Fishing & Aquaculture

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

Angling Waters of the Maribyrnong River Basin 30

Boyd Creek, Darraweit Guim J 3
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Small tributary of Deep Creek located in cleared farmland. Sand and gravel substrate and some sedimentation from bank erosion. Mostly shallow water with a few pools. Fishing access at road crossings. Fish include brown trout to 450g (av. 100g), short-finned eel, common galaxias, small redfin, Australian smelt and flat-headed gudgeon. Low value angling water.

Barringo Creek, Barringo D 6
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Not shown on the map. Melway 509 H 11

Small, entrenched creek flowing through forest then farmland. Up to 2m in width with pools to 50cm deep. Rubble, gravel and rock substrate. Upper reaches in excellent environmental condition but lower reaches have severe bank erosion and blackberries. Contains short-finned eel and brown trout but is not a recognised angling water.

Bolinda Creek, Bolinda G 5
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A small creek with headwaters in forest then flowing through open woodland and farmland. Upper reaches are up to 2m in width with pools to 50cm deep. In excellent environmental condition with good habitat. Sand and rubble substrate. The lower reaches are up to 6m wide with pools to 100cm deep. Sand and mud substrate. Some willows and algal growth but abundant fish cover and some good habitat present. Contains short-finned eel, mountain galaxias, redfin, tench, and brown trout. Flows through private property but accessible from several road crossings. Not a recognised angling water.

Deep Creek, Lancefield H2
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The longest and major tributary of the Maribyrnong River system. Flows through farmland and has sparse riparian vegetation.

Upstream of Lancefield

Consists of a narrow, open, weedy-channel less than 4m wide. There are extensive pools 120-200cm deep separated by very shallow riffles. The still water and abundant aquatic vegetation provide excellent habitat for Yarra pygmy perch. Other fish species are southern pygmy perch, mountain galaxias and short-finned eel.

Lancefield to Darraweit Guim

This section is 25km in length. Channel width is 10-14m. There are shallow, fast-water riffles with extensive long pools (40% of the river) up to 260cm deep. Substrate is rock, rubble and boulders. The riffles become shallow and exposed during summer but there is abundant, good-quality habitat, all year in the pools. Contains short-finned eel, brown trout to 420g, (av. 100g) with occasional fish to 1kg, tench, mountain galaxias, mosquitofish, Australian smelt, goldfish, common galaxias, flat-headed gudgeon, and Yarra pygmy perch downstream as far as the Lancefield/Kilmore Road Bridge. Fishing is restricted to the pools, because of the shallow nature of the riffles. The pools cannot be waded. Access is again restricted to road crossings because private property usually extends to the waters edge.

Downstream of Darraweit Guim

The creek extends for another 30km downstream to the junction of Jacksons Creek. Channel structure is similar to upstream although the banks can be up to 4m in height. Pools are extensive, forming 30% of the waterway. They are up to 200cm deep and provide excellent, permanent habitat. Riffles can be fast-flowing but again are usually quite shallow. Substrate is rubble, gravel and rock. Contains similar fish species to those upstream with common carp also present in the lower reaches. Blackfish used to occur but have not been reported since 1970. Access is difficult, as previously described. Not stocked with trout by the Department since 1983.

Emu Creek, Bolinda H 8
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Rises as a number of tributaries (including Charlies and Bolinda Creeks) in gentle sloping forest, north-east of Mt. Macedon. Deeply entrenched in its lower reaches and flows through basalt rock. Catchment is mostly farmland with little riparian vegetation. Channel width varies from 1-6m upstream to 10m at Gailles Road. Pools form around 20% of the channel and are up to 170cm deep. Substrate is rock.

The channel is in good environmental condition with no sedimentation and excellent habitat in the pools (particularly in the lower reaches). Access is limited by the scarcity of road crossings and private property. Anglers are discouraged by some property owners so please ask for permission to enter. Contains brown trout to 750g, tench to 800g and abundant short-finned eel, also common galaxias, southern pygmy perch, Australian smelt and mountain galaxias.

Gisborne Creek, Gisborne B 7
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Rises in State Forest then flows through farmland. A few small pools. Substrate is gravel and rubble with some sedimentation. Access is through private property or at road crossings. Carries brown trout to 350g (av. 90g).

Jacksons Creek, Sunbury G 9
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The creek flows out of Rosslyne Reservoir and has little flow until picking up additional water from the sewage treatment plants at Gisborne and Sunbury. It flows through open farmland along its entire length with a thin strip of riparian vegetation downstream of Sunbury. Channel width varies from 2-6m upstream to 10-15m in the middle and lower reaches. Substrate along its length is predominantly rubble and bedrock. Although there is little sedimentation, there is some mud, aquatic vegetation and algal growth in the upper section.

There are numerous pools to 110cm deep and shallow riffles downstream to Sunbury, then very extensive pools downstream to the Deep Creek junction, with deep water and excellent habitat. Access is restricted because the creek is often some distance from the road and most of the stream bank is within private property. However there are some road crossings and parklands and permission can be obtained from landholders to cross to the creek. Fishing is restricted to the banks as the pools cannot be waded. Best fishing is downstream from the junction of Riddells Creek. Trout can be caught on bait, lure or fly but bait fishing allows a range of species to be targeted. Good baits are worms, maggots, live fish that can be caught in bait nets, mudeyes, crickets and grasshoppers. Use of a float is worthwhile. Successful lures for brown trout and redfin are red and silver No 2 Celta spinners and Rapala CD5 lures.

Flow can be low during summer but good permanent habitat and good stocks of fish are maintained in the deep pools. Predominant angling fish are brown trout to 1.8kg, (av. 500g), redfin to 1.5kg, (av. 100g), roach to 300g, tench to 1.5kg and short-finned eel. There are a few carp but they are not abundant. Other species are Australian smelt, common galaxias, flat-headed gudgeon, mosquitofish, goldfish, mountain galaxias, short-headed lamprey, spotted galaxias, southern pygmy perch and tupong. The creek used to be stocked with brown trout at Holden Bridge but has not been stocked since 1996. The success of natural spawning exceeds the capacity of the creek to support trout. The creek also contains platypus and water rats.

Maribyrnong River, Bulla I 12
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	Maribyrnong River, Arundell Road

Junction of Deep and Jacksons Creeks to Solomons Ford (The Ford is located at the end of Canning Street, Avondale Heights. Melway 27 B 8) The following fishways have been constructed: partial rock-ramps at Arundell Road weir, Brimbank Weir and McNabs Weir. Also a culvert at Brimbank Ford has been modified to allow fish passage.

A large river flowing in a deep valley through cleared farmland and then through Melbourne. Substrate is mud, sand, rock and boulders. Very extensive pools with sluggish flow and discoloured water. In dry years, the flow virtually stops during summer. Much of the river upstream flows through private property and many landholders are refusing access because of people entering without permission. Best public access is at Brimbank Park and by walking and bicycle tracks downstream to Solomons Ford. Contains brown trout to 600g, numerous tench and short-finned eel, some goldfish, roach and tupong and occasional Australian grayling. Also carries Australian smelt, common galaxias, flat-headed gudgeon, short-headed lamprey, goldfish, redfin, spotted galaxias, mountain galaxias, carp and mosquitofish.

The last trout stocking by the Department was in 1990.

Solomons Ford to Yarra River

The river widens into a sluggish, estuarine, deep-water channel. Access is very good at many parks and road crossings. A very popular fishing area is around the Raleigh Road Bridge near Anglers Tavern. Other areas are at the Flemington Racecourse, Canning Street Reserve, and Footscray Road Bridge. A variety of estuarine fish can be caught but most abundant are black bream to 1.5kg, although undersized fish (<26cm) are common. Trevally, mullet, flathead and carp can also be taken. Best fishing results appear to be during the incoming tide. The use of berley and floating rigs with unweighted baits has been successful in catching mullet and black bream. Bottom baits with a running sinker can also be used. A variety of baits such as maggots, bass yabbies, sandworms, chicken liver, worms, prawns, pipis and dough are used.

Riddells Creek, Macedon E 6
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Flows from forest then through farmland. Substrate is rock, boulders gravel and some patches of mud. Channel width is mostly 2-3m, with some pools up to 7m wide. Water depth is mostly 45-80 cm with pools to 110cm. Has a low flow during summer. The creek has excellent habitat for brown trout. Access is restricted by private property and also by dense bank vegetation. However some access can be had at road crossings with the picnic area near the town of Riddells Creek being a popular fishing spot. Carries brown trout to 450g, small redfin and short-finned eel. Not stocked with trout by the Department since 1978.

Rosslyne Reservoir, Gisborne D 7
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195ha. 24,700 ML.

Domestic water storage managed by Western Water. Not open to fishing or boating.

Taylors Lakes, Taylors Lakes I 12
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Not on Map Melway 13 J 1. No recreational facilities

A series of 6 small lakes located on Taylors Creek, surrounded by open land. The lakes are controlled by Melbourne Water Authority and the Reserve is managed by Brimbank City Council. Fish are redfin to 1.5kg, carp to 3.5kg, goldfish and rainbow trout. Stocked with 200 rainbow trout for the 2^nd and 3^rd term school holidays. (One of the Small Waters stocked by the Department to provide angling for children). Popular fishing methods are baits such as worms, corn and yabbies to catch carp, short-finned eel and small redfin, and various spinners and lures to take trout and larger redfin.

Lamprey
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Lampreys are a very primitive form of fish. They are superficially eel-like, but can be readily distinguished by having a row of 7 gill openings on each side of their head, and by the absence of paired fins. They have a cartilaginous skeleton, no scales and no jaws. The mouth of adults takes the form of a sucking disc lined with horny teeth. They feed by attaching themselves to other fish and rasp away their flesh.

Adults spend most of their life at sea and migrate into rivers to spawn. Migration occurs over an extended period but the peak is from September to November. Lampreys are only active when it is dark, and burrow into the stream bed at other times. Because of this behaviour, and the fact that they do not feed on their upstream migration, they are seldom seen and little is known of their spawning activities.

It is thought that spawning takes place in shallow fast water on sand and gravel substrates. A spawning "nest" of pebbles may be constructed in the stream bed, and females produce up to 13,400 eggs. Adults probably die after spawning. The larvae are called ammocoetes. They are worm-like and blind and live in the fine sediments in the substrate of slow flowing areas of the stream. They filter feed on small organisms and over the next 3-5 years grow to about 150mm in length. They then metamorphose into miniature adult lampreys complete with eyes and rasping mouths and migrate to sea in the late spring.

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