April 11, 2010 saw the successful close to the second annual Pirtek Fishing Challenge. This unique event is aimed at combining fishing, family and fundraising – fight a fish to fight prostate cancer.

Over 2500 anglers from all over Australia competed in the one-day event from 6 am to 6pm. The challenge was a catch and release tournament with a twist; competitors had to wait until the night before the event to find out their State’s target species.

After photographing their prized catch for the day, anglers uploaded the photo for judging. Fish that stretched the longest across the brag mat would be in contention for a share of the $110,000 in cash and prizes. Pirtek Fluid Systems injected an incredible $70,000 cash ($4,000 for each longest target fish) along with Evinrude, Berkley and Lowrance supplying the junior, second and third prizes.

Winners were announced on radio 2GB’s The Fishing Show on 17 April and via the website.

This year you didn’t even have to fish to win big. The Nissan/LG Major Prize Draw saw two lucky entrants take home terrific prizes. Byron Betts from Queensland will be enjoying a 5 night ski holiday at Hotham Alpine Resort courtesy of Nissan Australia; and Heath Montgomery from NSW will be watching all his favourite fishing shows on a brand new 50” LG plasma TV and home theatre system.

The JVC Club Challenge saw intense competition in some States with only one or two points separating clubs for first place honours. The winning clubs were: NSW/ACT: Coffs Harbour Deep Sea Fishing Club and Big Catch Social Fishing Club; NT: RAAF Darwin Fishing Club; QLD: Mt Isa Fish Stocking Group; SA: Steel City Sports Fishing Club; TAS: The Silverbacks; VIC: Brighton Central Angling Club; WA: Nicol Bay Sportfishing Club.

Michael Guest who directed the competition on Pirtek’s behalf commented, “2500 anglers all fishing on the one day and then uploading their catch photos made for interesting viewing. It was great to see the juniors get amongst some fantastic fish, hats off to Pirtek and our associate sponsors for once again supporting this great event.”

Weather conditions were contrasting on the day. Lightning storms in Tasmania and windy weather in Victoria; South Australia had tough fishing conditions but the rest of Australia seemed to fare much better. Once again family teams had a lot of success winning senior and junior divisions in some of the target species.

Pirtek Fluid Systems General Manager, Steve Dutton has been excited by the company’s involvement in an

event that encompasses so much of the community. He commented, “We were delighted to see the participation rate increase this year by 30% allowing us to continue in our goal of raising funds and the profile of the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia.

“100% of every angler’s registration fee will go directly to the PCFA to further support research and awareness programs. Pirtek and our franchisees would like to thank everyone who participated and are looking forward to hosting the Challenge in 2011.” – Pirtek

StatePlaceSpeciesWinnerLength (cm)

NSW/ACT1stTailorIan Phillips71.50

NSW/ACT1stSand Whiting Peter Hotz 45.90

2ndSand WhitingDavid Potts43.30

3rdSand WhitingDarryl McKinnon42.90

3rdFlathead Wayne Reid 72.00

3rdGolden Perch/Yellowbelly Wayne Mee 51.00

2ndSilver Trevally Brendan Turriff 51.90

3rdFlathead Kirk Lawrence 45.60