A TOTAL of 20,000 rainbow trout fingerlings were put into Lake Oberon and reaches of the Fish River this week as part of an ongoing program attempting to rid the lake of redfin.
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The five-year program is now into its third year.
Because of the water level of the Fish River, only 6000 rainbows were put in that waterway, the remainder going into the lake in two consignments.
The fish were brought from the NSW Department of Fisheries Dutton hatchery in New England, and were put into the lake and river by hatchery staff and member of the Oberon branch of the Central Acclimatisation Society, which over the year stocks the district’s waterways with rainbow and brown fry.
Peter Byrom, treasurer of the Oberon branch of CAS, said the fish were in good condition and water quality and flow in the Fish River was good.
“In addition, the water is still cool, and this is a big benefit to the fish,” he said.
“There are stretches where there is lots of shade, and this keeps the water cool, which is ideal.
“I know a lot of people knock the willows, but the shade they provide is ideal, and that’s usually one place you are likely to catch a fish. Where the willows have been taken out, the water becomes warmer and you are very unlikely to land a catch, and those stretches of the river also deteriorate.”
Mr Byrom said it was hoped that the fry that had been put into the lake and river in the previous two years were now large enough to predate on the redfin.
