Brook trout to be stocked in Victoria

08 August 2016

Brook trout are being released into Lake Purrumbete near Camperdown this week, the first official release of the fish in Victoria.

Executive Director of Fisheries Victoria, Travis Dowling said anglers have often expressed a desire to have the species stocked into Lake Purrumbete.

"The brook trout is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family and although it is called a trout, it is actually a char," Mr Dowling said.

"The fish are not expected to grow large (a kilo fish would be big), but what they lack in size, they make up for in appearance.

"They are native to eastern North America, in the United States and Canada, but have been introduced into other countries around the world."

Mr Dowling said it's a striking looking fish, with a dark green to brown colour, with a distinctive marbled pattern and a sprinkling of red dots on its back, surrounded by blue halos along the flanks. The lower fins are often reddish in colour with white leading edges.

"The stocking is the first of a two year trial stocking the fish into the lake," Mr Dowling said.

"Lake Purrumbete supports a popular redfin fishery and is already stocked with Chinook salmon, brown trout and rainbow trout. If successful, the stocking will create a unique lake based brook trout fishery and thus adding to the range of fishing experiences available at Lake Purrumbete," he said.

"This complements the State Government's Target One Million plan to get more people fishing more often."