Despite a rescheduling of dates due to horrendous weather, the Rhyll Angling Club Game Fish Classic went off without a hitch with over 100 anglers participating in the event.
Thirty-two teams met at the Rhyll Angling Club on Friday night 4 March for the tournament brief with high expectations of the fishing. Saturday morning dawned with fair conditions; a southeast wind of 15-20knots blowing and fishable conditions.
Reports of captured, lost and tagged fish were steady during the day and by the end a total of nine sharks, seven makos and two blues had been tagged and released, with two makos weighed in.
Club house leader on Saturday was David Fent with a mako shark of 86.2kg on 15kg line class for the Seniors and Nicholas Taranto with a mako shark of 67.8kg on 10kg line class for the Juniors. Taranto’s fish is a pending Victorian Junior 10kg record and a fantastic start to the tournament.
Tag and release (T&R) leader from Saturday was Glen Pilon on Cloud 9 with two mako sharks and one blue shark with two other anglers on two makos.
Sunday dawned with a 10-15knot eastnortheast wind blowing as the fleet took to sea. Fishing was slower with only four mako sharks tagged for the day with no fish weighed in.
Final results:
Title | Angler/Boat | Result |
---|---|---|
Champion T&R Senior: | Martin Bowden on Deduction3 mako | |
Champion T&R Junior: | Daniel Arapakas on Two Easy1 mako | |
Champion T&R Small Fry: | Lochlan Bulk on Home Strait1 blue shark |
Champion T&R Team:Deduction9000 points
Most Meritorious capture: | Nicholas Taranto | 67.8kg mako on 10kg |
---|---|---|
Heaviest Capture Senior: | David Fent | 82.6kg mako on 15kg |
Heaviest Capture Junior: | Nicholas Taranto | 67.8kg mako on 10kg |

There were plenty of mako sharks tagged and released over the weekend.

Reports of captured, lost and tagged fish are the highlight of the tournament.