Angling Competition 15th & 16th March 2025
New RPIAC Record Set for Kingfish with a 16.2 kg Catch!
With light winds and great weather on Saturday, and wind and abundant rain on Sunday, the 11th Rhyll-Phillip Island Angling Club (RPIAC) angling competition for the 2024/2025 season, held over the 15th and 16th of March, was a great success. Anglers ventured around the waters of Phillip Island in search of some worthy catches. At the close of weigh-in at 5:00 pm on Sunday the weekend’s tally was 39 fish, 1 shark, 1 game fish, and 1 cephalopod, ensuring the weekend’s Weigh-in Masters, Martin Xuereb, Duncan Firth, and Paul Goodwin, were fully engaged. The eligible species caught throughout the weekend included King George whiting, snapper, kingfish, salmon, mackerel, flathead, gummy shark, and cuttlefish.
RPIAC encourages all anglers to develop skills and awareness of sustainable and responsible angling and welcomes young anglers to engage in their angling competitions, offering complementary membership to children aged 16 and under. Participation involves bringing eligible species, caught during the competition weekend, to weigh-in at the RPIAC clubroom.
The weigh-in windows, between 4:00 pm and 5:00 pm on Saturday and Sunday, provided a forum for lively conversations and fishing tales to reveal the secrets of the deep, the weekend’s hotspots and the best techniques. Thanks to the weekend’s volunteers, Jill, Lorraine, Karen, Julie, and Ron, anglers and supporters were re-energised with beverages, barbecue sausages, and baked potatoes with cheese and coleslaw after the post-competition presentation.
The Squidgie Mixed Bag Points competition, for participants aged 9 and under, was another magnificent contest with Byron Griffin winning the Squidgies competition with 1 fish worth 20 points.
The Junior competition, for anglers aged 10 to 16, saw Ryan Brett claim prizes for the Junior Weight and Junior Points competitions. Ryan caught a great 1225-gram snapper, and a monster mackerel worth 1015 points (725 grams).
The Senior Heaviest Weight competitions were won with some impressive catches. Robert Monk and Lauren Wright delivered the biggest and the best in the weight competition, weighing-in a 1935-gram snapper and a 710-gram salmon, respectively. The Senior Points competitions were won by Michael Stefanakis and Anne-Marie Richards with some chunky King George whiting. Michael weighed-in a beast worth 1722 points (615 grams), and Anne-Marie had a beastie worth 1456 points (520 grams). The gummy shark of the weekend, with a clean weight of 3025 grams, was caught by Brendan Garlepp to win the shark prize. James Nicolaci impressed everyone, setting a new RPIAC record for a Kingfish with a gross weight of 16200 grams, surpassing the previous record of 15250 grams. James’ Kingfish won the game fish prize with a clean weight of 14600 grams. The Squid/Cuttlefish competition was won by Robert Monk, who caught a kraken cuttlefish, weighing 3220 grams. The Secret Weight prize was awarded to Sam Orr for his 565-gram King George whiting, which was closest to the weekend’s magic number (secret weight 562 grams).
With one more fishing competition remaining in the season, the odds of claiming an RPIAC Extraordinary Catch Incentive are fading. Each competition weekend has angling members mindful of the $1000 first-to-catch prizes for eligible species that equal or exceed the nominated weight. Only one of these have been claimed this season (King George Whiting greater than 1000 grams), and some possibilities remain: Snapper (10.0 kilograms), Gummy Shark (20.0 kilograms), Mulloway (25.0 kilograms) and Kingfish (25.0 kilograms).
The RPIAC clubroom is located adjacent to the Rhyll boat ramp and is open to members and visitors on Fridays (from 5 pm) and competition weekends coinciding with weigh in. The final angling competition for the 2023/2024 season will be held over the weekend of the 29th / 30th March 2025, where the Squidgie and Junior Club Champions will be announced. For further information about the club, events, competitions, and rules, please visit the website: www.rpiac.com
