Lines in! The Salmon Slam 2023 has wrapped up and the results are in with a winner’s grin!
Once again, this iconic sportfish has provided some rich fishing memories for a huge range of West Aussie mums, dads, teens and kids highlighting it truly is an everyman and everywoman’s fish providing a huge amount of value to our community through recreational fishing.
With more than 4,500 competitors taking place in the Salmon Slam competition since it began in 2020, this unique competition that celebrates catching this hard-fighting species off our pristine coastline has rapidly ascended to become the biggest land-based fishing competition in Australia.
We have thousands of dollars’ worth of prizes to give away following the completion of the two-month long 2023 Salmon Slam!
A huge thanks to all 955 Salmon Slam participants this year! With over 260 salmon catches entered into the Salmon Slam app in total, it meant scores of contestants were in the running to have their name randomly pulled out of the hat for $3,000 worth of Shimano fishing gear simply for catching a salmon and entering it into the comp!
So let’s all give a big shout out to all our Salmon Slam sponsors who have provided some amazing prizes, including Shimano, Western Angler Magazine, Richter Lures, Assassin Tackle, Halco Tackle, Compleat Angler Nedlands and Anglers Fishing World Fremantle.
With no further ado – let’s get into announcing the phase four and overall winners!
WINNER OF $3,000 SALMON SLAM TOP SHIMANO PRIZE: Sue Hastie
As we called Sue to give her the good news, she was comfortably perched in her chair next to her husband Pete Hastie and both were fishing for salmon in Bunker Bay – they nearly fell out of those chairs after receiving the winning phone call!
The retired couple confessed they had “never won anything” before, yet completely obliterated that trend this week, with Sue’s name randomly pulled out of the hat of fishers who landed at least one salmon and entered it into the Salmon Slam app to sweep the $3,000 worth of Shimano fishing gear.
“Lucky I was sitting down when I was told I had won the $3,000 top prize. I was overwhelmed and very excited to be receiving such a wonderful prize,” said Sue. “Chasing Salmon has been our passion for many years and when the Salmon Slam competition first came along it gave us another reason to chase salmon even harder – as if we needed an excuse!
“Generally, we arrive at the beach just before sunrise to our favorite spots and leave around 2pm or later if a school is in the area. We have not missed a day of salmon fishing since mid-April and between us caught about 60 fish, releasing nearly all of them. Thanks again for the fantastic Salmon Slam competition!”
The Hastie’s good luck didn’t stop there – Sue’s husband Pete also took out the four longest salmon category in phase four of the 2023 Salmon Slam, snagging himself a new Shimano Vanford 5000 reel before being told he was also the first of five fishers during the final phase to catch a salmon measuring 77cm, winning him a $100 Compleat Angler Nedlands Voucher!
“I’m very excited to have won a phase of the Salmon Slam, after being an athlete all my life, I’ve found I can still compete!” said Pete.
SECOND PLACE RANDOM WINNER: Luke Latty
Our random runner-up for 2023 was Yallingup local Luke Latty, who said he is buzzing to start using his prize pack including a Shimano Vanford 5000 reel, Maikuro 9’ rod and shoulder bag.
“I was surprised but stoked when I got the call saying I’d won the overall second place!” said Luke.
“Sight-casting for salmon is one of my favourite styles of land-based fishing and I think it’s great there’s something like the Salmon Slam to encourage more people to give it a try and spend more time outside. It’s one of the easiest forms of lure fishing too and it’s a great gateway into lures for a lot of young and old anglers who mostly use baits.”
THIRD PLACE RANDOM WINNER: Davey Wignall
Davey Wignall was our second runner-up and after submitting at least one salmon through the Salmon Slam app, he has claimed over $200 worth of the best Richter Lures for landing salmon and other pelagic species. Nice work, Davey, and we hope you put those lures to good use!
TOTAL LENGTH OF FOUR LONGEST SALMON (OVERALL): Tyson Groom
It was a very close battle for top honours in the 2023 Slam, with multiple lead changes throughout the two-month long competition.
However, it was Tyson Groom from Albany with his total of 3,353mm for his four biggest fish entered that won by around 70mm from second-placed Braden Wilson. Tyson’s fish were also all treated with care and held correctly, along with submitting clear bragmat photos that demonstrated their impressive lengths.
Tyson said scoping out the beaches for schools before sight-casting metal slices is the secret, with a bit of local knowledge helping him locate where the salmon schools are located year-round on the south coast.
“After coming in the top five in previous Slams and second place last year, I was quite determined to take out first place this year. I took any opportunity I had to get down the coast to cast lures into surf, with the limited hours of sunlight I had both before and after work!” said Tyson.
“I landed over 150 salmon last year and this year I was lucky to get close to 50 fish as I landed nowhere near as many fish as last year. But to take out the overall competition from a successful little arvo session complimented with a few beers – I was more than happy!”
JUNIOR RANDOM (OVERALL) – Nullah Ebrahim
Our next lucky random winner for the junior category went to Nullah Ebrahim, who landed his first ever salmon during the 2023 Slam with this 71cm beauty on the south coast!
Simply for entering this catch into the Salmon Slam app, Nullah has won himself over $300 worth of fishing goodies, including a $100 Anglers Fishing World Fremantle voucher along with a Richter Lures and Assassin prize pack. Well done, Nullah!
BEST PHOTO (OVERALL) – Irma Hordyk
With hundreds of fantastic glory photos submitted into the 2023 Salmon Slam, it was a tough gig selecting what photo stood out the most.
As soon as we came across this photo pictured below of six-year-old Hailey Hordyk (left) and Zoe Hordyk (right), it went immediately to first place, given the fish are still alive and being held correctly, with a picturesque beach and beaming smiles also visible!
The girls’ mother, Irma Hordyk, said the photo topped off a magical day fishing for salmon at Dingoes Beach, West Cape Howe, hitting the beach early to try out their luck.
“The weather was stunning and my husband, myself, our four kids and new baby due in May headed out early and hit the beach at 7:30am. We all took turns trying our luck.
“A favourite rod in on the action is a 10” Shimano Sienna HD as its light weight and easy to use for the young ones. A simple gang hook with a mulie attached to a star sinker did the trick and the fish were on.
“The highlight of the day was when our twin girls got to reel in a big salmon each with their dad’s help. This brought the total salmon count to five while seeing the dolphins, salmon and sharks in the waves throughout the day.
“We try to do these beach trips as much as possible as we still love getting out and enjoying what’s on offer in our backyard. The girls were so excited to win a competition together!”
BEST PHOTO (PHASE FOUR) – Beau Maister
We had swarms of brilliant snaps sent in during the final stretch of the 2023 Salmon Slam in phase four, with decent schools working their way along the south coast and popping up in the South-West regions.
The following snap from Beau Maister was a worthy winner of the $250 Halco Tackle pack for best picture, with Beau’s salmon plucked from the scenic Little Beach in Albany.
“It turned out to be the best salmon fishing session I’ve had to date!” said Beau. “The visibility was great and I was lucky enough to sight cast lures at schools of salmon during the whole session. I had multiple hook-ups and landed six salmon with all fish released. An epic location and fishing trip.”
ADULT RANDOM WINNER (PHASE FOUR): Jhani Margio
To wrap up the 2023 Salmon Slam, the final name plucked from the hat to win the Adult Random prize for phase four was Jhani Margio, meaning he now has $100 to spend at Anglers Fishing World in Fremantle. Hopefully you can find the perfect fishing gear for your next salmon escapade Jhani!
Thanks to all our competitors and sponsors for supporting another fantastic Salmon Slam for this year.
Want to keep tabs on where the salmon schools are spotted throughout the coming months? Check out the Salmon School Tracker 2023 Facebook Page.
New to salmon fishing and need some tips? Check out Scotty Coghlan from Western Angler’s salmon fishing tips in the video below!
