Prized catches in sight for Streaky Bay locals at 2024 Family Fish Day

Many recreational fishers in one of South Australia's most iconic fishing towns are preparing for a fun-filled day on the jetty as the 2024 events calendar heats up across the Flow FM network.

Image credit: Flow Media archives

Streaky Bay's annual Family Fish Day is one of the most anticipated events on South Australia's West Coast and Gary Finch, one of the organisers of the event, appeared on the Country Viewpoint program to outline the day's agenda to listeners as well as the history of the event and how it is received interstate.

"It's our 21st anniversary which is phenomenal in itself and one of the comments we get from a lot of interstate visitors to Streaky Bay is they wish that they also had a community event like this every year," Finch said.

"We have a lot of people coming back to Streaky Bay, just enjoying obviously the surrounds, the health of the bay, good fishing, and obviously the camaraderie from year to year from this event.

"Registration on the day will commence at 8.30, people get their wristbands as they come onto the jetty from the shore - that's for competitors from three years through to 17, It's a scaled fish event, so it's a catch and release policy."

Finch said one of the most appealing facets of the event was the prize pool on offer, keeping participants focused on the water and not on their phones and devices.

"We've given away $15,000 in prize money over time and also probably around $10,000 in fishing tackle...and this year again there's some great cash prizes which keep people focused on fishing and not on their iPhone," said Finch.

"The largest catch this year is a $300 prize, the second largest is $200, we've got the heaviest catch at $10 per species and then all the anglers who get more than three species across the weight scales - they get $5 each, plus some very exciting trophies as well.

"That keeps everybody on point for the two hours of fishing between 9 and 11."

The Streaky Bay Family Fish Day will be held on Saturday the 6th of January in 2024 and is an initiative of the Streaky Bay Tourism and Business Association.