The Swan Hill Lions and Rotary clubs joined forces at the weekend for the Swan Hill Combined Service Club’s Fishing Classic.
Held at the Pental Island Caravan Park, 79 boats participated in the event with 136 competitors.
Some entrants travelled as far as Melbourne and Ballarat to join in on the fun.
Swan Hill Lions Club immediate past president Colin McAlpine said the competition was a great opportunity to raise money for the local community, while enjoying a relaxing weekend out on the river.
“The weather was just beautiful and everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves,” Mr McAlpine said.
“More than 50 cod were caught throughout the competition and the biggest measured 69cm.
“Five yellow bellies were caught all up, with the largest being 60cm, which was extremely large for a yellow belly.”
First place for the cod competition went to a participant from St Arnaud who caught five cod measuring 292cm in total.
Second place went to another St Arnaud man who caught four cod measuring 243cm in total, while third place went to a Swan Hill local who also caught four cod, measuring 223cm in total.
Rotary chairperson for the Fishing Classic, Murray Ray, said the event was absolutely wonderful.
“It was very exciting and we had some really great results,” Mr Ray said.
The major prize raffle of a Shimano fishing pack worth $3000 went to Nathan Moseley of Swan Hill.
Mr McAlpine said all the money raised on the day would be donated to a local charity.
“We’re hoping to have raised around $10,000,” he said.
“The charity hasn’t been decided on yet, but we’ll get together with the Rotary Club and work it out from there.”
To read more about this story, grab a copy of Friday’s Guardian (March 10).
