A taste of good fishing to come

A PASSIONATE school of local fishermen has taken another step towards ensuring anglers can make the most of one of the most under-utilised lakes in the region.

FRESH STOCKS: Members of the fish stocking association prepare to release Australian Bass fingerlings on the far side of Lake Manchester. Picture: Contributed

A PASSIONATE school of local fishermen has taken another step towards ensuring anglers can make the most of one of the most under-utilised lakes in the region.

The Brisbane Valley Anglers Fishstocking Association has conducted the first release of 10,000 Australian Bass into Lake Manchester, planting the seed for a viable recrational fishery in years to come.

It seems there is no reason why the new arrivals shouldn't thrive, with a 2014 survey using Seqwater's electro fisher boat finding an abundance of bony bream and other small fish and crustaceans beneath the surface of Lake Manchester.

The December 5 release was only the second time that native fingerlings have been stocked into the lake, following the release of 1000 Mary River Cod fingerlings in January, 2015.

BVAFA secretary Joe Legrady said Mary River Cod numbers had been slowly replinished in the Brisbane River above Mt Crosby Weir as a result of the work of the stocking association over two decades.

"Mary River Cod have also been stocked in the river during this time, making this section of the river a popular recreational fishery," he said.

"This important and undeveloped section of the river below Wivenhoe Dam acts as a conduit to deliver water from the dam to the Mt Crosby Water Treatment Plant, supplying drinking water to Brisbane and surrounding areas.

"As a result of the Seqwater's Recreation Management review during 2013/2014, both Lake Manchester and Enoggera Reservoir were opened up for recreational use including paddle craft and fishing."

BVAFA received approval from Seqwater to stock both impoundments and currently has a Queensland Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry stocking permit to purchase and stock both Mary River Cod and Australian Bass.

The group's long-term plan is for both impoundments to be added to the Stocked Impoundment Permit scheme, which would secure a more permanent funding source to continue annual stocking.