fishing competitions, which is good for local businesses that depend on tourism.

“This year the East Gippsland Catchment Management Authority stocked 10,000 bass into the Nicholson River and 10,000 into the Brodribb River, supported by the Marlo Angling Club and the Bairnsdale RSL Angling Club.

“The remaining 215,000 bass were released into:

• Blue Rock Lake 81,000
• Snowy River 40,000
• Mitchell River 30,000
• Timbarra River 20,000
• Lake Glenmaggie 10,000
• Macalister River 7,000
• Thomson River 5,000
• Lake Narracan 5,000
• Avon River 5,000
• Tyers River 2,000
• Cowwarr Weir 2,000
• Hyland Lake 1,000
• Traralgon Creek 1,000
• Valencia Creek 1,000

Bass stocking also returned to Lake Bullen Merri, near Camperdown, this season with 5,000 fingerlings. This follows captures of solid bass over 1.5kg from previous stockings and support from local anglers to recommence releases that complement annual trout and salmon stockings.

Mr Ingram said the native fish-stocking season was now underway and anglers could expect to hear more in coming months about the release of Murray cod, golden perch and silver perch, alongside species of conservation significance such as Macquarie perch and trout cod.

For more information visit www.vfa.vic.gov.au/bassstocking

Quotes attributable to Member for Eastern Victoria Region, Harriet Shing:

“The addition of Bass into lakes and rivers across Gippsland has provided an extra boost for recreational fishing across our region and provides wonderful opportunities for anglers of all ages to enjoy inland fishing in our region this summer”.