It was the sixth year of the popular event in Bathurst.

In total, 165 fish of varying sizes were strung up on the riverbank – the largest weighing in at 6.05 kilograms. 

Bathurst’s Rod Evans, a man of few words, pulled in the monster carp from the bank  using worms as bait. It was one of six fish he caught yesterday. 

Mr Evans enters the Carp Blitz every year and says it’s a great event. 

Bathurst RSL Fishing Club president Eddie Allman said 550 people registered for this year’s Carp Blitz and there were quite a few on the other side of the river who didn’t.

Mr Allman said what surprised him was the fact no redfin were caught this time around, adding that they are just as much a nuisance as the carp.

A large number of children took part in this year’s blitz, enjoying fishing workshops on how to bait hooks and cast their lines.

“It makes you feel good to see parents and grandparents bringing their kids along to help us get rid of these feral fish,” Mr Allman said.

He said people were fishing both sides of the river, quite a few setting up down near the Eglinton Bridge.

The bait they using ranged from worms and corn to bread and even flies. 

In the end, although the number of anglers on the river was comparable to last year, the haul was down.

However, there were still a lot of stinky fish to get rid of. 

One woman took four bin-loads to use as stockfeed for her pigs.

A sponsor, Charlie Carp, a company which makes dynamic garden fertilisers, offered to take all the carp but in the end the distances involved were too great to make it practical.

Instead, Greg Alderman, of Empty Bins, volunteered one of his skips to receive the fish. He will also dispose of them.

As the afternoon wore on, carp started coming in by the truckload. 

Jim Squibb, his son Dusty, 4, and Daniel Gallwey, 17, had the biggest haul of 47 carp.

“We came down early, registered around 7.20am, and got stuck into it,” Mr Squibb said. 

They caught a couple of fish out by the bridge at Eglinton, and the majority out towards the Bridle Track.

By the time they got back, Dusty had conked out in the car.

“We had heaps of fun and wore the little fella out,” Jim said.

Dusty has been fishing in the Carp Blitz since he was a baby in his stroller.

A group of friends brought in 32 carp and released one yellowbelly.

One of their number, Nick Harvey, said they were fishing from canoes. 

Allan Wray, of the Central West Catchment Authority, a major sponsor of the Carp Blitz, said the event is great because it gets so many kids involved.

He said the number of fish on the line speaks for the success of the day.

“We are all for improving the quality of the river,” he said.

“It creates awareness about what the carp are doing to the environment and native fish species.”