Fishing & Aquaculture

		Angling Waters of the Hopkins River Basin
			HOPKINS RIVER BASIN MAP (PDF 139Kb)
			ALEXANDRA LAKE
			BEAUFORT LAKE
			BOLAC LAKE
			BOOKAR LAKE
			BURRUMBEET CREEK
			BURRUMBEET LAKE
			CARTCARRONG LAKE
			COBRICO LAKE
			DAWSONS DAM
			DEEP LAKE
			FIERY CREEK
			GOLDFIELDS LAKE
			GILLEAR LAKE
			GREENHILL LAKE
			HOPKINS RIVER
			JUBILEE LAKE
			LEARMONTH LAKE
			LOGANS LAKE
			MERRI RIVER
			MOUNT EMU CREEK
			MUMBLIN LAKE
			MUSICAL GULLY RESERVOIR
			MUSTON CREEK
			NORVAL DAM
			NORVILLE DAM
			SHALLOW LAKE
			TEA TREE LAKE
			WINSLOW LAKE
			SALINE WEDGES IN ESTUARIES

A Guide to the Inland Angling Waters of Victoria
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Hopkins River Basin 36
MANAGEMENT | DIVERSIONS | HERITAGE | RAMSAR | FISH STOCKING | BEST FISHING WATERS | THREATENED FISH | ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS | SALINE WEDGES IN ESTUARIES

Lake Gillear

This basin is almost totally cleared for agriculture such as grazing and some broad acre cropping. Some small areas of low mixed species forest occur in the hills, north of Beaufort. All the rivers flow through grassland and riparian tree cover is usually absent apart from scattered individual trees. Mean annual rainfall is 700-1,000mm in the far north and south of the Hamilton Highway but the large central area only receives from 500-700mm.

The absence of forests, predominance of finely textured soils and low rainfall results in sluggish, mud-bottom streams, with low summer flows. Most waterways have quite high salinity levels during summer, which have the potential to adversely affect freshwater ecosystems. The volcanic rock results in some basalt, rubble and rock in the larger rivers. However the poor habitat conditions in most rivers is compensated by the numerous lakes, which provide excellent fishing.

Some lakes are brackish to saline. Short-finned eel are abundant and support a commercial fishery based at Skipton. The Hopkins River is the main waterway and its largest tributary, Mount Emu Creek, drains the eastern side of the Basin.

Management

Fisheries Victoria, DPI, manages stocking and fisheries policy. Compliance with fisheries regulations and angler contact is managed by South West Fisheries, DPI. The Victorian Inland Fisheries Strategy classifies Cartcarrong and Gillear Lakes as salmonid waters, Deep Lake and Greenhill Lake as quality salmonid waters, Burrumbeet and Learmonth Lakes as mixed species, Burrumbeet, Deep, and Learmonth Lakes as commercial eel fisheries and Mount Emu and Merri Rivers as mixed species waters. Management of the catchments is carried out by Glenelg-Hopkins Catchment Management Authority. Urban water is handled by Central Highlands Region Water Authority for waters east of Skipton, Grampians Region Water Authority north of Lake Bolac and South West Water Authority south of Lake Bolac. Irrigation and rural water use is managed by Gippsland & Southern Rural Water Authority.

Streamflow Management Plans have been completed for the Merri River.

Diversions

Water is diverted from St Enochs Spring to Skipton, from Fiery Creek to Beaufort and from Mason Creek to Willaura. From an unnamed stream to Glenthompson. Spring and ground water is sent to Caramut. Water from the Otway system (originating in Basin 35) is sent to Warrnambool, Purnim and Terang.

Heritage River Areas, Natural Catchment Areas and Representative Rivers

None in this Basin.

Ramsar Sites

Lake Bookar has been listed as wetland of international significance under the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran 1971).

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 most common angling species in the rivers are redfin and short-finned eel. Brown trout are only common in the lower Merri River (downstream of the weir) and in stocked lakes. Small native fish are quite common and widespread and very abundant in the upper Merri River. River blackfish are restricted to the freshwater section in the Mount Emu Creek and Hopkins River. They were probably more widespread before water salinity increased.

Freshwater Fish in the Basin

Threatened Fish Species

The Departmental of Sustainability and Environment has listed Australian grayling as Vulnerable, Yarra pygmy perch as Lower risk-near threatened and both species are also listed under the Flora & Fauna Guarantee Act 1988.

Environmental Condition of Waterways

The Department has assessed 83% of the total length of the waterways in very poor to poor condition. The reason is loss of treed riparian vegetation, severe bank erosion, sedimentation and poor water quality. The estuaries of the Hopkins and Merri Rivers are in good condition but the Hopkins River deteriorates upstream. Mount Emu Creek has been degraded into a shallow stream with only a few pools capable of supporting a trout fishery.

The major water quality issue is high salinity which occurs in all the major rivers and which is significantly higher during summer. Low dissolved oxygen levels are of concern and affect fish production and distribution in waterways such as Mount Emu Creek.

Saline and brackish groundwater extends throughout most of the Basin with fresh groundwater restricted to the southern coastal strip and northeast of Ballarat. The rivers, with the exception of the lower Merri River, have poor salmonid habitat but continue to be stocked each year because of high angler demand. The salmonids stocked in lakes provide a far greater return to anglers.

© The State of Victoria