When Horsham couple Brad and Rebecca Treloar decided to host Gone Fishing Day 2023 at Policeman's Paddock in Horsham, they had big dreams.
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A year later they've made those dreams come true for hundreds of people and no one needed their wallets to enjoy the day
"Gone Fishing Day is a national day to get people fishing, but for Brad Treloar, he had a personal mission," he said.
"I set myself a target to get 100 kids of X-boxes and into tackle boxes and by goodness we did it."
Mr and Mrs Treloar worked hard for the last 12 months, attracting 66 sponsors from local businesses and individuals and further afield, resulting in $32,245.00 in prizes and giveaways.
"The generosity of people was truly amazing," they said.
"I want to thank the sponsors, our volunteers and my wife Rebecca for helping make the day so successful. She has wrapped everything and developed the ticketing system, she's been amazing.
"We had 717 people of all ages register to fish. The men led the way with 165 registrations, closely followed by the ladies with 137 registration, 128 boys and 108 girls.
"I was so pleased to see so many children keen to register. We had 144 children under 6 years old register to fish and enjoy the day."
There were bound to be tales of the one that got away that night but for some lucky anglers, there were 151 catches.
All were successfully released except five trout and a catfish.
The free day also raised $459.60 for Beyond Blue, another cause close to Mr Treloar's heart.
"I've already got 22 sponsors locked in for Gone Fishing Day 2024, so we are off again," he said.
