31 MARCH 2021 | ISSUE 471 | FREE
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MORE THAN 2500 ANGLERS WET THEIR LINES AT GOFISH NAGAMBIE Wind the clock back 12 months and GoFish Nagambie 2020 was cancelled due to the Covid19 pandemic. Fast forward to now, and we can celebrate a return to the tournament with more than 2500 anglers wetting their lines at GoFish Nagambie 2021 over the weekend. After a tough year in 2020, the excitement of the return of the tournament to Nagambie and bringing the fishing community back together was evident with anglers arriving midweek to set up camp in anticipation of the weekend ahead. The Nagambie Lakes Regatta Centre was transformed into a pop up camp ground with hundreds of anglers setting up for the three day tournament. The competition was capped at 1000 boat entries, with fishers keen to try their luck from the river banks or kayaks. It was a boost to tourism and a welcome return to big events in the region. With the $80,000 lure to catch the biggest Murray Cod, not to mention all the other prizes, it comes as no surprise that the 1000 boating entries on offer were sold out two weeks prior to the start of the tournament. The competition has an unprecedented cash and prize offering, but the festival was terrific and the fireworks a crowd pleaser. The GoFish Nagambie Festival, included the Outdoor Lifestyle Expo and the North East Emergency Expo, both open across the weekend at the festival hub. The bucking bull was a favourite as were the free VFA fishing clinics. MS is the proud official charity partner of GoFish Nagambie and $84120 was raised in their boat raffle. The major prize winner went home with a tinnie package valued at over $21000. It was Graham Fletcher from Diamond Creek who landed the whopping $80,000 prize for the largest Murray cod snagged over the weekend, measuring in at 100.7cm. Graham works in Seymour and for ten years has stayed at the Nagambie Lakes Leisure Park where he owns a cabin. "I stay at the park during the week and enjoy getting out on the river fishing,” said Graham. Graham knows the river well and has caught some big fish in the waterways. He caught a
1.23 metre fish not so long ago and said that you need patience to hook the big one. “I caught a few fish on Friday but Saturday they went off the bite. I’d been fishing for 5 1/2 hours with no luck at all. I went back upstream towards Tahbilk Winery, where I’d had a few nibbles on Friday. I sat there for 1 ½ hours with not even a bite." "It was 2:30pm and I was sitting at the front of the boat when the rod took off. I scrambled to grab it before it went into the river. "I thought I was in trouble. The boat was surrounded by logs and the fish took the line deep into the water shaking his head fiercely before taking off to the other side of the river. “It came up to the surface and passing boaters were excited to witness what was occurring. They stopped and filmed the catch. The fish took one look at the boat and off it went again. ‘Don’t let him go, that’s the winning fish,’ yelled the angler in the boat. Graham said it took 10 minutes to land the cod and it certainly put up a good fight. “I was lucky the other boat came along because they took a photograph. I was on my own and that would’ve been very difficult,” said Graham. Graham had a nervous wait to see if his catch would be enough to take home the 2021 GoFish Nagambie cash haul.
“I knew I was in the lead on Saturday evening but anything can happen. I’m still a bit shocked, it’s a bloody good prize,” said Graham. The topic of bait came up and I asked Graham what he used to entice the winning cod. “It was a bardi grub that I bought from ‘Nagambie Outdoors. It was one bite only and I was lucky enough to hook him,” said Graham. The moral of the story is that if you want to catch the big one, you must have patience, be committed and it does indeed help to Shop Local! Congratulations Graham.