SUNDAY'S the day to pick up a fishing rod and join up with the local anglers for a trip to Lake Hamilton.

Gone Fishing Day is an opportunity to highlight recreational fishing as a sport, leisure activity and a chance to connect with the local environment.

To mark the occasion, which is set for this Sunday, 9 October, the Casterton Angling Society is making the journey to Hamilton for its next competition

It is the third scheduled event for the club after its trips to the Ess Lagoon and most recently the Konongwootong Reservoir in September.

While Brian Murrell said the club would not be going all out for Gone Fishing Day, he hoped the occasion would encourage more locals to have a go at the sport.

“We hope people will take a chance to go somewhere different,” Mr Murrell said.

The club also has plans in place for an invitational carp fishing competition on the Glenelg River in Warrock in November.

Participation is limited to select clubs, with several invited from around the wider region.

Carp is an invasive species known for competing against native species for food as well as their feeding habits, which impact water quality by sucking up mud.

Their presence has impacted the populations of species such as the common black fish and the pygmy perch.

“Try and highlight the fact that they are a pest and … try and knock the numbers back a bit,” Mr Murrell said.