They wiggled and squirmed as thousands of them splashed their way to freedom.
Big white buckets full of rainbow trout were hauled into Karkarook Park Lake in Melbourne’s south-east on Saturday by keen fishermen and women.
Leanne Ngo is a member of Women in Recreational Fishing and is excited about the thousands of fish being released before the school holidays.Credit: Nicole Precel
Two thousand of the fish species found their new home in Heatherton’s icy lake. They are among 35,000 fish being added to 70 lakes across Victoria, with the aim of getting kids off their screens and into the great outdoors during the school holidays.
The ready-to-catch rainbow trout – which are ideal for beginner anglers and can be caught with lures cast from the shore – are part of the $96 million Go Fishing and Boating plan. Victoria stocks more fish than any other state or territory.
Steve Dimopoulos, the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events, said the fish were being distributed in time for the school holidays.
“We are saying come to your local waterway, you don’t need an expensive boat, you just need a rod,” he said.
Keen fishers release some of the 35,000 fish at the Karkarook Park lake in Heatherton.Credit: Nicole Precel
“You’ll catch a fish in Victoria more than anywhere else in Australia.”
The release follows on from former premier Daniel Andrews’ 2022 pledge of $1.5 million over four years to give 95,000 free fishing rods to year 5 students, and all students at specialist schools. That program had varying levels of success: while some were excited to take up fishing, the ABC reported a number of students tried to re-sell the rods online.
At Karkarook Park Lake on Saturday, anglers waited excitedly as the large fisheries truck carrying the scaly cargo backed towards the water.
Clayton’s Leanne Ngo, a member of Women In Recreational Fishing, said she supported 4500 female members online and held conferences on knot tying and filleting.
Thary Hav, from Clayton, helped release the trout on Saturday. She often goes fishing with her two sons. Credit: Nicole Precel
“We partner with tackling shops as well, as sometimes women feel intimidated or ignored, we are holding talks and workshops on that,” she said.
She has an 11-year-old son she’s trying to entice back into fishing. “If you are focusing on kids, 30 minutes is enough,” she said.
“It’s just so enjoyable. It’s community-building as well,” she said.
Anglers have a daily bag limit of five trout, of which only two can exceed 35 centimetres.
Lakes stocked with rainbow trout include Albert Park Lake, Caulfield Racecourse Lake, Don Lake in Healesville, Ferntree Gully Quarry, Guthridge Lake in Sale and Spavin Lake in Sunbury. For a full list of family-fishing lakes visit Victorian Fisheries Authority.
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