Fact Sheet for Lake Barrington

Introduction:

Lake Barrington is the second of three large freshwater hydroelectric impoundments constructed across the Forth River and is close to the small township of Sheffield. The lake is subject to regular water level fluctuations but is the major recreational water on the Northwest coast. Lake Barrington caters for all aquatic water sports and is one of four lakes in Tasmania classified as recreational water. Excellent boat launching and camping areas are easily accessible.

Fishing Information:

Lake Barrington contains a large population of brown trout, rainbow trout and native blackfish. There have recently been some releases of very large adult Atlantic salmon into Lake Barrington with many of them weighing over 15 kilograms. The lake has also been stocked with large numbers of mature rainbow trout. Lake Barrington is regulated as an impoundment where all legal forms of freshwater angling is permitted and is open for fishing all year. Most trout range in weight from 200 grams to 1 kilogram but it is not uncommon to catch larger specimens of brown trout. Bait fishing is a very popular method but is restricted to only a few areas of shore due to the steep terrain. Trolling is the most popular and productive method of fishing Lake Barrington.

Fisheries Management Information:

This fisheries catch rates, harvest and angler effort are monitored using the IFS Angler Postal Survey. No monitoring of spawning runs is undertaken. Anglers should be aware that Lake Barrington has an international rowing course and that structures associated with the course need to be avoided, it is an offence to tamper with this infrastructure. As mentioned above Lake Barrington has been receiving Atlantic salmon ex broodstock on a fairly regular basis since 2004. These stockings combined with some adult brown transfers from Great Lake and rainbow trout stocking have been part of the IFS popular waters program which aims to provide diverse fisheries that operate all year near large population centres.

Region:

Northwest

Other Fish:

River blackfish (Gadopsis marmoratus)

Facilities:

Three launching areas can be found at Barrington, two at Kentish Park and Weeks Reach on the eastern side of the lake that are good quality boat ramps and one small launching area on the western side off Lake Barrington Rd. A camping area can be found at Kentish Park and toilets, barbeques, kiosks and picnic areas can be found at Weeks Reach (the rowing course) and Kentish Park.

How To Get There:

Take the B14 to Sheffeild or Barrington then the C143 where the lake can be accessed from the C140 or C141. The Western side can also be accessed from the Lake Barrington and Cethana roads that come off the Wilmot Rd.

Regulations and Species

Stocking Information

[View Stocking list as of 23-11-2009 (47 Entries)]