Nearly 40 anglers from seven teams recently converged at Bjelke Petersen Dam on the first weekend in February to try their luck at the South Burnett Interclub Fishing Competition.

Kingaroy Sportfishing Club hosted the event to encourage participation in sportfishing, share ideas and techniques and enjoy a social get together with likeminded fishers. Anglers reeled in an average of 12 fish each over the two day event, totalling a whopping 429 fish. The average size of fish caught was down, but the combined length came to 112m, which is enough to stretch the full length of a football field!

Kingaroy Club President Shaun Manthey was delighted with the turnout.

“We had people come from Rockhampton, Bundaberg, Brisbane and Ipswich, as well as a strong contingent from the South Burnett.”

Shaun thanked his committee for their hard work in putting together an event to be proud of.

“It just shows what a high standard can be achieved in our local area. Fish were almost exclusively caught on lures, handled with care and returned to the water ready to fight another day, some sporting a pink tag,” he added.

Kingaroy Sportfishing Club is affiliated with the Queensland Branch of the Australian National Sportfishing Association (ANSA Queensland), which is a not-for-profit organisation that promotes sport, conservation and integrity in fishing. The ANSA Queensland Executive Committee also made an effort to attend the event and have a fish.

“For interest we organised a match play at the event, where an Executive Committee member was pitched against a Kingaroy Sportfishing Club member in the same boat in a point per fish competition,” Nathan Johnston, ANSA Queensland President explained.

“I was pretty confident going into the match play. However, we were roundly defeated in all instances,” Nathan reluctantly revealed.

“It seems nothing can replace time fishing local waterways and the knowledge that comes with that intimacy.

“This in itself is one of the benefits of the these interclub fishing events, because you can learn more by talking with and observing the local club members than you could in a month of fishing trips otherwise. We saw this play out in the fish captures, with more fish landed by everyone on the second day following informal discussions at the BBQ on Saturday evening.

“We held a State Executive Committee meeting in conjunction with the Interclub Challenge and I was very impressed with the organization and support by the friendly local club as well as the Yallakool venue and facilities.

“This year is special because it is the 50th anniversary of sportfishing in Australia,” Nathan also advised. “To celebrate the milestone there is an Aussie Sportfisher Conference, fishing competition and fishing expedition being organised at Cairns in September and anyone interested is welcome to attend.”

More detail on the event can be found on the ANSA Queensland website.

The Champion Club for the outing was Bribie Island Sportfishing Club, with Matthew Cutler from Kingaroy Sportfishing Club taking out the Champion Angler Award.

Senior Male and Junior Angler awards went to Shaun and Blake Manthey. Senior Female Angler was awarded to Maddie Doherty from Redcliffe Peninsula Game and Sportfishing Club. The Hardest Working Fisherman award went to Neil McNeill from Southern Brisbane Sportfishing Club.

The Kingaroy Sportfishing Club is now turning their focus to the Tag-a-Toga event based at Borumba Dam near Gympie, to be held on the 11-12 March. “The event is open to the public and designed to deliver both enjoyment for anglers as well as increase the knowledge of the southern saratoga,” Shaun explained.

“The Kingaroy club recently partnered with the Boondooma Fish Stocking and Management Committee to stock 70 breeding size fish into Boondooma Dam with the aim of establishing a self-sustaining population. The idea is that local anglers have fun targeting this revered sportfish, while also compiling information that can be used to determine the relative success of the recent stocking.”

More detail, including how to get involved in the Tag-a-Toga event, is available at both the Kingaroy Club Facebook page and the ANSA QLD website. – South Burnett Interclub Fishing Competition