March 22, 2019
Native fishing opportunities in Victoria are at an all time high as native fish are being stocked into a number of new waterways. Malmsbury, Coliban, Lauriston, Tullaroop and Barkers Creek Reservoirs and Lake Bellfield have been stocked with 120, 000 golden perch. Lauriston Reservoir was also stocked with 25,000 Murray cod fingerlings. The waters are also expected to be stocked with silver perch next month.
Malmsbury has already had 10,000 golden perch stocked this season with a further 5,000 stocked this morning with the help of local Labor MP Mary-Anne Thomas and Coliban Water’s Neville Pearce.
VRFish recently attended a Vic Fish Stock Meeting in Bendigo along with local angling clubs and the Victorian Fisheries Authority to develop the annual stocking plan for Victoria. Truly encompassing the goal to ‘make fishing better, for everyone’, VRFish has long advocated for improving native fishing opportunities for anglers across the state. Last year, VRFish encouraged the State Government to unlock the incredible potential of new native fisheries across regional Victoria including Lake Bellfield and Pykes Creek Reservoir.
Anglers will be able to fish year round as many of these waterways are considered ‘mixed fisheries’ as trout are also stocked throughout the winter. This year the number of trout being stocked into our waterways will also increase. The State Government has committed to increasing fish stocking to a massive 10-million per year by 2022 as part of their ‘Target One Million‘ plan to get more people fishing, more often.
There is a lot to look forward to as a Victorian angler as these stocked fingerlings will take a few years to grow to a catchable size.
Labor MP Mary-Anne Thomas stocking golden perch
