G’day Crew,

Well what a wicked winter we have endured!  Wind, swell, cold and did I mention the cold, and water temperature that kept the fish way out wide made for good reason to head north!  Bring on summer! Let’s get into it…

Comps etc ….
The gummy comp held over the winter months was a bit of a fizzer with just a few signed in. However, at times the good old gummy did help to keep at least some fish on the table.

The 2nd period of the whiting comp had a very short window of opportunity, basically they were mainly caught in a 2 week period and if you weren’t there, they were gone. Max Balcome and Trevor were the stand out takers of good numbers, all bit it only on a few days.

The annual Ken Wall freshwater comp held in Aug was yet again blown out at Bullin Merri, and the added issue of bad water quality meant no fish were taken. The 2nd Ken Wall weekend was moved to lake Purrumbete in Oct  but again wild conditions meant no fish were caught. This is an event when even if you don’t catch fish you still have plenty of fun with the crew! Try again next year!

So we moved into spring and again the wind decided to often keep our boats in dry dock!
But the usual suspects of old retired dudes when braving the conditions found some days to hit the water to scrape in a gummy or a load of rubbish, at least we got wet.   Boy the weather has been tough on us this year!

Amongst the weather mayhem the brag board does show some good fish were taken throughout the year, but I can you tell ya nothing in big quantities!  But I’ve gotta say a few monster Flathead have been weighed in, biggest 2.7kg.

I have to give mention to the new and very lively crew who have appeared on our radar, yes the intrepid lady fishermen, Anna and Carla.  Great to see them out, enthusiastic to say the least, and showing up the boys on their given day with a cool catch of snapper to 4kg and one of those monster Flathead I spoke of at 2.5kg.
But as we’ve all had to do the girls had to earn their stripes, ….yes Anna got spiked by a Gurnard, and those of us who have joined that club, OUCH, you know what it means.  We love ya work ladies, fantastic to see you out!!!!

Another special mention, this time to Trevor, our past Commodore gave up his time to run an informative day on fishing Torquay. He covered beach launching, trailer set up, the do’s and don’ts, rigs for our area, fishing techniques, and generally how to enjoy fishing off Torquay. For the experienced and newcomers it was a great insight from one of our club’s masters.

Don’t know if you follow the McLoughlin boys and their mates antics on Facebook, but again this year with the refit of their new secret weapon, the MEGA tinny, they continue to find fish, Gummies mostly, and inspire the rest of us to get out there more….come on Kev give up some secrets mate 🙂

A few hard core local guys got onto the barrels off Portland this winter, Col Shepard and his buddies landed rippers!

Snapper season…what can I say as the wind and swell punch through the club rooms doors, slow to start, not huge numbers caught as yet and mostly around 2kg to max 4kg with the biggest to date at 6.4kg by Peter Gaylard. Pete and his mate had a day out with good number brought home, a few others have had good days too.   Gotta be out there guys!   We still have until Jan 26th to knock Pete off the top stop of the comp.  STOP THE PRESSES!!!

Luck’s a fortune, I hit the water early this morning water with Mike Estcourt, who usually out fishes me 2 to one and in size too, but not today!  Yours truly brought home the chocolates with an 8.4kg snapper! Pretty stoked!

Whats on now?
Until Jan 26th, being the end of the 19/20 fishing comp season, we have the Flathead, shark and snapper comps.  Gotta be in it to win it, sign in your fish to enter the mystery weight prize for each comp, or better still catch a ripper and take out 1st prize.

To finish off….
Held on Sunday Dec 6th, with a small government grant and huge effort by club members and committee, a try fishing event was held at spring creek with over 50 adults and kids attending. Some lovely weather and enthusiastic people made sure everyone had a great day!  Thanks Carla, Trevor, Jeff, Mike, Mike, Sharpie and all other helpers!

Merry Xmas, have a great and safe new year!

See ya out on the water or at the club!

Hodg