ANGLERS from Bathurst and Sofala in western NSW recently removed over a tonne of carp from their local waterways.
The Bathurst Carp Blitz removed around 1000 kilograms of the feral fish from the Macquarie River on November 6. Participants in the Sofala Blitz accounted for 130kg of carp from the Turon River.
What the Sofala event may have lacked in quantity of carp caught, the size of some individual fish more than made up for it. Fly fisherman Peter Hanrahan landed a massive 9.17kg carp (20.5 lb ) using a pink bead head Woolly Bugger fly.
Fred Pearce also caught a monster carp which weighed in at 8.32kg.
The biggest fish landed during the Bathurst Blitz turned out to be not the target species, but a 7.23kg golden perch caught by Kyle Ryan on a Stump Jumper lure.
All kids who attended received a prize with 24 receiving new rods and reels generously donated by Pure Fishing.
NSW DPI’s Brett Smith ran kids’ fishing clinics throughout the day and these were hugely successful and sought after by kids and adults alike. Brett was ably supported by Fishcare Volunteers as well as NSW DPI Fisheries Compliance Officers. Clayton Miller, from the Central West Catchment Management Authority, was in attendance, supplying financial support and prizes.
Other prize winners on the day included Craig Murphy who had the biggest bag, Kira Roach’s fish matched the secret weight, and Bink Osborne was the oldest registered angler.
Lacy Wright was the youngest angler and Penny Murphy caught the biggest redfin.
Almost $2000 was raised on the day, to be used to purchase native fish for release in the Turon and Crudine rivers.
