Is there something mystical about the Gone Fishing event that invites the sky to open up?
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For the second cursed year in a row, the Nambucca Heads Offshore Fishing Club has had to contend with a gloomy forecast for its ‘Gone Fishing for kids’ event.
But always the optimist, club weighmaster David Gladman said the rain was a blessing – having had the effect of washing all the fish downstream into the baited (bated?) hooks of the 28 keen young entrants.
Families lined the banks of the Nambucca River from Macksville to the V-Wall in an attempt to snare the biggest catch of the day, all in the name of encouraging more of our young-uns to pick up the rod.
The Fergusons were up at River St, Macksville, to try their luck.
Yound Riley (9) reeled in a bream, and Logan (11) scored himself one too, then added to it with a grunter and a stingray to boot.
“The stingray put up the biggest fight – it was bending the rod over,” he said.
But hats off to mum, Kylie, who snagged herself the wildcard catch of the day: a genuine bucket hat – and strangely, not the first she’s ever hooked.
Father-son team Derek and Jerry looked the part in their matching BCF gear, and maybe that made all the difference, because Jerry (8) managed to net a bream, a tarwhine and a whiting in the allotted time.
Young Jax (6) also had a blinder with three catches: a bream, a whiting and a blackfish, all hooked from the boat ramp at the Foreshore Caravan Park.
“The whiting was the best, it pulled the hardest,” he said, proudly.
The youngest fisher of the day was three-year-old Kailey, who was equally as thrilled by the sausage sizzle lunch as she was by her catch.
But the reigning champ was up to her usual tricks again. The undisputed fish master, Layla (11), kept her crown this year after reeling in a 40cm flathead.
Every kid who entered got a choice of prize, with the camo rods being the most popular prize of the day – hopefully a good omen of more fishing adventures to come.