Golden Tag competition

Recreational fishers have the opportunity to explore regional Victoria and land a tagged fish worth up to $10,000 as part of the Golden Tag competition which aims to boost tourism across the state.

The competition has hit several key milestones, with over $440,000 awarded to 160 winners since the competition kicked off.

Golden Tag has been extended to run through to 30 June 2023.

The Victorian Fisheries Authority started the Golden Tag competition in February 2020, successfully encouraging visitation to Gippsland and the state’s north-east as communities recovered from bushfires. It was later expanded state-wide to support local businesses following Victoria's lockdown restrictions.

Click here to view the full list of tagged waters and species.

There's still a number of $10,000 tagged fish out in waters across Victoria including the bushfire-affected areas in East Gippsland (Marlo, Bemm River, Tamboon Inlet, Lake Tyers, Gippsland lakes, Mallacoota), the North East and Alpine regions.

In addition to the $10,000 tagged fish, more than 950 remaining $2,000 tags are also in these areas. Golden Tags of both values were spread across the state with more species to catch and more locations to share in the bounty.

Trout have been tagged in South West Victoria’s famous crater lakes of Purrumbete and Bullen Merri, along with Bellfield Reservoir in the Grampians. Australian bass have been tagged in Gippsland’s Snowy River as well as Glenmaggie and Blue Rock lakes.

In northern Victoria, the fishing mecca of Lake Eildon hosts a particularly valuable catch of cod and yellowbelly. Murray cod and golden perch were tagged in the Sunraysia’s Lindsay River and Kings Billabong.

Fishers can follow the Burnanga trail along the Goulburn and Ovens rivers to the Murray and chase tagged Murray cod during cod open season. Burnanga means cod in the language of the Yorta Yorta people.

Thanks to the Victorian Government’s $35 million Go Fishing Victoria commitment to open access to waters like Upper Coliban, Lauriston, Tullaroop and Barkers Creek reservoirs, you 'll be able to launch your tinny in central Victoria and try your luck for a tagged fish. The far west coast around Portland has scored tagged southern bluefin tuna and Rocklands Reservoir’s thriving native fish population has been bolstered with tagged fish, completing the list of additional locations.

Click here to read up on the rules of the promotion and frequently asked questions.

Click here to read the terms and conditions of the promotion.

* - Murray cod are subject to a closed season. The closed season runs from 1 September to 30 November inclusive. The closed season does not apply to Lake Eildon, waters south of the Great Diving Range except the Yarra River and waters in the Wimmera and Millicent basin except the Wimmera River.