Report by Rebecca Fazio
There was a sizable representation by the Seabeas fishing club at the ANSA Convention with a total of 20 members attending landing 153 Bass, 31 Carp, 3 Golden Perch and 1 Silver Perch between them
Following the event being moved back to October, the warmer water produced much better fishing conditions than the historic September timetable. Water temperatures ranged from 16.5° in the main basin to 21° in the upper reaches of the system, where the majority of the action occurred and the bigger fish were situated. Daytime weather couldn’t have been better and the wind didn’t cause its usual havoc, but evening showers did put an early damper on both evening’s campfire gatherings, making for a sensible bedtime hour.
For those who arrived early, a couple of their best fish catches peaked prior to the official comp beginning. This however, set the stage and gave confidence to all the Seabees of a quality fishing weekend ahead. There was great collaboration between members and Rob Sinclair’s fishing knowledge and initiative to target carp proved a major success.
Some member highlights included Craig Symonds landing two carp on a fly rod, a first for him. Michael Markich landed 10 carp on Sunday morning alone with a total 26 fish across the weekend. Steve and Dianne both landed Golden Perch and were made proud of their grandson Harry (keep reading to find out why!). The Vella family also spread points across the species categories by landing one of three Silver Perch registered, a nice 330mm specimen by Taylor. Riley Vella landed a photographic 390mm Australian Bass with Rob Sinclair landing the largest bass amongst our club measuring 435mm.
Whilst South Sydney dominated to take home the trophy, Seabees were still well represented, especially by one of our juniors, Harry (14) who is now pending the title of National Australian Record in Length Only Carp for a Junior. A quick learner from Rob’s tuition saw him hook and fight a 900mm monster in shallow water taking a solid 10 minute’s to land. It was the largest out of close to 100 carp submitted across the weekend. Not only did Harry receive a trophy for the Longest Carp category, he also tied equal first for overall junior angler. Well done, Harry - you made us all proud! Also contributing to club points was Rebecca Fazio with 2nd place in the ladies division.
It wouldn’t be a weekend away without some boating issues to challenges, however there was great camaraderie amongst club members to invite others onto their boats or into their fishing spots, even if one skipper was reported to have issues planing their boat (where’s the sheriff?).
All in all, a great weekend away as the photos will testify…
