Fishing & Aquaculture

		Angling Waters of the Yarra River Basin
			YARRA RIVER BASIN MAP (PDF 167Kb)
			ALBERT PARK LAKE
			ARMSTRONG CREEK
			BADGER CREEK
			BIG PATS CREEK
			BELGRAVE LAKE
			BLACKBURN LAKE
			BRITTANIA CREEK
			CAULFIELD RACECOURSE LAKE
			COBURG LAKE
			COCKATOO CREEK
			DIAMOND CREEK
			DON RIVER
			EDWARDES PARK LAKE
			EMERALD LAKE
			GRACE BURN CREEK
			HEALESVILLE SHOWGROUNDS LAKE
			JACK ROPER RESERVE
			HOTTIES
			LILYDALE LAKE
			LITTLE YARRA RIVER
			MACCLESFIELD CREEK
			MAROONDAH RESERVOIR
			MCMAHONS CREEK
			NEW CHUM CREEK
			NEWPORT POWER STATION CHANNEL
			OLINDA CREEK
			O'SHANNASSY RIVER
			PLENTY RIVER
			RINGWOOD LAKE
			ROXBURGH PARK LAKES
			SHEEPSTATION CREEK
			SILVAN RESERVOIR
			STARVATION CREEK
			SUGARLOAF RESERVOIR
			TOOROURONG RESERVOIR
			UPPER YARRA RESERVOIR
			WATTS RIVER
			WHITTLESEA BOTANICAL GARDENS
			WOORI YALLOCK CREEK
			YAN YEAN RESERVOIR
			YARRA RIVER
			FISHWAYS

A Guide to the Inland Angling Waters of Victoria
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Yarra River Basin 29
MANAGEMENT | DIVERSIONS | HERITAGE | FISH STOCKING | BEST FISHING WATERS | THREATENED FISH | ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS | FISHWAYS

Lilydale Lake

Much of the terrain is forested upstream of Warburton and there are numerous small tributaries providing some fishing for small-sized fish. Flow in the Yarra and some tributaries are highly regulated because of large urban water storages. Six of these, Maroondah, O'Shannassy, Silvan, Toorourong, Upper Yarra and Yan Yean Reservoirs are closed to fishing. Sugarloaf (Winneke Reservoir) at Christmas Hills, is open to fishing with some restrictions. Flow at Warrandyte is now about half the natural flow regime. Total Basin area is 4,096km², 42% is forested, 14% urbanised and 44% agricultural land.

Management

Fisheries Victoria, DPI, manages stocking and fisheries policy and the Port Phillip Fisheries, DPI, manages compliance with fisheries regulations and angler contact. The Victorian Inland Fisheries Strategy has assessed Sugarloaf Reservoir as a mixed species water, the Yarra River above Warburton as a native fish water and below Warburton as a mixed species fishery.

Melbourne Water Corporation is the urban water authority for almost all waters in the basin. Gippsland and Southern Rural Water Authority is the rural water authority. The catchment management authority is Port Phillip Catchment and Land Protection Board.

Diversions

Water diversion for urban and town supply; and take and use licences for agriculture are all administered by Melbourne Water Corporation.

Water for Melbourne supply is diverted from the following creeks in the Basin: From Yarra River into the Upper Yarra Reservoir (206,400ML). From the Yarra River at Yering Gorge (Coldstream) into Sugarloaf Reservoir (95,000ML). From Armstrong Creek; McMahons Creek; Starvation Creek; O'Shannassy River into O'Shannassy Reservoir (4,000ML); Cement Creek; McCrae Creek, Woori Yallock Creek; Coranderrk Creek to small onstream reservoirs then to Melbourne. From the Watts River into Maroondah Reservoir (28,600ML). From the Plenty River into Yan Yean Reservoir (32,900ML). From Jack Creek into Toorourrong Reservoir (7,000ML). From Olinda Creek into Silvan Reservoir (40,200ML). From Tomahawk Creek to Olinda township. Water from the Thomson Reservoir in Basin 25 is diverted to the Upper Yarra Reservoir for Melbourne supply.

Heritage River Areas, Natural Catchment Areas and Representative Rivers

The Yarra River from Warburton to the City of Doncaster and Templestowe boundary is listed as a Heritage River Area. The upper reaches of the O'Shannassy River are listed as a Natural Catchment Area.

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

The Yarra River provides almost all the best angling in the Basin; for river blackfish above Warburton, and for brown trout from Warburton to Launching Place. There are several small lakes within the Melbourne area which provide angling, particularly for carp, roach and redfin.

Several of these (listed in the table above) are stocked with trout. They provide an excellent opportunity to introduce children to fishing, with a good chance of catching a fish. Use bread or corn for bait for the carp and roach. The Yarra River around Eltham is also a good area for beginners to learn to fish.

Occasionally Macquarie perch are caught in the Warrandyte area and sometimes even a Murray cod. Both species were introduced into the Yarra Basin at various times since Edward Wilson arranged the first translocation from the King Parrot Creek to the Plenty River in 1857.

Threatened Fish Species

The Department of Sustainability and Environment has listed Macquarie perch and Australian mudfish as Endangered; Murray cod, golden perch, freshwater catfish and Australian grayling as Vulnerable and Yarra pygmy perch and dwarf galaxias as Lower Risk-near threatened. All these species, except golden perch, are also listed under the Flora & Fauna Guarantee Act 1988.

Freshwater Fish in the Basin

#These are introduced native fish, indigenous to the Murray River system. Yarra pygmy perch* were last recorded in 1872.

The Yarra Basin contains the largest variety of fish species occurring in any Basin in Victoria.

Spiny crayfish present are either the Yarra spiny crayfish, Euastacus yarraensis, or E. wolwuru which has no common name. Spiny crayfish in the streams were not always identified during fish surveys and will therefore be called spiny crayfish in this basin.

Environmental Condition of Waterways

Currently (2002) there is an environmental release from the Upper Yarra Reservoir of 10ML/d. Flows are also adjusted to maintain a flow of 240ML/d at Yering Gorge after diversion of water into Sugarloaf Reservoir. These flows maintain adequate water depths and good instream environmental conditions throughout the Yarra River.

The Yarra River and tributaries flowing in forest, upstream of Launching Place are in good to moderate condition with stable banks, mostly gravel or rubble substrate, good native riparian vegetation, deep water in the Yarra River, and excellent instream aquatic habitat. The section between Launching Place to just upstream of Warrandyte has adequate deep water but is in poor to moderate environmental condition because of unstable banks, reduced riparian vegetation and sand substrate. (Unfortunately areas with sand substrate are far less productive than rubble and gravel beds).

The channel is in better environmental condition at and downstream of Warrandyte with stable banks, deep pools and rock substrate through Warrandyte. The section of the river which flows through Melbourne to the sea has generally very good riparian vegetation of river red gum but the substrate is largely soft materials and there is reduced configuration (pools and riffles) of the stream bed because of sedimentation. The tributaries in the lower reaches are often degraded and suffer from low flows during summer. Salinity increases to 300-1,000EC in the lower Yarra and is higher (>1,000EC) in creeks to the north and northeast (Merri and Darebin Creeks) where soils and rock types change. Elsewhere water is fresh.

© The State of Victoria