Presentation night winners

A meeting of the members for presentation night

Club rooms after being decorated for Presentation/Christmas dinner 2013

Stephen Pryke and Bob Wilson - Winners of Largest Bream for year

Matt Verdi - Largest Snapper winner

Bob Wilson collecting his prize from President Ian Dickson

Winners form Wallagaraugh Fishing Competition - Paul Stray, David Veenstra and Jarrod Veenstra

Winners of Whiting Competition - mother and son Stephen and Naomi Pryke

Winners for Flathead Competition last Summer - Peter Bailey and Naomi Pryke 

Ray Beck and Stephen Pryke

Ray Bennett, Ken Waller, Raylene Bennett and Shaun Myers collecting their awards.

Ray Bennett and Geoff Hudson enjoy collecting their prizes.

Matt Verdi and Stephen Pryke

Shaun Myers and Kerri Edgely - winners form Wingan Fishing Comp

Lindsay Pryke - Largest Whiting for year

Geoff Hudson collecting his shield

Denis McGrath won the Meritorious capture for the year with his 18kg shark in his Kayak.

Presentation Night 2013

The GLFC recently held its annual Presentation Night/Christmas Party last Saturday at the club rooms. About 60 members were able to attend the night, which in our world today with such hectic times, was a great effort.
A wonderful roast meal was cooked by the members, for the members, with everyone lending support in either the cooking, serving or clean-up areas making the night an easy event to conduct and enjoyable for all.
The room had previously been set-up on the Friday by other members who decorated the rooms in a festive theme adding a special touch with fresh flowers on the Saturday.
The trophies were presented for all the members who had won various fishing competitions throughout the year along with the annual prizes of largest fish; these are presented below.

• Largest Whiting by a senior - Lindsay Pryke (33cms)
• Largest Whiting by a junior - Stepehn Pryke (41cms)
• Largest Flathead by a senior - Kerri Edgley (57cms)
• Largest Flathead by a junior - Stephen Pryke (75.4 cms)
• Largest Bream by a senior - Bob Wilson (1.63kgs)
• Largest Bream by a junior - Stpehen Pryke (46.3cm)
• Largest Snapper - Matt Verdi (9.4kg)
• Meritorious Capture - Denis McGrath - Shark 18kg from a kayak!

After presentations of the fishing trophies came the 'Years of Service' presentations with Denis Crane being presented for 20 years membership; Doug McFarlane, Kevin Minter and Alan Watts all gaining their 30 years membership certificates. Congratulations to all members who have achieved such milestones.
The final award for the night was the 'Club-person of the Year'; this year being presented jointly to two women in the club -- Naomi Pryke and Jenny Stray.
Naomi has worked tirelessly throughout the year in various ways from organising nights out for the club, arranging to have club t/shirts, attending many of the fishing trips - plus organising a few. She has contributed to many meetings, sub-committee meetings along with being a committee person on the Inaugural Flathead Classic the club will be putting on in March 2014. Congratulations Naomi for a superb effort!
Jenny also has contributed in many ways including producing the monthly newsletter that goes out to all members. She also developed the Blog sight we are on now along with reactivated the Facebook page to help keep members and prospective members involved in the club activities. Jenny has also attended meetings and fishing trips, organised guest speakers for the club, is the official photographer at club events and is also on the committee of the Flathead Classic in March 2014. Congratulations Jenny for a wonderful year!
Have a wonderful Christams to all and hopefully the fishing  will be as good, if not better in the coming year.

Wingan Inlet Competition

The members who went to Wingan managed to escape the worst of the weather with it only raining during the night. Alas though not many fish could be found. Shaun Myers managed to catch some nice Bream on the Saturday morning but couldn't repeat his form for the rest of the weekend. It was enough though to take out the junior prize winner.
Others members caught a few smaller bream but they were extremely shiny and new looking for the estuary: appearing to just have come in on the tide from offshore. With little seagrass to be seen members seemed concerned the feeding grounds were not as healthy as they should have been. The entrance was wide open, so any fish that may have been trapped before on the estuary system had made an escape - especially from our members.
A few Flathead and Trevally were caught with Kerri Edgely taking out the winner of the other species.
Regardless of the fishing the people who did attend still had a great time with a wonderful roast of lamb and vegetables Saturday night, sharing it with a couple from Bendigo who the club had met last year at the same trip. Can't say we're not friendly!
It is still a nice place in our own backyard to visit except for the nasty little critters called - sand flies a.k.a. Midgies.

Next Meeting: November 6th

Our next General meeting will be held on Wednesday, November 6th at the Clubroom, near Bullock Island, Lakes Entrance.
Starting off with a BBQ at 7:00pm the members will then be introduced to their Guest Speaker for the evening - Mr Martin Richardson who happens to be the Executive Officer for the Ministerial Advisory Committee for the Gippsland Lakes.
Martin will no doubt enthral our members with some interesting facts about our Lakes along with seeking feedback from our members about what we can do to help improve our wonderful water system here in East Gippsland (and beyond). I'm sure Martin will have some interesting aspects on the lakes and the members will certainly come away with a much better understanding of his role and what can be achieved with all people working together - a better Lake system!
If you wish to come and hear Martin speak, or wish to become involved in the club, please don't hesitate to come along on Wednesday (next) and make yourself known.
Our next Fishing competition with be held on November 8th - 10th at Wingan Inlet. This is normally a fabulous trip with a feast put on by the club Saturday night worthy of any major restaurant. The fishing is normally pretty good, but does vary from time to time, with good bream, Flathead and a variety of other species being caught.
Please don't hesitate to contact us at this Blog or in person if you wish to become involved in our club.

Pettmans Beach comp

We have just arrived back from the club fishing competition held at Pettmans Beach. The target fish, Gummy Shark, proved elusive for everyone during the weekend, even though the lead-up to the comp held promise. Reports about 22 gummies being caught all along 90 mile beach seemed too good to be true and unfortunately for us it was!
Only a few small to medium Salmon were caught along with a couple of Stingrays for the entire weekend. The camping side was great though with many members deciding to enjoy the natural landscape this part of the world offers. With a BBQ Saturday night provided by the club, all members  took advantage of the opportunity to catch up socially with each other. In fact the 2 eldest members present were the last to go to bed at 11:30pm! (They apparently solved all the problems of the world during this time, so it's good to know we are in good hands). Our next trip is to Wingan Inlet on November 8th - 10th.
If you would like to join us, please feel free to contact us at this blog or by going to a meeting which are always held on the first Wednesday of the month at the club rooms near Bullock Island , Lakes Entrance.

Fishing update from the travellers

 Hi all, well here I am again from not-so-sunny WA (Albany to be exact). The fishing so far, to say the least has been spasmodic. Denis caught some nice Salmon at Cape Le Grand NP - near Esperance, while Paul and Robin caught some very BIG squid at the same place.

Fowlers Bay turned out to be disastrous as the wind got up in the night and sand blasted everything in sight including us! It even tore off Denis' window from his caravan. After a few minor repairs it has held up reasonably well for the rest of the trip although a new one is coming when we get to Perth.
Doug was introduced to squid jigging when Paul took him out one evening before leaving Cape le Grand NP, scoring a very healthy 3 squid for his efforts. Doc and Paul had caught a Cuttlefish previously in the day, so the water was certainly alive with invertebrate fishing at least.
Well it's on up the coast to Perth from here; hopefully more fishing to be had if the weather will allow. I'll keep you informed if we do catch anything.


Denis with his big Salmon
 



Paul and his giant squid

Fishing in SA

Just thought I'd let you all know we are taking a holiday at present. Quite a few of the GLFC members are heading to the west, but on the way  have stopped off in SA to try our hand at the fishing.
One member took the kayak out, while the 2 others boys ventured forth in the little tinny.
Only squid could be caught, but it still made a nice meal for us last night.
We head for Fowlers Bay tomorrow (I think) so hopefully the weather will fine up and we can catch some real fish. Fowlers Bay is famous for Mulloway, so here is hoping.

GLFC - Fishing Trip Calendar

Please feel free to check our latest calendar for the many and varied fishing trips our club offers. I'm sure you will agree there is definitely a trip for everyone!

Media Release - Latest Technology provides safer boating on Gippsland Lakes

Please find above a media release  provided to the club re safer boating on the Gippsland Lakes. If you have a boat make sure you read this article and then pass it onto others - hopefully it will make it safer for all.

Guest Speaker - next club meeting

Our next club meeting will see VR Fish representative - Trevor Buck, talk to the members about fish habitat problems and how we can help fix these problems in our waterways.
Trevor has worked in the fishing tackle industry for over fifteen years. He has participated in, and lead many public meetings, as well as presentation to angling clubs and groups.
He has facilitated public forums and conducted interviews for the printed and radio media.
Trevor's desire is to put something back into fishing from which he has received so much enjoyment and peace of mind, and to stand up for it against times of denied access and unsustainable development.
Come along and hear Trevor and also enjoy the camaraderie of the club.
Membership can be obtained on the night, just see Ian (President) or Robin (Secretary) for more information.
Don't forget - Wednesday 3rd July, 7:30pm at the Bullock Island Club rooms.

Recreational Fishing Discussion

Last night saw a large crowd of keen fisher-persons hear from VRFish advocate Russell Conway, Travis Dowling from Fisheries Vic and Merv Hughes ex- cricketer and keen fisherman about what is being done in Victorian waters to help improve fishing and the environment in which we fish.
After an overview of what has already happened with regard to putting in structures, upgrading facilities etc it was handed over to the public to have their questions responded to.
Nothing was off limits and all responses were made with promises to consider all issues. Some of the issues covered were:

• Commercial fishing - quota restriction, where they can actually fish in the Gippsland Lakes eg - no closer to the the mouth of rivers than 400 mts etc.
• Environment - are people monitoring what is coming from the Latrobe River and the overflow of the open-cut? Fire retardant, erosion, etc.
• Habitat - more trees are needed but don't block access to rivers etc. 
• Money spent on infrastructure needs to have input from fisher-persons, not just the Fisheries making judgments.
• Politics - as a coherent group (VRFish) we can have more impact in what affects our fishing, therefore it is important to come to meetings and have your say about what you believe is necessary to make fishing better for all.

It was good to see a variety of interested parties in the audience as we had DSE, Ministerial Advisory Committee to name a few. Let's see what happens now!

Night-out at BCF Bairnsdale

GLFC were hosted on Wednesday night by Mat and his team at BCF Bairnsdale where two impressive speakers - Damian Shaw from Wilson and Jarrod Day a Pro Staffer-Sponsored Fisherman from Wilson, spoke to the large group of GLFC members and friends on different fishing techniques (lures, plastics, vibes, etc.) used in the the Gippsland Lakes area.
The night kicked off with the local 'lads' from Ocean Rescue supplying a wonderful BBQ to take the chill off any winter night.  Then it was onto the guest speakers, a short GLFC meeting then onto wandering around the BCF shop snapping up bargains galore. On all reports everyone seemed to enjoy the relaxed atmosphere and had fun chatting to other members and friends along the way.

Local BCF boss - Mat said "We felt the night was a great success, as part of our 'Think Global, Act Local' campaign. The night for us was more to become part of the local community and get our name out there rather make it into a sales focus. With the boys from the local coast guard out-front donating their time was a big help - as it also attracted other customers as well.
I believe we raised just over $140 in Donations for the local coast guard on the night.
I believe there was roughly 80-100 customers and angling club members through the doors.
Thanks to yourself and your club members also for helping make the night such a success".
 

Seisha - Cape York Fishing Tour

Hi all, just had some pictures sent to me from one of our fishing members on a trip to Cape York Peninsula at Seisha. Obviously from the pictures he sent they had a great time of it with all sorts of fish caught. Check out more pictures of the trip in our photo section.

Wallagaraugh Fishing trip

Well the yearly trip to the Wallagaraugh River has been held this past weekend with many fish caught, but unfortunately not that many to call good size.
The weather was brilliant with 23C the norm. Arriving on the Thursday was especially lovely as there was no breeze and the reflections of the water magnificent. So calm was the water you could actually see the fish in the shallows. Just tantalising us really!
The main group of the 14 fishing people made it in time to start the comp at 12:00md on the Friday with David and son Jarrad arriving a little later after a spur of the moment decision to come. Just as well they did as both ended up being the eventual winners: David with his bream of 880gms and Jarrad with a 400gms (something) bream.
There were a few hijinks with some of the lads - boats became floating jetties donwstream, other boats being swamped with the tide (yes, there is a tide in the river).
The meal on Saturday night was sensational - thanks to Kevin and his Porterhouse steak to die for!
For the non fishing person (yes, there are a few) there was plenty of nature walks, books to read and general conversation to keep it interesting. P.S - the kangaroos up here were amazing; massive specimans!
All in all a great time was had and looking forward to getting back next year (or beforehand in another part of the year).


Breaking News!!!!

The GLFC has announced a new major Flathead Fishing Competition to be  conducted throughout the next long weekend in March (2014).
This competition will replace the current Fishing Classic as we know it and will run over the Saturday and Sunday of the long weekend, offering major prizes in several categories along with noteworthy guest speakers and more.
More details will be published as they come to hand - but mark the date in your fishing diary; it is not to be missed.