The popular Goulburn Fishing Festival returns for another year in the beautiful town of Eildon, thanks to the Victorian Government, with anglers and their families coming together to celebrate the opening of trout season in rivers and streams.
Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes today announced the free festival, which will be supersized by the stocking of 1,500 rainbow trout weighing 3-4 kilograms each into the Goulburn River between Eildon and Molesworth, with Eildon Pondage receiving a further 500.
The free festival delivers fun for all levels of fishing expertise and highlights the unique freshwater fishing opportunities across the region, complementing the Government's $96 million Go Fishing and Boating Plan.
Hosted at Lions Park on Riverside Drive, Eildon, between 9am and 3pm on Saturday, 7 September, the festival boasts fish cooking demonstrations, an aquaculture stall featuring tastings of locally grown trout, fly casting lessons, live music, market stalls, face painting, and kids activities. The popular 7pm fireworks display over the pondage will round out the day.
Junior anglers will get the chance to head home with a free fishing rod after wetting a line at one of several free VicFishKids clinics led by Victorian Fisheries Authority (VFA) ambassador and angling expert Lee Rayner and supported by Fishcare. Participants can also help Snobs Creek hatchery staff stock live trout into the pondage.
Free hatchery tours will be on offer, providing a look at 75 years of continuous fish production history. Doors will be open at the new $2.7m conservation hatchery, where festival-goers can tour the facility's state-of-the-art technology, helping breed threatened aquatic species for release into the wild.
Across the weekend, visitors can try their luck fishing for a range of species, including trout, golden perch and Murray cod, in the pondage, all while taking in the natural beauty of the area. This is thanks to the Victorian Government's record-breaking stocking program, which has released more than 29.5 million fish in just the last three years, more than any other state in the country.
For all the details about the festival, including how to register for the children's free fishing clinics, visit vfa.vic.gov.au/goulburnfishfest
Quotes attributable to Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes
"The Goulburn Fishing Festival in beautiful Eildon is the perfect chance to get into the great outdoors with the whole family and try your hand at catching a trophy rainbow trout, which even die-hards would consider the fish of a lifetime."
"I can't wait to see families at the Eildon Pondage on Saturday, 7 September, enjoying the benefits of our continued investment in recreational fishing."
