Every one of our 10 SunSmart Fishing Clinics Southern Tour was completely booked out this year, highlighting once again how popular and important fishing is on our south coast.
More than 350 excited kids took part in the clinics running from East of Esperance all the way along the coast to Augusta – with all participants enjoying learning about fishing basics, looking after the environment and being SunSmart.
This was a record attendance for the tour with record numbers of fish caught and released by the young eager anglers to match!
Check out some of the fishing action below in GWN7’s recent news item on the clinics.
Scores of whiting, flounder, skippy, tarwhine, black bream, leatherjacket and flathead catches put brimming smiles on the dials of our next generation of anglers over 11 days in January, with many participants enjoying the thrill of catching and releasing their first ever fish.
Many parents were delighted to be able to get their kids off their devices and out in the fresh air enjoying the healthy and educational experience the clinics provided.
Despite some windy, overcast and rainy conditions along the south coast, all fishing clinics at Duke of Orleans Caravan Park, Esperance, Hopetoun, Bremer Bay, Albany, Denmark, Walpole and Augusta were fully booked out, with some clinics even resulting in kids happily sharing rods with extra participants keen to get casting.
With fishing access to some of these cherished fishing spots along the south coast in question pending the release of the Government’s south coast marine park plans, these fishing clinics firmly showed that the social, physical and wellbeing benefits fishing provides to so many fishers need to be protected.
“This was by far Recfishwest’s most jam-packed and successful Southern Tour since it kicked off more than 20 years ago,” said Recfishwest’s Communications Coordinator Jarrad Lawford. “The response from the community has been a fantastic illustration of just how passionate they are here about fishing and how important it is in this part of the world.
“Recfishwest’s Sam Bock and I were kept very busy baiting lines, helping carefully unhook the catches and taking snaps of ecstatic kids with their fish. Many of them created memories of their first ever catch that will last a lifetime and we’re hoping they’ve now learned enough to safely enjoy fishing as a pastime that will give them a lot of joy for the rest of their lives.
“A big thanks to Healthway for supporting these great community events and cheers to our instructors Stephen Crane and Kevin Murphy who also did a fantastic job coordinating some of the clinics. Make sure you get in quick and register your spot in 2025 for when our Southern Tour returns next year.”
In addition to all the valuable fishing knowledge provided at these clinics, all kids were taught how to stay safe while fishing and were rewarded Recfishwest stickers and lures, along with dozens of SunSmart and Shimano hats for their next fishing adventure.
Were you one of the 350 young guns getting amongst the fishing action during our recent SunSmart Southern Tour? Check out some of the great snaps below!
