The quiet village of Mylestom was bustling last weekend with more than 800 fishers of all ages casting a line for the 29th annual Putt Bennett Family Fishing Festival (PBFFF).
The family-orientated festival featured 809 entrants this year, and 122 different family teams packed out local caravan parks at Mylestom and Urunga.
Event organiser Chris Garrett said the three-day event attracts people from far west NSW and Queensland to compete with local families.
“It really is a unique fishing competition. It’s not just about catching the biggest fish, it’s about working together as a family team and making lifetime memories,” Chris said.
“It was fantastic to have so many kids this year. We also had a new section this year for a family team that have kids over 18 years old.”
“We’ve done that because some families have been coming for more than 20 years and their adult kids still want to be involved.”
The annual fishing festival is named after well-known local fishing identity Putt Bennett. Putt passed away in 1994 and the first festival was started in his honour after a $1000 donation from his friends and neighbours, Alex and Rhonda Lewis, and support from the local fishing club and the North Beach Bowling and Recreation Club.
“Its not just about fishing. It’s a festival that is all learning about our different species, how to catch and release them safely and looking after our local environment,” Chris said.
“We target nine different species each day. To be a winner, you have to learn about how to target certain fish with different bait and gear. It also spreads the load across all the captures, which takes the pressure off individual species.”
The three-day event featured a target species on each day with Friday being Flathead day then Whiting on Saturday and Bream on Sunday.
Other scoring species included Luderick (Blackfish), Sand Mullet, Mulloway (Jewfish), Garfish, Tailor and Dart. There was also a deep-sea section that included prizes for the largest Snapper, largest other fish and most fish caught.
“We had some great fish come in for the deep sea section, including a 2.9 metre sail fish,” Chris said
“It’s quite a rare catch for this area and the fish of a lifetime to catch. It took 45 minutes to reel in and unfortunately it did not make it in alive. They rang us at the time and tried everything to revive it.”
Fish eligible for a prize are transferred live to aerated ponds set up at the North Beach Bowling & Recreation Club Club, where PBFFF volunteers can further engage with young fishing enthusiasts. The fish are returned to their natural waters at the end of each day.
“There are only a few fish that don’t make it. We really do our best to look after our local fish species, and the catch and release competition is designed that way.”
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