Angling Competition 16th & 17th March 2024

With only light winds blowing throughout the weekend, the 11th Rhyll-Phillip Island Angling Club (RPIAC) angling competition for the 2023/2024 season, held over the 16th and 17th of March, was a great success.  Anglers donned hats and sunscreen, venturing around the waters of Phillip Island in search of some worthy catches.  At the close of weigh-in at 5:30 pm on Sunday the weekend’s tally was 51 fish, 3 sharks, and 3 calamari, ensuring the Weigh-in Master, Alex Bowden, was fully engaged.  The eligible species caught throughout the weekend included King George whiting, snapper, pike, trevally, mackerel, flathead, gummy sharks, and southern calamari.

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 4:30 pm and 5:30 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.  Phillip Island Marine vouchers were awarded at the post-competition presentation and pizzas and salad re-energised anglers and supporters.

The Squidgie Mixed Bag Points competition, for participants aged 9 and under, was another close contest between brothers Harley and Byron Griffin.  Harley closed the weekend with 3 fish, worth 55 points, to finish in second place.  Byron went 1 better, winning the Squidgies competition with 4 fish worth 70 points.

The Junior competition, for anglers aged 10 to 16, saw the reigning Junior Club Champion, Denver Firth, take the prize for the Junior Weight competition with his 850-gram trevally.  The Junior Points competition was won by Loklan Newstead, who caught a princely King George whiting, worth 1148 points (410 grams).

The Senior Heaviest Weight competitions were won with some impressive catches.  Helen Ismail and Mike Clements delivered the biggest and the best in the weight competition, weighing-in a 1865-gram snapper and a 1525-gram pike, respectively.  The Senior Points competitions were won by Mark Griffin and Leah Valente with some chunky King George whiting, Mark weighed-in a beast worth 1834 points (655 grams) and Leah had a beastie worth 1694 points (605 grams).  The very best shark of the weekend, with a clean weight of 11300 grams, was caught by Stephen Degering who won the shark prize with a solid gummy shark.  The Squid/Cuttlefish competition was won by Martin Xuereb, who caught a splendid southern calamari, weighing 1730 grams.  The Secret Weight prize was awarded to Sam Linklater for his 510-gram King George whiting, which was closest to the weekend’s magic number (secret weight 529 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. None of these have been claimed this season, and some possibilities remain: King George Whiting (1000 grams), 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 6th / 7th April 2024, 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

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