Fishing & Aquaculture

A Guide to the Inland Angling Waters of Victoria
River Basins Map | Angling Waters A-Z | Mallee Basin

Angling Waters of the Mallee Basin 14

Cardross Lake, Cullulleraine H 3
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360ha.

Located west of Red Cliffs and is one of a chain of three shallow, weedy lakes in flat sandy country. Filled by excess irrigation water from surrounding fruit growing blocks. Most easily reached via Benetook Ave (off the Calder Highway, almost into Mildura).

Drive through Koorlong and turn off at the Mildura Pistol Club sign. A thick growth of spike rushes makes it difficult to fish from the banks and a boat is needed for best results. Carries abundant bony bream to 700g, redfin to 2kg, abundant carp to 5kg and a very good population of freshwater catfish. It is also the site of the only known occurrence of the southern purple-spotted gudgeon in Victoria. Popular angling water for redfin.

Golden perch

Cullulleraine Lake, Cullulleraine D 3
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40ha. 2,460ML. Caravan park, kiosk, picnic area, barbecues and boat ramp.

A man-made lake surrounded by red sand hills, sand bottom. It is maintained by pumping water from Lock 9 on the Murray River and supplies stock and domestic water to the Millewa District, west of Mildura. Bank fishing is possible but boat fishing gives better results.

Contains abundant bony bream to 600g, golden perch to 3.3kg, a few Murray cod to 10kg with larger fish possibly present, abundant carp to 10kg, redfin to 1kg with occasional larger fish and tench. Silver perch used to occur and the lake was reported to carry freshwater catfish to 2kg but these two species were not taken in a recent departmental survey. Best fishing time for redfin is after 5.00pm on a hot day and for the other species just after pumping operations.

Best baits are yabbies, shrimps, mussels and grubs, while flatfish, Baltic bobbers, aeroplane spinners and floppys are good lures if the water is clear. Stocked regularly with Murray cod, golden perch and silver perch.

Hattah Lakes, Hattah I 6
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1,120ha. Ramsar.

A chain of twelve lakes located on the Chalka Creek system within the Hattah-Kulkyne National Park. Surrounded by red gums, scrub and red and white sand hills. Filled by overflow from the Murray River via Chalka Creek. Access is through the Hattah Lakes National Park. Care should be taken because of soft sand in some areas and slippery conditions after rain. There are camping grounds (fees apply) at Lake Hattah and Lake Mournpall and bush camping is permitted along the Murray River. Check with Park Rangers before camping. The lakes are weedy with mud bottoms. Some dry out regularly in summer and all approach this condition in dry spells. Although the bird watching in this area is superb, the fishing is patchy with very good fish taken only at times. Carp are the most common fish with a few golden perch, silver perch, freshwater catfish, bony bream and redfin. Best baits are shrimps, yabbies and worms. A boat is needed for best results.

Hawthorn Lake, Mildura H 2
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195ha. 4,150ML. Boat ramp on the southern shore and a caravan park.

A saline (measured at 8,000EC in 1998), muddy lake on the edge of Mildura. The lake is used primarily for speedboat racing. Although productivity and habitat values are declining, it does contain abundant carp to 5kg, bony bream to 700g and possibly some golden perch and redfin.

Flat-headed gudgeon are also present. Best baits are shrimps, worms and pieces of yabby. A boat is needed for best results. Was stocked with golden perch in the early 1990’s but this did not produce adequate returns to the angler.

Kings Billabong, Mildura H 3
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40ha.

A storage for irrigation water, maintained by pumping from the Murray River. Surrounded by State Forest and orchards, mud bottom. Carries mainly redfin to 1.3kg, carp, golden perch, silver perch, bony bream, goldfish and Australian smelt. A popular fishing area with good catches of redfin at times. Best baits for redfin are shrimps, and yabbies.

Spinners and lures are also successful. Best fishing times are usually late evening and early morning. Boats, which can be launched from the beach, are an advantage but not essential.

Lindsay River B 2
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Murray cod

A 32km anabranch of the Murray River flowing through river red gums, black box woodlands with dense lignum on the clay flats and some grazing land. It has one tributary (Mullaroo Creek) which provides some flow. Lindsay River upstream of this tributary is only a few metres wide in its upper reaches, with pools to 4m deep separated by shallow runs. The river is wider downstream (up to 100m) as it flows to the Murray River, with numerous pools to 5m deep and a maximum water depth of 8.6m.

Flow is very sluggish and there is a mud substrate. Water is usually discoloured and surface aquatic vegetation appears in January. The bottom of the pools can become de-oxygenated during summer when water temperatures exceed 22^oC but the water remains fresh (400-500EC). Much of the Lindsay River lies within the Murray-Sunset National Park. All the tracks are dry weather only. There are no designated camping grounds but tracks lead to shady camp sites along the creeks. Be aware of the possibility of falling red gum branches when selecting a camping site.

A very scenic area with much natural terrain and forest. There are some areas of private unfenced property between the road and the river but anglers can cross to the river. Fish present are carp, Murray cod with occasional fish to 45kg, silver perch, redfin, bony bream, abundant golden perch, freshwater catfish, Murray rainbowfish, non-specked hardyhead, Australian smelt and goldfish.

Surveys by the Department (1994-97) found that bony bream and golden perch were most abundant making up 76% of the total number of all fish caught during surveys. Murray cod appeared to be scarce with only 1-4 fish caught each sampling trip. Freshwater catfish, silver perch and redfin were very scarce. It would appear that the water no longer supports enough redfin to make them a target species for anglers.

Baits recommended for Murray cod and golden perch are yabbies, shrimps, mussels and bardi grubs. In clear water, spinners and lures can be used. The river provides good fishing particularly when the river is flowing clear after a flush of water. A boat can be used but the river is accessible for bank fishing. There has been a five-year stocking program of Murray cod (1997-2001) however departmental surveys have found no evidence of survival of stocked Murray cod. Existing cod have come from successful natural spawning in 1993 and 1995.

Walla Walla Lake B 2
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243ha. 4,430ML.

Located 85km west of Mildura and connected to the Lindsay River. Contains redfin to 2kg, abundant carp to 6kg, some golden perch, the occasional Murray cod and freshwater catfish.

Wallpolla Creek, Wentworth F 2
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Wallpolla Creek

A major anabranch system of the Murray River, consisting of hundreds of small waterways, some of which are very snaggy. Flows through a forest of river red gum/blackbox woodlands, saltbush plains and lignum surrounded by grasslands. Open to boating with best access for small boats near Loch 9, which can be reached via a turn off west of Cullulleraine.

Access along the tracks can be difficult during wet weather, check with the department’s Mildura office. Care should be taken when boating as it is easy to get lost. Take a detailed map and adequate fuel. Contains carp, abundant golden perch and bony bream, redfin, silver perch, Murray cod, non-specked hardyhead, Murray rainbowfish, and goldfish.

Surveys by the Department (1994-98) found that golden perch and bony bream were the most abundant species, making up 33% and 38% respectively, of the total numbers of fish caught. Carp and goldfish were common but Murray cod numbers were low. The Department also concluded that almost all the Murray cod caught during the survey were from successful natural spawning in 1993 and possibly 1995 when flooding occurred. Redfin are now rare. Around 40,000 Murray cod have been stocked on several occasions from 1982-1997. It is a popular water with anglers and provides good fishing for golden perch.

Thermal Stratification
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Anyone who has taken a summer swim and gone through the warm surface water to feel the icy water a few feet underneath, has felt the most obvious effect of thermal stratification. This stratification is a natural occurrence, in any static body of water. It occurs when the surface layer of water, warmed by the sun, becomes less dense than the water underneath it.

The surface layer remains on top and the lower layer, deprived of surface contact and insulated from the sun, continues to get colder. This increases the difference in density between the two layers and makes it even more difficult for them to mix together. Once strongly established, this stratification persists until falling temperatures in autumn breaks down the density difference between the two layers allowing them to mix together again. In a river, thermal stratification only occurs in the deepest pools if summer flows are insufficient to mix the water in the bottom of the pools. If present it only breaks down when flow increases.

The significance of thermal stratification to anglers is that the lower layer of water, deprived of surface contact, slowly loses its dissolved oxygen and become less able to support aquatic life. In deep lakes and reservoirs, this has the effect of confining coldwater species, like trout, to a narrow zone below the high temperature surface water but above the bottom layer of cold water lacking oxygen. A good echo sounder will sometimes show this prominent layer of fish, with nowhere to go and very little to eat, and the angler who can accurately get a lure or bait into this "fish zone" can be extremely successful.

Sometimes, the fish will be stressed and not interested in feeding. The smart angler will then target warm water species or another body of water until conditions improve. The aerator at Lake Bullen Merri is an example of a technique used to prevent thermal stratification. It works not by directly aerating the water, but by pushing the cold water up to the surface and generating a water current in the lake to break down the barrier between the two layers (the thermocline). The circulation of the water not only increases the volume and depth of water available to the fish, but makes the substrate of the lake accessible to fish and increases food production in the lake.

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