Australia's largest freshwater fishing competition, GoFish Nagambie, is expected to attract thousands of visitors to the Murray region this weekend.
The inaugural four-day event will see more than 5,000 anglers take to the Goulburn River to compete for a stake in the $500,000 prize pool.
Off the water, the GoFish Festival Hub will showcase the best of Central Victoria's food and wine, fishing, camping and marine businesses while some of Australia's top fishing experts will run educational programs to promote sustainable fishing practices and inspire young fishing enthusiasts.
The family-friendly entertainment program will also feature some of the best Victorian homegrown talent including Grim Fawkner, the Iain Archibald Band and Knot Music.
GoFish Nagambie adds to Victoria's year-round calendar of popular fishing events including Hooked on Lakes Entrance and Hooked on Portland.
These events are supported through the Andrews Labor Government's $46 million Target One Million Plan which aims to get one million anglers fishing across Victoria by 2020.
Tourism is vitally important to Nagambie and the wider Murray region with more than 5.8 million domestic and international visitors spending $1.5 billion in 2018.
The Government's $20 million Regional Events Fund promotes a strong calendar of events that work to attract visitors to regional Victoria.
GoFish Nagambie runs until 28 April.
For more information visit gofishnagambie.com.au
As stated by Minister for Fishing and Boating Jaala Pulford
"Victorians love to fish and we're proud to support the GoFish Nagambie festival which is great for the local economy and even better for tourism in the Murray region."
"We want to see more Victorians fishing more often and festivals like this go a long way to getting more people out on the water."
