One Last Time

[Paulanderson]

Thanks for the great story and pics - Macquarie Perch tend to be a forgotten species among many for sure but at at least it is good to see that efforts are being made to re-establish a viable population in the Ovens River. Let us hope that the breeding program at Snobs Creek goes from strength to strength and we see many more of these important fish in our waters.

[Boonanza]

Thank you Truedogz for an awesome report for such a rare but magnificent species. Maccas are definately my favourite natives to catch and there are still good numbers in certain Victorian streams. :nicefish: :good:
To anyone reading this thread please show some respect DO NOT send Truedogz a PM asking for this location.

[Truedogz]

Paul

The program at Snobs from what I can see is not going from strength to strength. And Native Fish Australia no longer catches brood stock from the Yarra River for the breeding program at Snobs. Some of those blokes at NFA have put decades of effort into trout cod and Macquarie perch - if you treat the public with contempt you can't expect them to help. Worryingly, there is growing evidence that the Yarra River population is in decline.

There was huge effort made by a small group of dedicated anglers to get this breeding program up and running (and the one in NSW) as we realised it was probably the last roll of the dice. I was at the meeting to kick off the project and watched one or two people throw huge obstacles in the way. For example, one person said she was speaking 'on behalf of the fish'. She strongly objected to removing twenty fish from the wild to be the nucleus of the breeding program. Even though we pointed out it is legal to catch and eat one Macquarie perch a day for over two hundred days a year she just made life difficult. The fact that later on 1000 adult perch were translocated from Lake Dartmouth to the Ovens proved that taking 20 fish was inconsequential. But it is typical of the mentality that just blocks progress.

I hope the Ovens project succeeds but I give it less than a 50/50 chance now. The evidence from trout cod is you have to pump in fish over a long period to establish a self supporting population and with declining availability of fingerlings the Ovens might not get to the 'critical mass'.

At that initial meeting it was agreed that the Ovens River stocking was for dual conservation/recreational angling purposes - that is if a large population develops that angling will eventually be introduced. Remember, the breeding program was initiated and financed by money from anglers.

We were promised that with trout cod in the Ovens in the 1980s and supported trout cod recovery for over three decades. Does anyone here believe DELWP will honour that agreement with Macquarie perch based after what happened with trout cod? There are some great people is some of these agencies, while others just loathe anglers. Some powerful people think that native fish in rivers should be totally protected. What they don't seem to get is you have to encompass the values and aspirations of the whole community and not just the 'chardonnay greens' and their ideology.

I am an angler. But I also have been a wildlife carer in the past. Because I go fishing does that mean my views on conservation are irrelevant?

You will need big bucks to bring maccas back. With trust in scientists and managers shattered after what happened with trout cod you can understand the attitude of anglers of only putting money only into fish which they are certain they can target - Murray cod and golden perch.

Its an absolute tragedy and that is why I have written this.

Truedogz

[davek]

Paul

The program at Snobs from what I can see is not going from strength to strength. And Native Fish Australia no longer catches brood stock from the Yarra River for the breeding program at Snobs. Some of those blokes at NFA have put decades of effort into trout cod and Macquarie perch - if you treat the public with contempt you can't expect them to help. Worryingly, there is growing evidence that the Yarra River population is in decline.

There was huge effort made by a small group of dedicated anglers to get this breeding program up and running (and the one in NSW) as we realised it was probably the last roll of the dice. I was at the meeting to kick off the project and watched one or two people throw huge obstacles in the way. For example, one person said she was speaking 'on behalf of the fish'. She strongly objected to removing twenty fish from the wild to be the nucleus of the breeding program. Even though we pointed out it is legal to catch and eat one Macquarie perch a day for over two hundred days a year she just made life difficult. The fact that later on 1000 adult perch were translocated from Lake Dartmouth to the Ovens proved that taking 20 fish was inconsequential. But it is typical of the mentality that just blocks progress.

I hope the Ovens project succeeds but I give it less than a 50/50 chance now. The evidence from trout cod is you have to pump in fish over a long period to establish a self supporting population and with declining availability of fingerlings the Ovens might not get to the 'critical mass'.

At that initial meeting it was agreed that the Ovens River stocking was for dual conservation/recreational angling purposes - that is if a large population develops that angling will eventually be introduced. Remember, the breeding program was initiated and financed by money from anglers.

We were promised that with trout cod in the Ovens in the 1980s and supported trout cod recovery for over three decades. Does anyone here believe DELWP will honour that agreement with Macquarie perch based after what happened with trout cod? There are some great people is some of these agencies, while others just loathe anglers. Some powerful people think that native fish in rivers should be totally protected. What they don't seem to get is you have to encompass the values and aspirations of the whole community and not just the 'chardonnay greens' and their ideology.

I am an angler. But I also have been a wildlife carer in the past. Because I go fishing does that mean my views on conservation are irrelevant?

You will need big bucks to bring maccas back. With trust in scientists and managers shattered after what happened with trout cod you can understand the attitude of anglers of only putting money only into fish which they are certain they can target - Murray cod and golden perch.

Its an absolute tragedy and that is why I have written this.

Truedogz

Well said, :thumbsup: cheers davo

[barra mick]

Not only a greatt read but top quality angling there will

Love your work

Cheers bm

[4liters]

It'd be nice if some of the time and effort they put into stock trout could be put towards silver perch instead. From the looks of it they can be caught using the exact same methods, I guess it's just some people must get a bit misty eyed about trout for whatever reason.

[Truedogz]

Thanks gents.

I'd rate this trip up there with some of the best in my life. For some it would be a once in a lifetime experience but I was lucky enough to have experienced it in my youth.

I think you can understand though why it has upset me. Everybody should be able to experience it.

Dave, thanks for your support. You are one of the few people I have ever trusted with the location of these fish - it reflects the high esteem everyone on this site holds you in.

And I know you don't need convincing that some of these old lures work great :victory: - I'm looking forward to our next 'fish off' between sps and hardbodies.

I'm off tomorrow down to my best mate's place at Koo Wee Rup - the name is aboriginal for "swims blackfish".
Maybe at the end of the week I'll post some pics of wee-rups.

Best Wishes

Truedogz

[spudtrans]

fantastic report and read, thank you for taking the time to do this report, cheers

[Truedogz]

4 Litres

Silver perch and Macquarie perch are not the same fish, though people often confuse them. Both actually fight quite well but it is the Macquarie perch that get into really high altitudes, but they also went downstream too.

The problem is not about diverting money from trout into natives - that might have been an issue 30 years ago. The impasse is some people in government have used angler goodwill (and money) in the past only to later go back on agreements.

The only way forward for is those people to support stocking in rivers and streams of trout cod and Macquarie perch for angling. If they announced that then there would be a groundswell of support from anglers to really put money into Macquarie perch.

I can't see them doing that though. They think they are unaccountable to anyone, which sadly is probably true. It is ideology winning over pragmatism.

Truedogz

[4liters]

4 Litres

Silver perch and Macquarie perch are not the same fish, though people often confuse them. Both actually fight quite well but it is the Macquarie perch that get into really high altitudes, but they also went downstream too.

The problem is not about diverting money from trout into natives - that might have been an issue 30 years ago. The impasse is some people in government have used angler goodwill (and money) in the past only to later go back on agreements.

The only way forward for is those people to support stocking in rivers and streams of trout cod and Macquarie perch for angling. If they announced that then there would be a groundswell of support from anglers to really put money into Macquarie perch.

I can't see them doing that though. They think they are unaccountable to anyone, which sadly is probably true. It is ideology winning over pragmatism.

Truedogz

I didn't know that, I thought they were the same species. What I meant by the trout is that they most likely compete for food and habitat with the perch which drives the population down.