Trout release increases Blue Rock Lake fishing
Recreational anglers will experience improved freshwater fishing opportunities at Blue Rock Lake following the release of 27,250 trout into the system.
The release at Blue Rock Lake forms part of a new record increase in fish stocking across the state, with the state government aiming to grow participation in the popular pastime to one million anglers by 2020.
About 140 waters throughout the state shared in the stocking milestone.
Most of these fish were yearling brown trout, rainbow trout and Chinook salmon grown at the Victorian Fisheries Authority’s Snobs Creek hatchery, which has enjoyed record investment to upgrade facilities and production capacity courtesy of fishing licence fees and the state government’s Target One Million plan.
The release of native fish has already begun this summer season with Australian bass, estuary perch and Murray cod, then golden perch.
Bass have also been stocked at Blue Rock Lake, with 30,000 fish released into the system. Five thousand Bass have been stocked at Lake Narracan. Agriculture Minister Jaala Pulford said the new record of 454,000 Australian bass fingerlings into 19 rivers and lakes across the state would deliver longlasting benefits for freshwater fishers, nearly tripling the previous record of 162,000 bass fingerlings released in 2016.
Australian bass are an iconic sportfish, with Bass stockings in Gippsland going from strength to strength since its commencement in 2002, with Blue Rock Lake now considered a ‘supreme fishery’.
The Bass were grown at a private hatchery in Narooma using wild brood stock collected in Gippsland.
Anglers can expect to hear more in coming months about the release of four million native fish this summer including Murray cod, golden perch and silver perch, alongside species of conservation significance such as Macquarie perch and trout cod.
When combined with 2017’s one million trout, it will deliver on Target One Million’s commitment to stock five million fish.