{"id":9536,"date":"2025-10-16T12:38:43","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T01:38:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/?p=9536"},"modified":"2025-10-16T14:31:19","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T03:31:19","slug":"2025-spring-carp-a-thon-hay-gone-fishing-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/2025-spring-carp-a-thon-hay-gone-fishing-day\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 Spring Carp-a-thon &#038; Hay Gone Fishing Day"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;]As the spring days began warming up, the Hay community came together for Hay Plains Landcare\u2019s\u00a0Spring Carp-a-thon. This year\u2019s event was a resounding success, with participants young and old sharing in the excitement of fishing, friendly competition and environmental care.<\/p>\n<p>Over the course of the Carp-a-thon, a remarkable\u00a0114 carp\u00a0were removed from our local waterways. These invasive fish have long threatened river ecosystems and every catch contributes to restoring a healthier balance for native species. Among the\u00a068 keen entrants, skill and persistence were on full display, with prizes awarded across junior and open categories.<\/p>\n<p>Carp-a-thon 2025 Prize Winners<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Junior Longest Carp\u00a0\u2013 Isac Manera, 80 cm<\/li>\n<li>Junior Most Carp\u00a0\u2013 Aubree Allen, 32 catches<\/li>\n<li>Open Longest Carp\u00a0\u2013 Bill Barnard, 78 cm<\/li>\n<li>Open Most Carp\u00a0\u2013 Karen Davis, 32 catches<\/li>\n<li>Mystery Length 40 cm\u00a0\u2013 Kailen Allen<\/li>\n<li>Mystery Length 50 cm\u00a0\u2013 Jacob Hudson<\/li>\n<li>Mystery Length 60 cm\u00a0\u2013 Aubree Allen<\/li>\n<li>Mystery Length 70 cm\u00a0\u2013 Kailen Allen &amp; Jacob Hudson<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The inclusion of \u201cmystery length\u201d prizes kept things exciting for all ages, rewarding sharp-eyed anglers who landed fish close to secret target measurements.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In conjunction with the Carp-a-thon, the\u00a0Hay Gone Fishing Day\u00a0at Sandy Point Reserve offered a relaxed, family-friendly atmosphere. Locals enjoyed a spot of fishing, plenty of giveaways and a free barbecue lunch that was perfect for refuelling after a morning on the riverbank.<\/p>\n<p>Competitions added a lively edge to the day. Young anglers showed off their casting skills in the\u00a0Junior Casting Competition, where Kenzi Van Gils took the win. In the\u00a0Open Casting Competition, Phil impressed judges and spectators alike. The ever-popular\u00a0Lucky Door Prize\u00a0draws saw big smiles from winners Di-Anne Mock, Eli, and Tara Green.<\/p>\n<p>Events like these thrive on volunteer dedication and this year the support from\u00a0Landcare\u00a0volunteers was invaluable. A heartfelt thank you goes to Bert, Geoff, Louise, John and Jade, who gave their time and expertise to keep things running smoothly. Their commitment to caring for our waterways is at the heart of the Carp-a-thon\u2019s success.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Our sincere thanks also go to our event sponsor,\u00a0Hay Lions Football &amp; Netball Club, whose support ensured that prizes, facilities, and community engagement reached their full potential.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>With the 2025 Carp-a-thon now wrapped up, we\u2019re already looking forward to next year. The 2026 event promises to build on the momentum, continuing the mission to remove these noxious fish from our rivers while creating memorable moments for all involved.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"hr-thin\"><\/div>\n<p>This program is proudly supported by the\u00a0Recreational Fishing Trust\u00a0and the\u00a0NSW Landcare Enabling Program, a collaborative initiative of\u00a0Local Land Services NSW\u00a0and\u00a0Landcare NSW, funded by the NSW Government. Additional support came from\u00a0Murrumbidgee Landcare Inc,\u00a0Landcare Australia,\u00a0Riverina Local Land Services,\u00a0NSW Fisheries and the\u00a0Gone Fishing Day\u00a0campaign.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/4&#8243;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;9538&#8243; img_size=&#8221;medium&#8221; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; style=&#8221;vc_box_circle_2&#8243; css=&#8221;&#8221;][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/4&#8243;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;9539&#8243; img_size=&#8221;medium&#8221; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; style=&#8221;vc_box_circle_2&#8243; css=&#8221;&#8221;][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/4&#8243;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;9540&#8243; img_size=&#8221;medium&#8221; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; style=&#8221;vc_box_circle_2&#8243; css=&#8221;&#8221;][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/4&#8243;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;9541&#8243; img_size=&#8221;medium&#8221; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; style=&#8221;vc_box_circle_2&#8243; css=&#8221;&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;]As the spring days began warming up, the Hay community came together for Hay Plains Landcare\u2019s\u00a0Spring Carp-a-thon. This year\u2019s event was a resounding success, with participants young and old sharing in the excitement of fishing, friendly competition and environmental care. Over the course of the Carp-a-thon, a remarkable\u00a0114 carp\u00a0were removed from our local waterways.&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":9537,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","iawp_total_views":12,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-grants","pmpro-has-access","category-1","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9536","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9536"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9536\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9544,"href":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9536\/revisions\/9544"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mli.org.au\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}