The weekend of May 3-4 saw the holding of the Discovery Holiday Parks Family Fishing Carnival at the Koala Shores Holiday Park at Lemon Tree Passage, Port Stephens, NSW.

All that attended had a fantastic time and the weather was kind. Anglers from as far as Tumut, Jindabyne, Merimbula and Canberra competed in very tough conditions. Fourteen days of torrential rain prior to the event left the water dirty and the big fish were definitely off the bite. Most anglers managed plenty of small fish but the big ones were hard to come by.

Despite this the event was fantastic and anglers will be back again in March, 2009.

Champion angler was Tony Quinnell with 440 points, closely followed byrRunner up, Andrew Freeburn with 430 points. Honourable mentions go to Barry Pevitt with 315 points and Neville Betts with 270 points. Steve Williamson’s Junior Encouragement award went to Mitchell Quinnell. The Team Award went to the ‘Steve Williamson’s Fishing Team’ made up of Jason Williamson and Andy Freeburn.

Anglers will now go to Holiday Hub Beach Resort at Pambula on the weekend of September 5-7 to compete in Round Two of the series, the Discovery Holiday Parks Pambula Beach Family Fishing Carnival.

This will be a fantastic one for the whole family. There will of course be the fishing competition but plenty of other events will keep the whole family amused, including casting competitions, painting and colouring, throw the fish, sandcastles with a fish theme and heaps of other small events with lots of instant prizes. There will also be evening entertainment and barbeques for all the family.

For more information on the event, or e-mail me at --e-mail address hidden--

Other Discovery Holiday Parks (formerly Beston Parks) events will occur over the next six months including the Gerroa Shores Family Fishing Carnival on October 3-5 and the Shadrack Beachfront Resort Family Fishing Carnival at Eden on November 7-9. There will be major prizes up for grabs in all competitions and heaps of family fishing fun. Hope to see you there!

For further information contact Steve Williamson during business hours on 02 6456 1551, e-mail him at --e-mail address hidden-- , or check out www.swtroutfishing.com.au – Steve Williamson