Fishing & Aquaculture

		Angling Waters of the Campaspe River Basin
			CAMPASPE RIVER BASIN MAP (PDF 105 Kb)
			CAMPASPE RIVER
			COLIBAN RIVER
			LAKE EPPALOCK
			HANGING ROCK LAKE
			LAURISTON RESERVOIR
			MALMSBURY RESERVOIR
			MURRAY RIVER (NSW)
			MYRTLE CREEK
			TYLDEN RESERVOIR
			UPPER COLIBAN RESERVOIR
			WARANGA WESTERN CHANNEL

A Guide to the Inland Angling Waters of Victoria
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Campaspe River Basin 6
MANAGEMENT | DIVERSIONS | HERITAGE | FISH STOCKING | BEST FISHING WATERS | FRESHWATER FISH | THREATENED FISH | ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS

Lake Eppalock

Management

Fisheries Victoria, DPI, manages stocking and fisheries policy. Northern Fisheries, DPI, manages compliance with fisheries regulations and angler contact in all waters except Hanging Rock Lake and Tylden Reservoir, which are the responsibility of Port Phillip Fisheries, DPI. The Victorian Inland Fisheries Strategy has listed the Upper Coliban Reservoir, Lake Eppalock and the Campaspe River as mixed species fisheries and Lauriston and Malmsbury Reservoirs and Hanging Rock Lake as salmonid waters.

A Fisheries Management Plan has been developed for the Campaspe River Basin and the Loddon River downstream to the Fernihurst Weir. (Bendigo Region Fisheries Management Plan, April 2002). The North Central Catchment Management Authority is responsible for catchment management. The Goulburn-Murray Water Authority manages irrigation and rural diversion. The Coliban Region Water Authority manages urban demand in all except the upper reaches of the Campaspe River which is managed by Central Highlands Region Water Authority.

Streamflow Management Plans: None are currently being conducted but environmental flows for the Campaspe River have been assessed by the Department as part of the Bulk Water Entitlement Process.

Diversions

Water is pumped from the Campaspe River to Rochester, Axedale, Goornong and also stored in Lake Eppalock and Campaspe Weir (2,700ML). Sent from Lake Eppalock into Caledonia Gully Reservoir (260ML) then to Heathcote. From McIvor Creek into a reservoir (18ML) then to Tooborac. From Little Coliban River into two reservoirs (354ML) then to Kyneton. From creeks north of Mt Macedon to Woodend. From the upper Campaspe River to Woodend by direct pumping and also from a 225ML reservoir. From channels to Rochester and Lockington. Water from the Coliban River is stored in the Upper Coliban, Lauriston and Malmsbury Reservoirs. From Lake Eppalock, and the Upper Coliban, Malmsbury and Lauriston Reservoirs water is sent to Sandhurst Reservoir to supply Bendigo and to Spring Gully Reservoir at Bendigo for irrigation use. The Upper Coliban, Malmsbury and Lauriston Reservoirs, also supply Malmsbury and Kyneton.

Heritage River Areas, Natural Catchment Areas and Representative Rivers

None in this Basin.

Ramsar Sites

None in this Basin

Fish Stocking

The Department of Primary Industries' (DPI) fish stocking program is designed to enhance recreational fishing opportunities for:

• Desirable introduced species such as brown trout, rainbow trout, Chinook salmon and Atlantic salmon, and
• Desirable native fish species such as golden perch, Murray cod, Australian bass and silver perch.

Stocking Plans for desirable species are developed annually as part of the regional consultation process involving VRFish representatives and various arms of DPI including Fisheries Victoria and Primary Industries Research Victoria (PIRVic).

Up to date information can be found on the Fish Stocking section in Fisheries and Aquaculture.

Best Fishing Waters

Freshwater Fish in the Basin

*Spotted galaxias have been found in the upper Coliban River and in tributaries of Lake Eppalock. Their natural distribution is in coastal streams and they may have been released into this Basin by anglers using them as bait.

#Trout cod were stocked into the Coliban River downstream of the Malmsbury Reservoir but are unlikely to have survived

Note that surveys for small-sized fish are not complete and species found in the Murray River such as non-specked hardyhead, flat-headed galaxias, and Murray rainbowfish may also occur in the Campaspe Basin.

Threatened Species

The Department of Primary Industries and Sustainability has listed trout cod as Critically Endangered, Macquarie perch as Endangered and Murray cod and golden perch as Vulnerable. Macquarie perch, trout cod, Murray cod and the Lowland Riverine Fish Community of the Southern Murray-Darling Basin have been listed under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988.

Environmental Condition of Waterways

The Campaspe and Coliban Rivers above Lake Eppalock are in moderate to poor condition because of replacement of native riparian vegetation by introduced species. The Campaspe River downstream from the lake has good bank vegetation but is only in moderate condition because of the mobile sand substrate, high salinity, shallow water and low summer flow. Some tributary streams are in excellent condition (3% of sites observed) but most are in very poor condition with major problems of poor riparian vegetation, bank erosion, instream growth of vegetation and sedimentation.

© The State of Victoria