12 members of the Preston and Northcote Angling Club (PNAC) attended the Port Albert lodge to fish the interclub competition. The competion was against the Port Albert Light Game & Sportfishing Club, who fielded 7 members on a weekend that was challenging in terms of weather.
Saturday proved the saying, "The early bird catches the worm." Weather report predicted S/SW wind to 20 knots after 2.00pm. All crews were on the water at daybreak, with fishing being restricted to the estuary due to weather conditions.
Bamford charters with Matt Miller on board, headed for the old port channel for some bait fishing in 8m of water, while Niki Duckstein and Richard Higlett aboard Niki’s new Stacer Outlaw (the rubber duckie), shadowed Kevin into the old port channel.
John Costa & Bob Beeson, Graham & Linda Miller, Frank Calea & Brian Paice, with Tony Coon all fished their favorite spots within the estuary, which included the Blue hole and Snake channel. Steve Gusman and Peter Goldsworthy were keeping their powder dry for a shake up later in the day.
The wind was brisk but fishable. Captain Niki Duckstein on her maiden voyage in her new boat instantly struck gold with a horse of a whiting at 43cm. Richard fishing with Niki also pulled in some nice whiting. Meanwhile close by Kevin and Matt where working hard for some flatties.
As predicted, by 2pm the wind was fierce and the Preston crews heading back to the ramp.
Weigh in that night resulted in a total of 17 fish weighed in for a total of 6kgs. John Costa weighed in 4 fish for 1.360kg in the S/W comp, whilst Niki weighed in 5 fish for 2.420kg in the S/E comp, thus the both were provisional winners of their respective comps. Overall for the Interclub Competition 6 out of the 12 members caught fish.
That evening we were hosted by the Port Albert crew at their clubrooms where we were treated to a lovely meal and good company. As this was an interclub event that has a rich tradition, no one was giving away their GPS marks just yet.
The competition rules dictated that the winning team is decided by dividing the total bag weight by the number of anglers in that team.
Sunday proved to be a blow out with no Preston anglers hitting the water. The Port Albert team turned up to our lodge at noon for the official results of the Comp.
Port Albert team fielded 7 anglers for a total team bag weight of 22 kg, thus 22 divided by 7 = 3.1kg per angler.
PNAC fielded 12 anglers for a total bag weight of 6kg, thus 6 divided by 12 = 500gms per angler.
This meant that port Albert won the interclub competition.
All had a great weekend. A special thanks to the salt water boys for guidance about the estuary system and weather conditions. Congratulations to Niki Duckstein and John Costa, and thank you to all who attended for a great social weekend.
Cheers Richard Higlett (trip captain)