Grade 5 students will have a shot at getting hooked on fishing, with free Little Angler Kits to be rolled out in schools next year.
on 20 October, Outdoor Recreation Minister Steve Dimopoulos announced the tender for the second batch of Little Angler Kits, which will be distributed to almost 1900 schools in time for the 2026 September school holidays.
The state government said the Little Angler Kits have everything a first-time fishing enthusiast needs to get started including a fishing rod and reel with line, tackle box with tackle, and an eight-page Kids’ Guide to Fishing outlining the basics of fishing safety, knots and rigs.
The Kids’ Guide to Fishing also provides advice on the best baits to use, peak fishing seasons and hot spots across Victoria as well as colour illustrations of freshwater and saltwater species likely to be caught.
The initiative is funded by recreational fishing licence fees.
The Victorian Fisheries Authority (VFA) is leading the Little Angler Kit rollout and has created a series of informative tutorial videos presented by VFA ambassador Lee Rayner and Michelle Brittain from the Women in Recreational Fishing and Boating Network with step-by-step instructions on how to get started.
Translated versions of the Kids’ Guide to Fishing, available in Vietnamese, Arabic, Hindi, Punjabi and simplified Chinese, complement the videos and are available from a kid-friendly web page at www.vfa.vic.gov.au/littleanglerkit
