IN April 2017, Jason Castles of Sunbury caught a thumping Chinook salmon from Lake Purrumbete that weighed 8.22 kg or 18 lb – the largest confirmed Chinook salmon caught in Victoria since at least 2007.
Jason had the fish mounted and donated the otolith (fish earbone) to Fisheries managers to determine the age of the fish.
The otolith revealed the fish was just over four years old and was stocked in 2014 as a yearling. That’s a solid growth rate from Victoria’s fantastic Crater Lakes. As Chinook salmon live to over five years old, we expect even bigger fish to come from the Crater Lakes in the future.
We’re also trialing the release of smaller Chinook salmon grown in temperature controlled conditions at our Snobs Creek Hatchery to grow even bigger fish.
Do you think monitoring our fisheries is important? Should we promote the Crater lakes as a key fishing destination?
Check out the the Draft Freshwater Fisheries Management Plan HERE and send the Victorian Fisheries Authority your thoughts in a submission before March 22.
