Fishing Competitions

[wazatherfisherman]

Fishing competitions have been around in one format or another for many years. There used to be a series of events catering to fishing club members, known as A.F.C.A comps (amateur fishing clubs association comps) which were open to all registered club members. These were highly organised competitions which were usually timed to coincide with whatever the 'peak' season was in each fishing category. Category? For all the different fishing club divisions of NSW, there was one weekend set aside each year for the annual championships in each of the following: Rock, Beach, Estuary, Deep Sea, Luderick and Freshwater, plus an "Open Day" where you could fish anywhere you chose to from these categories. 

To determine the winners, points were scored and the highest scorers in each of the following- Ladies, Men's, Juniors and Veteran's- declared the winner. There were also Teams, consisting of up to 4 fishers, which had to be registered before starting time. Points were awarded on a basis of 1 point per fish + 10 points per kg (or part thereof). The class of tackle, whether sporting or otherwise, wasn't a consideration. These competitions didn't focus on individual species prizes either, it was all about the total amount of points scored. No bag limits in those days and many fish didn't have a legal size limit either. Within AFCA guidelines, fish without an official size limit had to be a minimum size of 12 inches (30cm)

Generally, for Sydney fishers, comp times revolved around only a few species. Tailor and Trevally were the most sought after in the Estuary comps, basically because the sheer volumes of them that were available exceeded all other species and they were easy to catch quickly in large numbers.

The Rock Section was very similar, with Trevally, Tailor and Black Drummer (now called Rock Blackfish or "Pigs") making up the bulk of catches. Beach Comps were similar again- Tailor and Trevally being the main targeted species. The Deep Sea division was a bit different, Kingfish and Tuna, being much larger fish were generally the targets of most comp fishers, but Trevally were also high on the list, again due to the large numbers found off the Sydney coastline. Open Day would see similar targets as in the Deep Sea comps, again due to the larger sized fish being realistic targets.

All the AFCA competitions were hotly contested, both individually and the teams segments, with some amazing catches weighed in by many competitors. Often there'd only be a couple of fish separating the winners and runners up and club members would focus on each category championship every year, usually doing a lot of 'ground-work' during the weeks prior to the event to know what fish were around in numbers. 

With very little media other than newspaper or magazine form available pre the introduction of the internet, sources of information were largely "word of mouth" from bait or tackle shops, large workplaces and local clubs and of course the pub. The old "Fishing News" weekly publication was also a great source in regards to 'up-to-the-minute' information about what was happening fishing-wise, as it's contributors were either fishers or bait and tackle proprietors. Other than these sources, the Daily Telegraph newspaper had a decent sized column dedicated to fishing every Friday and there were several radio programs about fishing, including one on ABC radio and of course the long running "High Tide" show that was for many years on radio station 2KY.

When a particular competition was coming up, all these sources of information came into play, to enable prospective competitors the best up to date information of fish movements and what was biting where. There were of course the occasional "Red Herring's" to be wary of when relying solely on reading fishing reports, as it was pretty common practice to manipulate the media. This was done by simply changing either the locations fish were reported to have been caught or even the species biting. For example, if club members had been catching Whiting in good numbers off the beach at Wanda using worms, the reports relayed to the media were something like "Good catches of Tailor this week from the National Park beaches using Whitebait",  Of course this information only went so far in attempting to send rivals in the wrong direction, as most of the genuine contenders would have been out doing their own preliminary research by going fishing anyway.

Other than the AFCA competitions, there were also others run by ANSA (Australian National Sportsfishing Association) that were a completely different type of fishing, with the onus being on landing more meritorious captures on light tackle. In these types of events competitors use light line to try and catch large fish and events are won by an individual capture. To be in the running for a podium finish in these, fishers often use line as light as 1 or 2kg and some remarkable fish are brought to the weighmaster.

Then there have been competitions run by other organisations like Rotary and Lions clubs and the occasional one run by local councils. As a kid I remember fishing in a competition run by the Festival of Sydney committee, where all participants fished from the shore underneath the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Entry was free and you just needed to turn up and register, fishing was done from both the Milsons Point and Dawes Point sides of the bridge and there were committee 'marshals' constantly moving around to monitor and register catches. This was a family friendly event and there were heaps of small prizes on offer, many of which were for kids- a great idea.

From memory, it was held between 8am and 3pm, but there were 'on the spot' prizes given out every 30 minutes or so. These smaller prizes were handed out after being announced over a megaphone by one of the organisers, which kept all the kids interested and fishing. Every half hour the caller would come out with different targets to aim for, such as "next 3 Leatherjackets landed win a prize" or "next legal sized fish" or "next silver coloured fish" etc etc. There were also prizes for the smallest fish, colourful fish etc and there were plenty of kids with smiling faces proudly showing off their prizes. My younger brother won two prizes, one for a tiny Leatherjacket (it was genuinely only about 4cm long!) and the other for a colourful Wrasse. Events like this one should be annual. 

Queensland has quite a few fishing competitions, far more than we've ever had in NSW, in fact, barring the ANSA and AFCA events plus that one Festival of Sydney day, there have only been a couple I can remember. One of these was organised and run by Dee Why Lions Club.

In this event there were multiple weigh-in sites that were accessible from all over the Sydney Metro area and for a small entry fee, there were heaps of good prizes. Our club members fished the weekend event from both the rocks and by boat in Sydney Harbour and we won a few different prizes, both individually and as a club.

Our rock fishing team had a great overnight trip to the Mattens at Dover Heights, catching Bream, Tailor, Bonito, Luderick and Trevally, while the boat guys caught Bream, Snapper, Tailor, Trevally, Flathead and some of the largest Whiting I've seen caught in the Harbour. As a club we won third prize overall and bought a couple of new fridges for the members. I managed the prize for largest Bream and won a "Blue-Eyed Spotlight" which wasn't exactly the best prize for a rock hopper, as it was a 12volt set-up, but a prize is a prize and it found a good home with another member. The great thing about this competition was, that for the first time ever (that I can think of) there was a bag limit of 5 fish of any species, so to do well, you needed to go for a variety of different fish. It was probably one of the only competitions of it's kind and a great innovation for Sydney fishers.

Other than Game Fishing Competitions for members of Game Clubs, the only other competition held in Sydney that I remember was organised by Manly Council and centred around both Manly Dam and Queenscliffe Lagoon. I didn't fish in that one, but just happened to be on a family picnic in the park alongside the lagoon where the weigh-in was. We watched plenty of small catches of a variety of different species- all caught in the lagoon- being measured and weighed.

Out of Sydney, there are annual fishing events run by local councils and others with the events organised for local charities, like the Greenback comp I posted about recently and others like the "Straddie Classic" or the Boyne Tannum Hook-up which are really big affairs that cater for all types of fishing and for all age groups. The only one similar to these was a one-of competition called "The Gosford Fun-fish"- run obviously from Gosford on the central coast. I have a story about that one, but it warrants a separate post as it's pretty long, so I'll post it by itself.

If you get a chance to fish one of these type of events I'd highly recommend it, they're a lot of fun and it's always interesting to see what other fishers do and catch.

 

 

[Green Hornet]

Hi Waza, great story. I was an active ANSA member for years and have some good memories of the comps we held.

Most were inter-club affairs, just between our club and another and were really more social get togethers than serious fishing events.

I met a lot of good friends through those comps. 

[noelm]

Fishing comps can be fun, most however were more often than not, won by the same people all the time (we are talking decades ago here) most involved as many fish as you could catch, bags of Pike and Trevally and anything else you could catch in numbers were the norm. I was a member of a club for a very long time, and we tried to implement comps that even the most casual fisher could possibly win, and try to get rid if the more fish the better mentality (not saying anything against anyone, because that's just how it was) It was never easy, but in the end, it made for more competitors (because they had a chance to win) Gamefishing comps become very competitive because big money is involved in prizes, and it's been suggested the "honesty system" with tagging has been bent a few times (true or not, I don't know) all that doom and gloom aside, another great story, stirring memories in some of us.

[Rebel]

Great read. Well done. Thank you.

[masterfisho7]

Love your report when i was young i used to fish the bream and bass comps was great fun still show some interest in it but no longer fish them as i now live in a retirement home and have no more fishing gear but still love to read ports on Fish Raider  

[Green Hornet]

1 hour ago, masterfisho7 said:

Love your report when i was young i used to fish the bream and bass comps was great fun still show some interest in it but no longer fish them as i now live in a retirement home and have no more fishing gear but still love to read ports on Fish Raider  

I fished The Southern Bream Series comps for 3 seasons and while I really enjoyed it a first, the novelty wore off quick spending a few weekends committed to fish in pouring rain and howling southerlys. Not my idea of fun.

Once I'd satisfied my sponsors' needs, I was out of there and these days prefer to fish when I want and not when someone else tells me. Just my personal opinion.

 

[wazatherfisherman]

14 hours ago, Green Hornet said:

Hi Waza, great story. I was an active ANSA member for years and have some good memories of the comps we held.

Most were inter-club affairs, just between our club and another and were really more social get togethers than serious fishing events.

I met a lot of good friends through those comps. 

Hi Pete my favourite comp was actually the Narooma Convention which was an ANSA comp. We always went down a few days prior and had as much fun off the water as on. The fishing was pretty much non stop as the weighing area never closed for the entire 3 days and we fished inside, the rocks and outside. Even had a fish for Blackies with 1kg next to the bridge. Fun trips the Narooma ones and they were brilliantly organised and catered.

[wazatherfisherman]

14 hours ago, noelm said:

Fishing comps can be fun, most however were more often than not, won by the same people all the time (we are talking decades ago here) most involved as many fish as you could catch, bags of Pike and Trevally and anything else you could catch in numbers were the norm. I was a member of a club for a very long time, and we tried to implement comps that even the most casual fisher could possibly win, and try to get rid if the more fish the better mentality (not saying anything against anyone, because that's just how it was) It was never easy, but in the end, it made for more competitors (because they had a chance to win) Gamefishing comps become very competitive because big money is involved in prizes, and it's been suggested the "honesty system" with tagging has been bent a few times (true or not, I don't know) all that doom and gloom aside, another great story, stirring memories in some of us.

Hi Noel for years there were heaps of different proposals in regard to changing the format of the AFCA comps, but due to too many differences of opinion, nothing really changed during my time as a club fisher. 

The argument relating to the skills of fishers who caught fish outside the 'Tailor and Trevally' slaughter was always raised, but argued down and there were heaps of 'semi-professional' fishers that caught big numbers of fish who refused to move away from that format.

That Dee Why event was ground breaking with it's bag limit of only 5 fish of each species and versatility was needed to be in the running in that one- a great idea at the time and an example that was sadly not recognised

[wazatherfisherman]

12 hours ago, Rebel said:

Great read. Well done. Thank you.

Thanks Rebel

[wazatherfisherman]

10 hours ago, motiondave said:

ive not been involved in a fishing comp, but ive rolled up to ramps in the arvo at places to see heaps of bass boats on the shore or coming back from a comp. 

Hi Dave it's well worthwhile having a look at weigh-in's of comps, most fishers are only too happy to pass on information when the day is over and you can get some genuinely good tips and spots from fishers having a couple of drinks afterwards!

[Yowie]

Another good story Waza.

I participated in a number of comps as a Junior, in the St George and Sutherland Shire Anglers Club (or similar name - was a long time ago). I won a number of penants as a Single and Team member - posted a few photos of such penants a while back.

I also met Gary Chapman, and learnt a few good tips from him, including fishing with him in different locations.

One great prize before joining the club was a boat and motor when I was a teenager. The boat lasted 42 years until it literally fell apart through overuse, held together by waterproof silastics in it's last 10 to 15 years as it developed cracks and scrape marks. Needed 3 motors to keep it going. Had to buy the last 2. 😂 The current boat has a hard-to-find leak (not looking too hard to find it just yet)

[BigHorse]

On 10/3/2021 at 3:23 AM, wazatherfisherman said:

Fishing competitions have been around in one format or another for many years. There used to be a series of events catering to fishing club members, known as A.F.C.A comps (amateur fishing clubs association comps) which were open to all registered club members. These were highly organised competitions which were usually timed to coincide with whatever the 'peak' season was in each fishing category. Category? For all the different fishing club divisions of NSW, there was one weekend set aside each year for the annual championships in each of the following: Rock, Beach, Estuary, Deep Sea, Luderick and Freshwater, plus an "Open Day" where you could fish anywhere you chose to from these categories. 

To determine the winners, points were scored and the highest scorers in each of the following- Ladies, Men's, Juniors and Veteran's- declared the winner. There were also Teams, consisting of up to 4 fishers, which had to be registered before starting time. Points were awarded on a basis of 1 point per fish + 10 points per kg (or part thereof). The class of tackle, whether sporting or otherwise, wasn't a consideration. These competitions didn't focus on individual species prizes either, it was all about the total amount of points scored. No bag limits in those days and many fish didn't have a legal size limit either. Within AFCA guidelines, fish without an official size limit had to be a minimum size of 12 inches (30cm)

Generally, for Sydney fishers, comp times revolved around only a few species. Tailor and Trevally were the most sought after in the Estuary comps, basically because the sheer volumes of them that were available exceeded all other species and they were easy to catch quickly in large numbers.

The Rock Section was very similar, with Trevally, Tailor and Black Drummer (now called Rock Blackfish or "Pigs") making up the bulk of catches. Beach Comps were similar again- Tailor and Trevally being the main targeted species. The Deep Sea division was a bit different, Kingfish and Tuna, being much larger fish were generally the targets of most comp fishers, but Trevally were also high on the list, again due to the large numbers found off the Sydney coastline. Open Day would see similar targets as in the Deep Sea comps, again due to the larger sized fish being realistic targets.

All the AFCA competitions were hotly contested, both individually and the teams segments, with some amazing catches weighed in by many competitors. Often there'd only be a couple of fish separating the winners and runners up and club members would focus on each category championship every year, usually doing a lot of 'ground-work' during the weeks prior to the event to know what fish were around in numbers. 

With very little media other than newspaper or magazine form available pre the introduction of the internet, sources of information were largely "word of mouth" from bait or tackle shops, large workplaces and local clubs and of course the pub. The old "Fishing News" weekly publication was also a great source in regards to 'up-to-the-minute' information about what was happening fishing-wise, as it's contributors were either fishers or bait and tackle proprietors. Other than these sources, the Daily Telegraph newspaper had a decent sized column dedicated to fishing every Friday and there were several radio programs about fishing, including one on ABC radio and of course the long running "High Tide" show that was for many years on radio station 2KY.

When a particular competition was coming up, all these sources of information came into play, to enable prospective competitors the best up to date information of fish movements and what was biting where. There were of course the occasional "Red Herring's" to be wary of when relying solely on reading fishing reports, as it was pretty common practice to manipulate the media. This was done by simply changing either the locations fish were reported to have been caught or even the species biting. For example, if club members had been catching Whiting in good numbers off the beach at Wanda using worms, the reports relayed to the media were something like "Good catches of Tailor this week from the National Park beaches using Whitebait",  Of course this information only went so far in attempting to send rivals in the wrong direction, as most of the genuine contenders would have been out doing their own preliminary research by going fishing anyway.

Other than the AFCA competitions, there were also others run by ANSA (Australian National Sportsfishing Association) that were a completely different type of fishing, with the onus being on landing more meritorious captures on light tackle. In these types of events competitors use light line to try and catch large fish and events are won by an individual capture. To be in the running for a podium finish in these, fishers often use line as light as 1 or 2kg and some remarkable fish are brought to the weighmaster.

Then there have been competitions run by other organisations like Rotary and Lions clubs and the occasional one run by local councils. As a kid I remember fishing in a competition run by the Festival of Sydney committee, where all participants fished from the shore underneath the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Entry was free and you just needed to turn up and register, fishing was done from both the Milsons Point and Dawes Point sides of the bridge and there were committee 'marshals' constantly moving around to monitor and register catches. This was a family friendly event and there were heaps of small prizes on offer, many of which were for kids- a great idea.

From memory, it was held between 8am and 3pm, but there were 'on the spot' prizes given out every 30 minutes or so. These smaller prizes were handed out after being announced over a megaphone by one of the organisers, which kept all the kids interested and fishing. Every half hour the caller would come out with different targets to aim for, such as "next 3 Leatherjackets landed win a prize" or "next legal sized fish" or "next silver coloured fish" etc etc. There were also prizes for the smallest fish, colourful fish etc and there were plenty of kids with smiling faces proudly showing off their prizes. My younger brother won two prizes, one for a tiny Leatherjacket (it was genuinely only about 4cm long!) and the other for a colourful Wrasse. Events like this one should be annual. 

Queensland has quite a few fishing competitions, far more than we've ever had in NSW, in fact, barring the ANSA and AFCA events plus that one Festival of Sydney day, there have only been a couple I can remember. One of these was organised and run by Dee Why Lions Club.

In this event there were multiple weigh-in sites that were accessible from all over the Sydney Metro area and for a small entry fee, there were heaps of good prizes. Our club members fished the weekend event from both the rocks and by boat in Sydney Harbour and we won a few different prizes, both individually and as a club.

Our rock fishing team had a great overnight trip to the Mattens at Dover Heights, catching Bream, Tailor, Bonito, Luderick and Trevally, while the boat guys caught Bream, Snapper, Tailor, Trevally, Flathead and some of the largest Whiting I've seen caught in the Harbour. As a club we won third prize overall and bought a couple of new fridges for the members. I managed the prize for largest Bream and won a "Blue-Eyed Spotlight" which wasn't exactly the best prize for a rock hopper, as it was a 12volt set-up, but a prize is a prize and it found a good home with another member. The great thing about this competition was, that for the first time ever (that I can think of) there was a bag limit of 5 fish of any species, so to do well, you needed to go for a variety of different fish. It was probably one of the only competitions of it's kind and a great innovation for Sydney fishers.

Other than Game Fishing Competitions for members of Game Clubs, the only other competition held in Sydney that I remember was organised by Manly Council and centred around both Manly Dam and Queenscliffe Lagoon. I didn't fish in that one, but just happened to be on a family picnic in the park alongside the lagoon where the weigh-in was. We watched plenty of small catches of a variety of different species- all caught in the lagoon- being measured and weighed.

Out of Sydney, there are annual fishing events run by local councils and others with the events organised for local charities, like the Greenback comp I posted about recently and others like the "Straddie Classic" or the Boyne Tannum Hook-up which are really big affairs that cater for all types of fishing and for all age groups. The only one similar to these was a one-of competition called "The Gosford Fun-fish"- run obviously from Gosford on the central coast. I have a story about that one, but it warrants a separate post as it's pretty long, so I'll post it by itself.

If you get a chance to fish one of these type of events I'd highly recommend it, they're a lot of fun and it's always interesting to see what other fishers do and catch.

 

 

Hey Waza, I'm always looking to have fun on the water and fishing comps seen like some good fun. WHere would be the best place to find or know about fishing comps or days. Do i need to be a member of the ANSA or just watch facebook and other social media sites? Thanks

[wazatherfisherman]

2 hours ago, BigHorse said:

Hey Waza, I'm always looking to have fun on the water and fishing comps seen like some good fun. WHere would be the best place to find or know about fishing comps or days. Do i need to be a member of the ANSA or just watch facebook and other social media sites? Thanks

Hi BigHorse to fish ANSA comps you need to be a member, however, most other competitions you just register beforehand.

I can't offer you any further info currently because lockdowns have put most things on hold in NSW

[noelm]

Almost every pub, club and nearly every other sporting club have a fishing club of some kind, most are just casual events with maybe a monthly social comp, but these give you info on bigger events too, and often other members will fish as a team or at least fish together in the bigger comps.

[wazatherfisherman]

2 hours ago, noelm said:

Almost every pub, club and nearly every other sporting club have a fishing club of some kind, most are just casual events with maybe a monthly social comp, but these give you info on bigger events too, and often other members will fish as a team or at least fish together in the bigger comps.

My old club (AFA of NSW -Australia's oldest fishing club) used to have 3 comp days of each section every year and points were awarded each time. Results were determined on your best 2 results so you didn't have to fish them all if you didn't want to. These events were well fished but the emphasis was always on having a good time and there were no secrets about what anyone was going to do or where they were going.

Sydney Metro comps organised by the AFCA were a different story though and in these annual 'serious' events, although we stuck together as a club and shared ideas, locations and so-on before the day, teams of four made their own plans and chatter on the radio was in "code"

[JimT]

I received this trophy in 1977 , from memory it was for largest Luderick in Estuary c/ships. Don't remember if I was a junior or senior. Would have been 17 then. I do remember catching it in the Cooks River on a Botany Bay wriggler. A group of juniors fished the river from start on Sat overnight to end on Sun. Being reliant on our feet for transport we were in walking distance from weigh-in venue at the Fisho's Club on Bestic St about a Km from where we were fishing. I was in Mascot Anglers Club as it was called then.

Jim

 

[noelm]

For a long time I was a member of a local pub club, it was very social, plenty of good humoured competition, but mostly a family oriented "fun club" we had competitions with similar clubs in the area and most involved a BBQ at the weigh in, a mystery fish category and a secret weight fish, so the biggest didn't always win the comp, most prizes were minor, maybe a voucher for some place, so big prizes were not a reason catch what you can.

[wazatherfisherman]

4 hours ago, jot said:

I received this trophy in 1977 , from memory it was for largest Luderick in Estuary c/ships. Don't remember if I was a junior or senior. Would have been 17 then. I do remember catching it in the Cooks River on a Botany Bay wriggler. A group of juniors fished the river from start on Sat overnight to end on Sun. Being reliant on our feet for transport we were in walking distance from weigh-in venue at the Fisho's Club on Bestic St about a Km from where we were fishing. I was in Mascot Anglers Club as it was called then.

Jim

 

Hi Jot I have exactly the same cup for winning the junior champion of the same comp the next year. Weigh in was also at Brighton Fisho's

[Yowie]

14 hours ago, wazatherfisherman said:

Hi Jot I have exactly the same cup for winning the junior champion of the same comp the next year. Weigh in was also at Brighton Fisho's

Appears that I would be a few years older than you and Jot. The only problem was sitting outside the Fisho's club, being under 18, and not able to collect any prizes/pennants until someone brought it outside for you.

The year I won my boat was 1970.

Edited October 5, 2021 by Yowie

[wazatherfisherman]

2 hours ago, Yowie said:

Appears that I would be a few years older than you and Jot. The only problem was sitting outside the Fisho's club, being under 18, and not able to collect any prizes/pennants until someone brought it outside for you.

The year I won my boat was 1970.

Hi Yowie I didn't even know I'd won until the guy who gave me a lift home came out with the pocket, trophy and a reel for me. Bad catering for the juniors in those days. I'm 60 on Melbourne Cup day this year.

[Yowie]

On 10/5/2021 at 4:35 PM, wazatherfisherman said:

Hi Yowie I didn't even know I'd won until the guy who gave me a lift home came out with the pocket, trophy and a reel for me. Bad catering for the juniors in those days. I'm 60 on Melbourne Cup day this year.

I'm a few years older around the same time.

[JimT]

On 10/4/2021 at 11:23 PM, wazatherfisherman said:

Hi Jot I have exactly the same cup for winning the junior champion of the same comp the next year. Weigh in was also at Brighton Fisho's

If the Estuary Comp was after sept 8 then I was 18 because I was inside to receive trophy...also remember being a bit light headed after having a beer and being thirsty and no doubt a bit dehydrated

[Dee Why Jim]

Hi Waza - thanks for the welcome lockdown diversion.  Your article motivated me to spend a hour or so on Google.  Found this link to a Fishing comp organised by legacy in Yamba

before our time but it looks like a huge event in terms of both people and fish caught.  Some good shots of the breakwalls you talked about in an earlier story about Yamba.  Did you go to any of these regional, fundraising type events?  Looks like there was a mix of some very serious fishermen and plenty of casuals.

DY Jim

[wazatherfisherman]

8 hours ago, Dee Why Jim said:

Hi Waza - thanks for the welcome lockdown diversion.  Your article motivated me to spend a hour or so on Google.  Found this link to a Fishing comp organised by legacy in Yamba

before our time but it looks like a huge event in terms of both people and fish caught.  Some good shots of the breakwalls you talked about in an earlier story about Yamba.  Did you go to any of these regional, fundraising type events?  Looks like there was a mix of some very serious fishermen and plenty of casuals.

DY Jim

Hi Jim hope you're safe and well. Some great footage in the movie- the sunken wall is the middle wall I referred to, only accessible by boat but many got out and fished from the wall for Bream.

There were a few I fished other than AFCA comps in Sydney and ANSA comps at Narooma. Dee Why Lions club organised the biggest one in Sydney, then the Gosford Fun-Fish, plus about 5 Greenback's at Cabarita Beach near the Qld border. 

Narooma was always a highlight when I was club fishing because the boat guys, estuary fishers and the rock/beach brigade all fished in all of the categories together. The fun of staying together in the caravan park was just great and some of the 'after fishing' antics are lifetime memories.

The Greenback's are great as well because we stay on the beach all night and it's something you just can't emulate in Sydney for either fish or solitude. Every Greenback I fished in it rained for a great part or all of the night and the big beaches of the far north coast are only used by fishers after dark on those cold winter nights. It's just a special feeling being there I reckon and you could be a million miles from civilization once the sun has set. There's something that touches your soul as a fisherman on those nights I feel and I hope to fish a few more of them in the future.

The crowds and interest shown in your movie are just fantastic, a great drawcard for the town and everyone knows about it. It's amazing how word gets around on what's biting and where, but the locals always have a handle on what's going on.

Such a pity these type of events- for the most part haven't been staged around Sydney- there'd be huge participation I reckon, plus the 'after-fishing' beers would yield tons of information that'd otherwise stay secreted away. Great source of info the after 'party'!