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Heaps of smiles, bent rods and a feed of fish – it was the perfect recipe for happy local kids who took part in Recfishwest’s Karratha fishing clinics at 40 mile beach, Gnoorea Point.
The Santos-sponsored clinics gave the opportunity to 18 boys from the Clontarf Academy and 26 girls from the Stars Program at Karratha High School to fish using Recfishwest gear while guided by Recfishwest Senior Operations Officer, Sam Russell, and Recfishwest Operations Officer, Levi De Boni.
And the fishing session was a cracker with some monster whiting, flathead and squid caught, not to mention some plump oysters plucked from the rocks making for a super seafood feed for all the kids who took part!
“They caught heaps of good fish and everyone had a great time,” said Sam “They were a great bunch of kids who absolutely loved fishing.”
Levi added, “Their local environment knowledge was pretty impressive too and I reckon we learned as much from them as they did from us!
“There was healthy bit of competition, and the girls in particular were gun fishos out-fishing the boys – although the lads would probably dispute that!”
Before the fishing got started, Sam and Levi both shared their expertise with the kids on fish handling, catch care and career paths in Recfishwest and the fisheries sector making it an educational event as well as a fun one. Talks on careers at Santos and the City of Karratha were also given to the school students.
The clinic was one of five run by the pair in the region over two weeks including clinics in Dampier and Onslow as part of the Dampier Classic and Onslow Mack 10k fishing comps and supported by Ashburton Anglers and the King Bay Game Fishing Club.
“It’s been a fantastic couple of weeks,” said Sam. “We’ve been made to feel so welcome by the local communities up here and seeing the smile on the kids’ faces is just a joy highlighting the benefits fishing brings to these young people.”
It’s been a very busy October for our Recfishwest crew and nearly 180 kids who had a crack at fishing in our Metro, Mid-West and Pilbara region’s fishing clinics and competitions!
Recfishwest is always pleased to see the next generation of fishers having a fine time wetting a line and catching a wide range of great West Aussie species off our jetties and pristine beaches, with herring, whiting, tarwhine, skippy, bream and many others providing top-quality fishing for our youngsters and their families.
Check out some of the kids’ fishing clinics and competitions which took place over the last few weeks below and if you want to find out more about our SunSmart fishing clinics across WA, check out our SunSmart Fishing Clinics Webpage!
City of Cockburn Youth Services fishing clinic – Ammo Jetty
Early October saw Recfishwest join forces with the City of Cockburn Youth Services at one of Perth’s most iconic land-based fishing spots – the Ammo Jetty.
Run in partnership with the City of Cockburn, the weather lined up beautifully and 24 kids thoroughly enjoyed hooking up to multiple tarwhine, herring, whiting and juvenile tailor.
Kudos to the City of Cockburn for ensuring young people within this program are supported, engaged and valued and we look forward to running more of these fishing clinics in future.
Ammo Jetty in Cockburn Sound producing the goods! Big thanks to the City of Cockburn Youth Services crew who ensured 24 young people experienced the joys of fishing off one of Perth’s most popular land-based fishing spots.
Kalbarri Kids’ Whiting Competition
One of WA’s biggest annual kids’ fishing competitions returned to the Mid-West coast on 5 October – the ever-popular Kalbarri Kids’ Whiting Competition!
Taking place over the September-October school holidays, Recfishwest attended the second day of the competition where 126 kids were ankle deep in crystal clear water on Chinaman’s Beach, with a steady flow of top-quality catches rolling through.
With quad bikes transporting kids along the beach and impressive prizes up for grabs for a mix of easily accessible species, the Recfishwest crew were kept busy de-hooking catches, taking snaps, teaching the kids how to handle fish with care and gently releasing them to fight another day.
Organised by the Kalbarri Offshore and Angling Club and supported by one of Recfishwest’s Community Grants – this fabulous community event has drawn thousands of kids and their families over the years to have a crack at catching the town’s celebrated yellowfin whiting.
Check out some of the snaps from the Kalbarri Kids’ Whiting Competition below!
We love this competition and so did the kids in Kalbarri! Recfishwest was proud to support the Kalbarri Offshore & Angling Club’s Kids’ Whiting Competition for another year, which draws hundreds of excited youngsters to Chinaman’s Beach for the great fishing and prizes on offer.
Nickol Bay SunSmart Fishing Clinic
Prior to our Recfishwest crew attending the Accenture Mackerel 5000 competition in Dampier on October 15 for our Fishing for Science program, they coordinated a SunSmart Fishing Clinic on the sand in front of Hampton Harbour Boat & Sailing Club.
Despite the hot conditions, 28 kids and their parents joined Recfishwest in spending two hours having a flick and cooling off within the bay’s turquoise waters, with Vince Amico from Karratha Adventure Sports lending a helping hand and with support from the Nickol Bay Sportsfishing Club.
Before the fishing action kicked off, Recfishwest taught the kids about safe SunSmart practices, proper fish handling, fishing regulations, sustainability and safety guidelines around wetting a line in WA’s beautiful Pilbara region.
To keep the smiles on the kids’ faces, all participants received a Recfishwest sticker and lure to help promote chipping away at developing their fishing skills.
Big thanks to the kids below who enjoyed wetting a line with us at the Nickol Bay Fishing Clinic!
Teaching kids how to be SunSmart and how to catch top -quality fish in the pristine Pilbara waters!
“It’s been a very busy October full of fishing clinics and competitions across WA and throughout all of these events, every kid had a smile on their face and had an awesome time along with plenty of memorable catch-and-release experiences,” said Recfishwest Senior Operations Officer Sam Russell.
“Hopefully they’ve been bitten by the fishing bug and it becomes a lifelong passion that gives them and their families years of enjoyment and all the well-being and health benefits fishing provides.”
Young people who are doing it tough are enjoying the mental, well-being and physical net benefits fishing has to offer thanks to a partnership between “at risk” youth program Youth Futuresand Recfishwest.
Funded through our Community Grants Program – students from the Youth Futures Community School in Midland are being given the chance to enjoy fishing through Recfishwest’s SunSmart fishing clinics proudly supported by Healthway and Shimano Australia, which are being run on several locations on the Swan River.
And the ‘Next Cast’ project is proving to be a huge success with the school’s students truly bitten by the fishing bug.
“I’ve been inundated with questions from the students asking where and when the next fishing clinic is taking place because they had so much fun,” said Youth Futures Education Assistant Jonathan Higham.
“We’ve been seeing first-hand the immediate and prolonged benefits that these fishing clinics have been having on our students. Engaging activities out in the fresh air close to nature such as fishing also helps boost the students’ engagement in class. They’ve told us they all really look forward to coming to school when the fishing clinics were coming up.”
Youth Futures have reported the fishing clinics as a huge success for improving the mental and physical wellbeing of their students, with higher engagement in classes following the fishing trips.
Next Cast aims to give alternative learning opportunities to young people who are socially disconnected because of their circumstances and are at risk of falling through the cracks of the education system.
Most importantly it gives them the opportunity to enjoy the social and physical benefits fishing provides, as well as promoting peer support and positive social interaction.
“Different students had different levels of experience,” said Jonathan. “Some of them had never fished before while others were quite skilled and experienced. It resulted in the more experienced helping out the inexperienced, which adds to the social element of it all.”
Recfishwest Fishing Clinics Coordinator Sedin Hasanovic, who has been running the clinics with fellow instructor, Kim Burton said, “Time and time again, we see young people come alive with a rod in their hand at these fishing clinics and the Youth Futures students are no exception. Fishing is such a highly engaging activity and as well as showing them how to fish, our clinics teach participants about fishing sustainably, looking after the environment and being SunSmart.
“It’s been fantastic to see these young people from some tough backgrounds getting into fishing so much – hopefully it can give them some relief from some of the challenges they have to face and maybe sew the seeds for a lifelong passion for fishing just like we have.”
Seven fishing clinics, for young people aged between 12-14 years, took place over the school’s first semester of 2023 at a number of locations in the Swan River, along with metro-based ocean marinas and jetties.
Another 11 fishing clinics are planned for the second semester of 2023 for the schools’ 15-18-year-olds, with a view to making the Next Cast program a permanent fixture of Youth Futures.
Based on the great feedback from their first seven fishing clinics in the first semester, Youth Futures have booked another 11 fishing clinics for their older students for the remainder of 2023, with hopes of making fishing trips a permanent social activity in future.
Granting wishes to great local projects
Since the Community Grants program began in 2011, Recfishwest has proudly provided more than $500,000 in funding for more than 200 fishing clinics, equipment upgrades, safety training and numerous community-driven fishing projects thanks to funding through the Recreational Fishing Initiatives Fund (RFIF) and supported by DPIRD.
Whiting, herring, flounder, skippy, tarwhine and black bream were just some of the fantastic fish that put big smiles on the dials of our next generation of fishers taking part in our Southern Tour of SunSmart fishing clinics.
Run in partnership with Healthway and supported by Shimano, the tour saw Recfishwest host 10 free fishing clinics in south coast estuaries, rivers and marinas showcasing the variety of fish kids can enjoy catching in these special environments and why these clinics are so important for local communities.
Free of charge and with all gear provided, kids spent two hours learning fishing tips and tricks from the pros at Bremer Bay, Albany, Denmark, Walpole and Augusta, with Recfishwest Operations Team Member John Dempsey and DBCA’s Stephen Crane teaching the kids about the basics of fishing, fish handling tips, the importance of fishing sustainably and the value of the waterways.
“It’s great to see these Southern Tours brimming with excited kids and their families coming along to experience safe, accessible and rewarding fishing sessions – you can see how important fishing is for communities on the south coast,” said John.
“Not only do these healthy estuarine environments provide ideal nursery habitats, but they also lead to great fishing and impressive catches – we certainly had our hands full keeping up with the number of fish being landed!
“In addition to all the valuable fishing knowledge these clinics have provided, they also focus on keeping kids safe under the sun and we’re grateful to Healthway for helping us continue to run these great community events.”
Were you one of the young guns getting amongst the fishing action? Check out some of the great snaps from some of our recent SunSmart fishing clinics below!
Albany
Bremer Bay
Denmark
Augusta
Recfishwest’s next fishing clinic will take place between 8:00am-10:00am, 22 April at A.P Hinds Reserve in Bayswater, come wet a line with us!
