Bush 'n Beach Fishing Magazine Location reports & tips for fishing, boating, camping, kayaking, 4WDing in Queensland and Northern NSW
The annual Boyne Tannum HookUp was once again held on the May Day long weekend, celebrating 29 years.
It lived up to its reputation of being Australia’s biggest family fishing competition, offering over $450,000 in angler and promotional prizes, its biggest prize pool yet.
Even with heavy rainfall in the fortnight leading up to and during the event, the persistent rain and wind over the weekend did not stop the dedicated crowd.
With entrants representing every state in Australia, an estimated 28,000 people were through Bray Park, Boyne Island over the three-day event.
Much loved favourites Andrew ‘Phippsy’ Phipps and David ‘Hodgey’ Hodge were back to enthusiastically host the weekend’s events, along with the dedicated committee who braved the elements, gumboots and all.
Anglers still managed to weigh in over 1100 fish, with bream, whiting and blue threadfin and king threadfin salmon being the most caught, given the poor offshore conditions.
The Boyne Tannum HookUp offered a great range of activities for the whole family, including amusements, information stalls, kids’ lure-throwing competitions, raffles, live music, food and drinks and a fantastic fireworks display on the Sunday night.
This year, the event expanded its ‘Kids learn to fish’ sessions under the skilful guidance of Hodgey the barefoot fisho.
Seventy-five kids participated in the five classes designed to give children the knowledge and tools to go out fishing, with each participant receiving a rod and reel combo.
New to the 2024 Hookup was the quickly sold-out ‘Ladies fish and sip’ sessions, a fun and friendly event where ladies were taught how to rig a line and learn some basics by Chris and Naomi’s Fishing and the Shimano crew with Dean Silvester.
Unfortunately, with the inclement weather, they didn’t get to test their skills out, however many were more than happy to network with like-minded females and walk away with a new fishing rod and reel and the knowledge to hit the water confidently, when the weather improved.
The Boyne Tannum HookUp committee is a keen advocate for encouraging families to get on the water, promoting sustainable fishing practices while encouraging a focus on environmental impacts and education.
The committee is already planning the big thirtieth anniversary celebration for next year’s event, from Friday May 2 to Sunday May 4, 2025.
This will be a significant milestone for the event that started on the banks of the Boyne River, with a chalk leader board and a group of dedicated members who wanted to give people a reason to stay in town over a long weekend.
As part of the celebration, the committee is asking for donations of historical photos for use as part of a visual history display.
Past and long-term entrants are invited to email images through to enquiries@boynetannumhookup.com.au
Keep up to date on the upcoming event on the Boyne Tannum Hookup Facebook page.
