Fisheries has released 50,000 fingerlings into Blue Rock and Glenmaggie Lakes.
This is the first stocking since the summer of 2002-2003. Stockings had stopped since the summer of 2002-2003 due to reliable sources becoming scarce and also there were difficulties producing a pure strain Gippsland Bass. Previous stockings in these lakes have been successful with anglers catching legal sized fish. Last year fisheries worked with the DSE and local anglers to catch mature wild bass and restart the breeding program under the 13.5 million dollar enhanced recreational fishing program.

I dont target bass, Never caught one so wouldnt know how good of a sport fish they are but this is excellent news for the future of Australian Bass. If you do catch them please return them back to the water as they are a native fish and there is pressure on there numbers.

They stock them like crazy up north and we are way behind here in Vic. In my opinion they are the number one sportfish native to this area and its about time the powers that be pulled their finger out and did something about the fact that they are in such low numbers and inaccessible to most victorians.

Part of the problem the VIC DPI had with stocking Bass was being able to make sure that the bass in Vic weren't a different species from the ones that occur in NSW as that was the only state that was breeding them and so there was some concern that if they took Bass from different areas IE NSW and tried to start a breeding programme they would be introducing genes from a different groups of Bass ,they found out that they all go out to spawn at sea and discovered that they are all the same genetic stock ,so that when they decided to start a Bass breeding programme .

Seems a bit stoopid though to start a Bass stocking programme while at the same time taking reddies off the noxious list ,which are probably one of the greatest problems when trying to decide to stock a river/lake due to the reddies ability to wipe out whole schools in the matter of hours

In saying that though better to make a start than not too do it at all


regards mick

Well if they start packing in the bass, hopefully they can tip the scales and start eating all the reddies.

They've taken them off the noxious list, what a backwards step! I can see why you have taken it on to remove them from our waterways.

Most times I've fished Glenmaggie & Blue Rock I've put on 75mm+ lures and still caught hoards of 100-150mm reddies, they have a go at anything that moves almost regardless of size! A school of 'em would make short work of released fingerlings.