Over four hundred anglers tried their luck fishing in the waters of the Wimmera River at Jeparit on Easter Saturday in the annual fishing competition.
A total of 423 entrants, including 128 under-16s and 295 Seniors, converged on Jeparit, with many locals joined by visitors from across western and northern Victoria and into South Australia, and some even travelling from the other side of Melbourne to try their luck wetting a line.
Redfin and Yellowbelly were the most common fish caught that were in the running for the main prizes, with 37 of each weighed in, along with 33 Silver Perch and 13 Catfish.
View some pictures of the competition in our Photo Gallery here. There was a total of 135 fish non-carp fish weighed.
The winning fish caught by a senior was a 4,160-gram Yellowbelly caught by Tania Beer from Sebastopol, who received a cheque for $2,000 sponsored by the Jeparit Anglers’ Club.
First prize in the Under 15 section went to Jamar Zanker from Yarrawonga with a 3,765-gram Yellowbelly, sponsored by Horsham Tyre and Battery Service
In the Carp section, 15 met the criteria of being at least 45 cm long, and the heaviest was 4,172 grams.
Pictured - Tania Beer from Sebastopol, who landed the biggest fish by an angler in the Senior section.
The leading anglers in each class were -
Senior - Non-Carp
| Place | Angler - Town | Species | Weight
| 1 | Tania Beer - Sebastopol | Golden Perch/Yellowbelly | 4160 grams
| | 2 | Rodney Beer - Sebastopol | Golden Perch/Yellowbelly | 3440 grams
| | 3 | Liam Preston - Lake Hindmarsh | Golden Perch/Yellowbelly | 3164 grams
| | 4 | Perc Ball - Netherby | Golden Perch/Yellowbelly | 3054 grams
| | 5 | Thomas Dart - Bordertown | Golden Perch/Yellowbelly | 2692 grams
| | 6 | Josh Beer - Miners Rest | Golden Perch/Yellowbelly | 2086 grams
| | 7 | Allan Beer - Wendouree | Golden Perch/Yellowbelly | 1932 grams
| | 8 | Abbie McConnell - Ballarat | Golden Perch/Yellowbelly | 1832 grams
| | 9 | Laurie Brymer - Antwerp | Golden Perch/Yellowbelly | 1808 grams
| | 10 | Tyler Newcombe - Nhill | Golden Perch/Yellowbelly | 1616 grams
| |
Senior - Carp
| Place | Angler - Town | Species | Weight
| 1 | Wayne Stratton - Ballarat | Carp | 4172 grams
| | 2 | Greg Proud - Dimboola | Carp | 2404 grams
| |
Junior - Non-Carp
| Place | Angler - Town | Species | Weight
| 1 | Jamar Zanker - Yarrawonga | Golden Perch/Yellowbelly | 3764 grams
| | 2 | Rylan Schneider - Nhill | Golden Perch/Yellowbelly | 3272 grams
| | 3 | Pheobe Greig - Ballarat | Golden Perch/Yellowbelly | 2452 grams
| | 4 | Cianna Beer - Sebastopol | Golden Perch/Yellowbelly | 1926 grams
| | 5 | Charlotte Bell - Geelong | Redfin | 1084 grams
| | 6 | Zoe Webb - Nhill | Redfin | 986 grams
| | 7 | Frazer Wheaton - Nhill | Redfin | 900 grams
| | 8 | Ella Battye - Penola | Redfin | 856 grams
| | 9 | Zoe Neil - Avoca | Silver Perch | 848 grams
| | 10 | Ashton Hatcher - Mt Egerton | Golden Perch/Yellowbelly | 792 grams
| |
Junior - Carp
| Place | Angler - Town | Species | Weight
| 1 | Reed Golea - Ballarat | Carp | 1664 grams
| | 2 | Jasper Bigham - Rainbow | Carp | 1422 grams
| |
Mystery Weight
| Mystery Weight | Angler - Town | Closest Eligible Weight | Species
| 542 grams | Mason Colgate - Edenhope | 538 grams | Silver Perch
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