Competition December 7-8th, 2019

The 5th Rhyll-Phillip Island Angling Club competition for the 2019/2020 season was held over the weekend of the 7th and 8th of December.  Warm and stable summer weather was absent on Saturday and revealed on Sunday.  Clearly, the recreational boaters and anglers were enticed by Sunday’s weather forecast as the carpark overflowed before many arose for breakfast.  Again, the key to a good day’s fishing was getting out early, beating the wind, and mixing up the bait.  Squid appeared to be a tasty favourite and juvenile snapper were abundant, a great sign of a healthy fishery.

The weekend-long fishing competition concluded at the close of weigh-in at 5:30 pm on Sunday and weigh-in masters, Sam Orr, Norm Trickey and Gerry Gibb, recorded the details of eligible species, comprising 53 fish and 2 sharks.  Snapper, King George whiting and trevally were the best fish of the weekend, complemented by gummy sharks, flathead and leather jackets.  The traditional post-competition presentation was well attended by members, including anglers and supporters.  Children and adults were delighted by the barbecue feast and the exceptional talents of Michael Toovey, Len Bates, Kaylene and David Fusinato.  Attendees were reminded that volunteers contribute greatly to the club’s events and that more volunteers are needed to spread the load and ensure ongoing success.  The events are a forum for current, new and prospective members to connect and share their passions.

Whilst the fish are becoming plentiful, cash incentives for extraordinary catches continue to be sought.  New names are appearing on weigh-in forms, providing additional motivation for members to participate in the weekend competitions.  The first to catch, members only, competition weekend incentives for five eligible species remain unclaimed.  The nominated species for a first-to-catch $1,000 prize, for fish equal to or exceeding the nominated weight, are: King George Whiting (1,000 grams), Snapper (10.0 kilograms), Gummy Shark (20.0 kilograms), Mulloway (25.0 kilograms) and Kingfish (25.0 kilograms).

Reigning Squidgie Club Champion, Denver Firth, continued to develop his angling skills in the competition for participants aged nine or younger.  Denver was very pleased to win the Squidgie Mixed Bag Points competition after catching 3 fish, totalling 60 points.

The Junior competition welcomed another contender who triumphed in both the Junior Weight and Junior Points competitions.  Will Koumis weighed-in a 400-gram King George whiting and a Stranger whiting, worth 620 points (155 grams), to claim all the glory in the Junior competition.

Similar to the previous competition, Snapper were the fish of choice in the Senior Heaviest Weight competition.  Peter Cubeta had the biggest, weighing 5,445 grams, whilst Debra Orr improved on her success with a specimen weighing 3,575 grams.  Senior Points competitions were won by Anthony Koumis and Leah Valente for presenting their catches to the weigh-in masters, a King George whiting worth 1,344 points (480 grams) and a trevally also worth 1,344 points (960 grams), respectively.  Proving that fishing is indeed the key to happiness, John Reid continued to impress and claimed the Senior Shark competition, weighing in a gummy shark of 7,200 grams.  Reg Wenham got another lovely surprise from his 645-gram trevally, the feisty fish may have lost a gram in the fight but was close enough to win the Secret Weight competition (secret weight 646 grams).

The next competition will be held over the weekend of the 11th / 12th of January 2020.  For further information about the club, events, competitions and rules, please visit the website:  www.rpiac.com

No Replies to "Competition December 7-8th, 2019"


    Got something to say?

    Some html is OK