The Wimmera River is the largest land-locked river in Victoria. The river's headwaters are near Mt Cole and the Pyrenees Ranges. It flows westwards across the foothills of the Grampians and at Horsham it turns north and flows for about 150 kilometres, terminating in Lake Hindmarsh.
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In times of peak flow its waters will reach the Ramsar-listed Lake Albacutya. The Avon and Richardson rivers are smaller land-locked rivers in the Wimmera Basin. Both rivers start in the Pyrenees; the Avon flows into the Richardson, which terminates in Lake Buloke, near the town of Donald.
The Wimmera River, which also runs right through Horsham, is an excellent spot for golden perch (yellow belly), silver perch, eel-tailed catfish and redfin. It has the most abundant population of catfish in Victoria, which makes for some great angling. Other popular areas of the Wimmera River are at Dimboola, Antwerp and Jeparit.
There are many boat ramps and picnic areas along the rivers length.
The Wimmera River marks the eastern boundary of Little Desert National Park. During summer the river dries to a series of pools that retain permanent habitat.
The river is a magic place for anglers willing to paddle kayaks. The locals say there are fishing holes all the way from Horsham to Jeparit and it’s easy to work a kayak over the shallow sections.
It is just about the only place in Victoria where catfish up to two kilos are the major part of the catch. The catfish were brought to the river from the Murray River by some local anglers over several generations.
The population of catfish boomed, and their numbers are credited with keeping carp numbers low. Catfish are an aggressive, predatory species; the flathead of the river they say.
You can use a simple bucket of worms, a running sinker rig with a No. 4 medium shank hook, and/ or some peeled, raw yabbie tails as bait. Catfish are nocturnal feeders and bite best from dusk through to midnight, so take some anti-mosquito precautions.
They warn to take care though. Catfish have three spines that will spike and inflict a stinging pain similar to a flathead. The spikes are located on the dorsal fin and on each pectoral fin.
Best try for those yellow bellies first.
For more details: http://www.mdba.gov.au/