WENDOUREE resident Bill Hammond is a man on a mission. Frustrated by the failure of government departments to rid Lake Burrumbeet of high levels of carp, Mr Hammond has himself launched a competition to remove as many of the fish from the lake as possible. He is calling on local fishing enthusiasts to join the competition, which will be held on the last Sunday of each month from January to July. A small entry fee and raffle tickets will raise money for the 3BA Ballarat Christmas in July appeal and Mr Hammond believes the competition could remove thousands of carp from the lake. “We want to get rid of as many carp as possible and show the government departments just who can take care of ridding Lake Burrumbeet of these fish,” Mr Hammond said. “I have been fishing here since the 1960s and it has never been as bad as it is now. Something just has to be done.”Mr Hammond has contacted a number of local fishing associations and the City of Ballarat and hopes to coordinate with a commercial fisherman who operates on the lake. “All fish caught will be weighed for a monthly total amount to pass onto government departments to say this is what we are doing,” he said. Mr Hammond said the optimal time for dealing with the carp problem was when the lake was dry during the drought. During the drought, Mr Hammond said all of the carp could have been removed.“At that point it would have been liking shooting fish in a barrel but now there are thousands of them across square kilometres of the lake.” Planning is already underway for the first day of the competition, to be held on January 29. Mr Hammond hopes to have proper disposal facilities and public toilets in time for the competition, which will continue until July 29. “While the carp population in Lake Burrumbeet keeps growing, and the fish being caught are young, the chance of it becoming Red Fin water as it used to be is very unlikely,” Mr Hammond said. A spokesperson for the Department of Sustainability and Environment said yesterday patrols will be conducted to monitor rubbish levels at Lake Burrumbeet. On Tuesday, The Courier reported that parts of the lake shoreline were covered in litter and abandoned carp.