Angling Competition 19th & 20th October
Rhyll-Phillip Island Angling Club Hosts Successful 3rd Weekend Competition
The Rhyll-Phillip Island Angling Club (RPIAC) held its 3rd weekend angling competition for the 2024/2025 season on the weekend of October 19-20, 2024. This year, the competition coincided with the highly anticipated 2024 Phillip Island MotoGP event, allowing anglers to maximize their experiences in both angling and motorsport.
Competitors gathered to fish in the beautiful waters surrounding Phillip Island, including Western Port Bay and Bass Strait, targeting a variety of saltwater species. Despite starting with some rain and wind, the weather improved, offering participants a gentle breeze and sunshine to cast their lines. Over the weekend, a total of 63 fish were weighed in, featuring an impressive array of species, including snapper, King George whiting, trevally, gummy sharks, and calamari.
With recent reports of huge Snapper entering the bay, the $5,000 incentives for angling members with extraordinary catches, during a competition weekend, remains in the bank. The five eligible species nominated for each first-to-catch $1,000 prize, by equalling 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).
RPIAC encourages participation in recreational angling and children, aged 16 and under, receive complimentary membership to the angling competitions to develop skills and an interest in sustainable and responsible angling.
The competition featured several categories, with standout performances from young anglers. In the Squidgies Mixed Bag competition for participants aged 9 and under, Harley Griffin secured second place with three fish worth 50 points, while Saige Nicolaci claimed first place with four fish worth 75 points. In the Junior Weight and Junior Points competitions for anglers aged 10 to 16, Thomas Grogan excelled, weighing in a snapper at 770 grams and a King George whiting that earned 1288 points (460 grams) respectively.
In the senior divisions, Kate Jinnette triumphed in the Senior Female Points competition with a King George whiting worth 1442 points (515 grams). Brian Bowers took home the Senior Male Points award with the biggest King George whiting of the season, worth a massive total of 2170 points (775 grams). Tenille Preddice dominated the Senior Female Weight competition with a snapper weighing 2710 grams, while Trevor Gleeson secured the Senior Male Weight title with a remarkable 5610-gram snapper. Adding excitement to the competition, RPIAC is also running a Heaviest Snapper contest for fishing weekends in October and November. Currently, the leading catch is a 6200-gram snapper caught by Kevin Reid. Alex Bowden had an impressive weekend, winning both the Shark competition with a massive gummy shark weighing 13,950 grams and the Squid/Cuttlefish competition with a Southern calamari weighing 1365 grams. The Game Fish competition went uncontested, while John Wright claimed the Secret Weight prize with a trevally weighing 650 grams (secret weight 614 grams).
The post-competition presentation on Sunday was a great celebration of participation, made successful with the efforts of the volunteers on the day. Many thanks to Peter Rowan who was the weekend’s barbecue master, and the generous assistance from RPIAC’s sponsor Bakers Delight Cowes. The event showcased not only the talent of local anglers but also the vibrant community spirit surrounding the RPIAC. The club is open on Fridays from 5 pm and on competition weekends from 4 pm to coincide with weigh-in. The next competition will be held over the weekend of the 9th / 10th of November 2024. For more information about upcoming events or to join the RPIAC, visit their website at www.rpiac.com.
