GAME fishers tested the waters around Port Lincoln last week with the inaugural Port Lincoln Blue Water Classic game fishing tournament, and it will be back again next year.
The Game Fishing Association of South Australia has locked into a three-year program of tournaments for Port Lincoln.
More than two tonnes of fish were tagged and released over the week, including southern bluefin tuna, samson fish, eagle rays and four different species of shark, but only six fish were kept, the others went back to ensure the sustainability of the sport.
The weather was not perfect but Game Fishing Association of South Australia president Steve Morris said it was good enough to get out safely to the best fishing areas.
Mr Morris said he hoped the event would start building a reputation to attract more boats in the future.
“The outcome shows that Port Lincoln with its location, facilities and accessibility to good game fishing grounds is suited to this type of event and with the overwhelming reaction to this year’s event, I’m sure this will grow to be the biggest in this State.”
To be in the running to win champion boat or champion angler, fishers had to record a capture of a recognised game fish, an eagle ray and a shark, and tag a game fish or shark.
Once these four criteria were achieved, extra points were gained by tagging and releasing as many of these species as possible, and the top trophies go to the boat and angler with the highest score.
The champion boat was Galaxy Star, skippered by Rolf Czabayski with 24,613 points and champion angler was Chris Earle with 6839 points fishing on Galaxy Star.
The highest point scoring boat with or without achieving the four tournament criteria was C-World II, skippered by Bryan Stokes with 10,118 points. The highest point scoring angler with or without achieving the four tournament criteria was Vincent Nguyen with 7181 fishing on Galaxy Star. Mr Nguyen also won the senior tagging trophy for the most fish tagged by one senior angler with 22 tags.
The highest point scoring female angler, with or without achieving the four tournament criteria, was Janet Forster with 1806 points, fishing on Long Shot, skippered by Ron Forster.
Mrs Forster also won the women’s trophy for most fish tagged by a female angler (22) and heaviest game fish for a 24.1-kilogram southern bluefin tuna. Steve Morris caught the heaviest shark, a 20-kilogram school shark, and Mark Snadden caught the heaviest eagle ray, at 47 kilograms.