Aussie Freshwater Fishing

🐟 Catch a Carp – More Than Just Fishing

Catch a Carp is a free, statewide community education campaign helping Victorians better understand one of our waterways’s biggest environmental challenges... European Carp.

Delivered across five community events throughout Victoria, the campaign combines recreational fishing, environmental education and community engagement to raise awareness of the impacts carp have on our rivers, lakes and wetlands.

In collaboration with OzFish Unlimited - Australia’s leading recreational fishing conservation organisation - and renowned carp educator Keith Bell, participants will discover how healthy waterways benefit everyone. Learn about habitat restoration, the environmental impacts of invasive carp, and watch live demonstrations on sustainable carp handling, processing and cooking. OzFish

Each event features:
🎣 Fishing Clinics
🌿 Habitat & Ecology Education
🍽️ Live Carp Processing & Cooking Demonstrations

This initiative is proudly supported by the Victorian Fisheries Authority through the Your Recreational Fishing Licence Fees at Work program, helping educate communities while protecting Victoria’s waterways for future generations. Victorian Fisheries Authority

Whether you’re an experienced angler or simply keen to learn more about our freshwater environments, there’s something for everyone.

NEXT EVENT: Albert Park Lake - Saturday August 1st

🌐 Keep up to date with upcoming Catch a Carp events and campaign information at:
www.fishcare.org.au/events

🎣 Catch. Learn. Protect.

Fishing package applications now open for Gone Fishing Weekend 2026! 🎣

Gone Fishing Weekend fishing packages support fishing clubs and fishing organisations to run their own event to promote and celebrate fishing on Gone Fishing Weekend (either Saturday 17 or Sunday 18 October 2026).

Successful applicants will receive a Gone Fishing Weekend fishing package which includes rod & reel sets, goodie bags and giveaways, circle hooks, fish measuring rulers and recreational fishing information and resources, to help deliver a fantastic community fishing event.

This is a great opportunity to showcase your club, engage with your local community, and introduce more people to the fun of fishing!

For more information on eligibility requirements and to apply, head to the NSW Government's webpage - https://www.dpird.nsw.gov.au/fishing/recreational/resources/go-fishing-nsw

📢 Applications close 11 August 2026

Don't miss out on this opportunity to host a family friendly fishing event and help more people discover the joy of fishing! Plus stay tuned for more information on the eight DPIRD Gone Fishing Weekend events being held across NSW in October.

Gone Fishing Weekend is proudly supported by NSW Government and with funding from the Recreational Fishing Trusts, as part of the 'Fish for life - Building a healthy fishing future' initiative.

The season for Murray Spiny Crayfish has opened today and will close on September 1st.

A long lived species, Murray Crays are one of the largest freshwater crayfish on the planet. Please remember the slot and possession limits to keep this iconic species available for generations to come. More can be found on the VFA fishing guide.

Whilst this will not be official up until August, (when tickets officially go online) I've managed to come up with the final draft introducing our 4 main key guest speakers for this year's Australian Fishing & Outdoor Expo.

Stay tuned for more details as we get closer to the event.

📑 NEW STUDY: Danylchuk et al. carried out the largest survey of Murray Cod fishers, to explore perceptions around the recovery of this iconic freshwater species.

🐟 Species studied

Murray Cod (Maccullochella peelii)

🤔 The issue

Murray Cod is an iconic freshwater fish species in Australia with high cultural importance. Following declines, management and conservation efforts have helped Murray Cod populations recover to such an extent that the species now supports a vibrant recreational fishery.

👩🏽‍🔬 What did the researchers do?

The team surveyed over 3,500 anglers who fish for Murray Cod – the largest cod fisher survey to date.

💡 What did they find?

Most anglers believed that the quality of the Murray Cod recreational fishery has improved over recent decades and reported high satisfaction for Murray cod fishing in Victoria, consistent with population recovery.

Over 90% of anglers believed handling practices are important to the welfare of released Murray Cod and the Care for Cod Campaign was found to have assisted anglers to engage in better handling practices.

Anglers identified blackwater events and carp as major threats, and ranked fish stocking and current regulations (slot limit) as the most important fishery management interventions for sustaining the Murray Cod fishery.

👍 Any recommendations?

The study findings provide encouragement that our fisheries management actions have and continue to make a difference to the recovery of Murray Cod, including large scale hatchery production and stocking, habitat restoration, slot limits and improved handling of Murray Cod.

The recovery of Murray Cod is a fantastic case study that we can apply to the recovery of other threatened native fish species like Trout Cod and Macquarie Perch through the 10inTen program, an initiative in Victoria to recover ten threatened freshwater species in ten years.