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A rollicking 21kg Samson fish was enough to claim top prize – and a staggering $24,000 worth of prizes – at last weekend’s Esperance Archipelago Offshore Angling Classic.
Despite the gnarly south coast conditions that met the 250 participating entrants and 70 boats, some great fishing was still to be had, showcasing what this spectacular part of the state has to offer.
A solid local crowd gathered to watch the famous shotgun start out of the harbour. Check out the action in the video below!
The barrage of boats set out on Sunday at 6:30am and returned to the clubrooms at 4pm, where 156 fish were weighed in and recorded, including a 2.85kg nannygai, 12.75kg gummy shark, 5.12kg queen snapper and many other abundant southern species.
This one-day competition draws fishers from across the State to Esperance every year, and Recfishwest’s Research & Development Lead, Sam Bock – who grew up in the town – said this competition has long been widely regarded as one of WA’s best.
“Once again, we saw many great species caught and this massive turn-out despite the conditions underpins the importance of fishing to the South Coast community.
“Given the community concerns over the past few years regarding the Government’s South Coast Marine Park plans, it was great to see them getting out and thoroughly enjoying a lot of cherished fishing spots they fought hard to protect from lockouts,” said Sam.
Not only did the 21.05kg Samsonfish caught by Campbell Warner load up the scales – it also loaded up the lucky lad’s bank balance, with the fisher taking home an eye-watering $24,000 worth of prizes for the heaviest fish landed during the comp, which included a $2,000 Garmin sounder package!
All anglers who weighed fish in were also in the running for a random draw prize for 14 different species, with rod and reel combos or sunglasses up for grabs by weighing in captures of pink snapper, sweep, King George whiting, harlequin, breaksea cod and many others.
Fishing tournaments like the Classic play a major role in the recreational fishing community calendar for thousands of West Aussies, providing great social and economic benefits to regional towns.
For many fishers, local competitions like this are annual must-attend events and they show how fishing clubs and comps are the fabric of coastal communities.
Thanks to the Esperance Deep Sea Angling Club and their president Corrina Worth for hosting another great competition – check out the results from the comp below!
If you want a perfect example of why land-based fishing access and experiences need to be protected on the south coast – then the recent Esperance Land Based Fishing Club‘s Open Classic competition rang the bell loud and clear.
With 130 avid fishers competing, their hopes of snagging some impressive competition prizes rested on their cherished land-based fishing spots producing the goods for solid catches of fish species that thrive along the south coast – and it was another cracking year.
The club offered fantastic cash rewards for the heaviest fish across 13 species, meaning all competitors had equal opportunities to bring the heaviest fish to the weigh-in and leave with heavier wallets.
With junior and senior divisions for each species, there was a great opportunity for fishers both experienced and emerging to wet a line along the pristine southern coastline to land the biggest catches of mulloway, salmon, gummy shark, tailor, skippy, herring, whiting and squid – just to name a few.
It wasn’t just prizes for the heaviest catches up for grabs – the club also had a best photo competition with the judging criteria based on showing off the beautiful Esperance coastline and the spectacular fish that flourishes along it, with Billy Vibart’s youngster Frankie taking out the honours with the cracking salmon/sunset combo pictured below!
Feast your eyes on the Esperance Classic photo comp winner, with young Frankie Vibart highlighting why fishing experiences and the crucial health benefits it provides along the south coast need to be protected for future generations.
Given many of the local community’s favourite fishing spots both on the shore and out on the ocean are in areas where the Government has flagged sanctuary zones in the proposed south coast marine park, Recfishwest also attended the event to ensure attendees understand what is at stake and encouraged them to comment on the plans once they are released.
Recfishwest’s Sam Bock – an Esperance local who spent his childhood fishing on the south coast – ventured down to enjoy the great fishing on offer and spoke directly to the bustling crowd to reiterate the importance of having their say when the marine park plans stretching over 1,000km between east of Bremer Bay and the South Australian border are released.
“It is very likely contestants were fishing in areas that could soon be sanctuary zones, meaning they would be locked out of wetting a line in that area,” said Sam. “That’s why it’s crucial we receive feedback from locals that live and breathe the unique coastal and fishing lifestyle down here and for them to speak out on what areas are important to them.”
“We’ve seen from other marine park processes that feedback gathered during the public consultation period can make a significant difference in final plans. The more people that have their say, the better the odds that their fishing access is retained, which would provide a better outcome for locals and safeguard the great fishing experiences generated by southern competitions like the Esperance Classic.”
We have written to the Premier and had discussions with Minister’s Whitby and Punch intending to get the consultation process back on track after locals expressed their deep concerns that their favourite freedoms such as four-wheel-driving on the beach and taking their dogs to their prized fishing spots could be quashed given the DBCA’s reputation in park management.
To read our concerns on the proposed south coast marine park and for a rundown on the DBCA’s track record on park management, click here.
President of Esperance Land Based Fishing Club, Mitch Waideman, said the 130 competitors this year was the biggest seen in the Classic’s history and that comes down to the current great access and options to choose from for fishing spots along the south coast.
“We had a lot of people from all over the south coast and Kalgoorlie come down because they have so many spots to choose from and people can spread out and fish the beaches they want completely on their own. That’s why people are worried about this marine park – they don’t know what’s coming and how access will be affected,” said Mitch.
“We are crossing our fingers that our access to our favourite fishing spots is unaffected by this proposed marine park. Our ability to be able to go down and throw a line in the water is what we enjoy – we don’t want to be bottled up into little areas.”
The south coast’s great fishing experiences on full display
As seen each year during the Open Classic competition, the catches came thick and fast which saw hundreds of locals gather round for a gander during the final weigh-in.
Steven Howe caught the heaviest gummy shark and heaviest fish for the Classic, closely followed by Billy Vibart with his 12.3kg catch (pictured below).
Billy Vibart finished runner-up in the heaviest gummy shark category, with this solid 12.3kg specimen.
The consistent West Aussie salmon action continued to show off its might on the south coast as well, with Lachlan Warren catching the heaviest of the hard-fighting species with a 4.465kg whopper, while Paul Jameson finished runner up with a 3.953kg salmon.
A great mix of species variety was seen during the recent Esperance Land Based Fishing Club’s Open Classic, with loads of fishers experiencing the fruitful fishing opportunities on the south coast.
Congratulations to all winners of the Esperance Classic and make sure you keep checking our channels to keep up to speed with developments and information on how to make a submission to DBCA through its public consultation portal.
