A plan to turn Lake Kununurra into one of Australia's greatest fishing locations is starting to take shape thanks to a barramundi stocking program.

In 2012, the West Australian government allocated $700,000 towards the program, which has seen about 550,000 barramundi fingerlings released into the lake.

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Lake Kununurra stretches 55 kilometres from Lake Argyle to the Diversion Dam, cutting through the picturesque gorge country of the East Kimberley.

Local angler Dick Pasfield said after a lot of hard work, the results of the stocking program were starting to show, with some locals now catching metre-long barramundi.

"I've caught numerous metre-plus barra [but] if I told you how many, you'd probably throw me out of the boat," he said with a smile.

"And we're catching them so close to town! It's just location, location, location for barra."

Curt McCartney with a Lake Kununurra barra ( Supplied: Dick Pasfield )

Regular stocking must continue

Mr Pasfield said Lake Kununurra could become a fishing paradise for the Kimberley and had the potential to create all kinds of economic benefits to the region.

But he said the stocking program needed to continue to maintain the health of the fishery.

"The current project is finished; the 550,000 fish have been released into the lake, and what we've got to do is find a way to maintain, in some fashion, that stocking rate," Mr Pasfield said.

"What that rate is, we don't know yet, but we've got to be able to put barra into the lake regularly.

"As fish filter through the system and head down the lower Ord [to breed in the saltwater], we know that will occur, and we've got to be able to manage the fishery so we're replenishing what's leaving the system."

A meeting will be held in Kununurra next Monday to discuss future stocking options for the lake.

Kununurra local Nicholas Allen with a Lake Kununurra barramundi ( Supplied: Dick Pasfield )

"A successful barramundi fishery on Lake Kununurra would be one of the more significant drawcards to the region, bringing in tourism dollars spread across many businesses," Mr Pasfield said.

"Additionally, it will provide a great fishery for locals who would be able to combine everything they currently do on the lake, such as swimming and picnicking, with fishing for barramundi, involving all the family in a safe environment — something not possible on the lower Ord River."