2018 Perth Game Fishing Club Inc Postal Address: PO Box 57 North Beach 6920 www.pgfc.com.au contact@pgfc.com.au President: Tim Carson 0429 676 237 Perth Game Fishing Club 2017 18 th October 2017 In this issue of Hook-Up are items including Opening Weekend coming up, local fishing, AGM and the new club Committee, and the FAD deployment for the 2018 season. Annual General Meeting The Club held its AGM on Tuesday 14 th November to receive the reports of the 2017 committee and elect a new Committee for the 2018 year. Nominations were received for all positions except Vice President and none was contested. Opening the meeting, President Tim Carson said that the past two years had been an enjoyable experience and acknowledged the committee for their efforts and assistance. The committee for 2018 is: President Vice President Secretary Treasurer Weigh-master General Committee Immediate Past President Deon van der Westhuizen Vacant Teresa Belcher David Littlejohn John Webber Peter Coote Ashley Hicks Mark Jamieson Stephen Scarrott Johan Oosthuizen Tim Carson In recognition of the importance of the long relationship between the two clubs, RPYC Commodore Mark Hansen was elected as Patron for 2018. The Commodore of RPYC will be extended an invitation to act as Patron for the foreseeable future. In accepting the Presidency following the election, Deon van der Westhuizen said that he was honored to be elected President of an historic and well respected club, and that his objectives for 2018 include providing members with an expanded range of activities in which to take part, with the MAJOR EVENTS Dates and details of the club s major fishing events for the 2018 club year have been set. OPENING WEEKEND Following the success of the Fremantle sail-past last year, this is to be repeated. With the social emphasis, the overnight location is planned to be Garden Island. Date is November 25 th & 26 th 2017. MARLIN CUP As for last year s successful event. Rottnest Island. February 17 th & 18 th. WA OPEN Jurien Bay April 14 th to 16th. Following a survey of previous competitors, this has been shifted to avoid Easter and to take advantage of school holidays and a better fishing predictions. There has been a good response to the change. 18 th November 2017 Page 1
aim of increasing member participation rates and providing further value to sponsors and members. Responsibilities for specific activities will be decided upon and members advised following the next committee meeting on 23 rd November. Following the formal part of the evening, members joined with the new committee in a convivial atmosphere. Fishing Local fishing has been good if mixed. Pelagic species including southern bluefin tuna and big yellowtail kingfish have been caught around the reef which heads out to the south west from West End of Rottnest. Ashley Hicks and Damien Wham on Damien s Time Out took advantage of the weather on Gone Fishing Day to get amongst some last minute demersal action before the ban. The plan for the day was to get amongst the pink snapper action that had been red hot in prior weeks. An early morning start with sensational weather, they spent the first few hours looking around the usual haunts north of Garden island only to come up empty handed. Leaving the crowds they made a quick move to a spot that regularly produces some great snapper fishing all year. On approach to the spot they marked some arches stacked on a small lump just south of the main ledge. After anchoring, the next few hours produced some great pink snapper fishing, all very welcome in the Mad fish bag. Catching over a dozen snapper up to 7.5kg as well as managing a few on line class was a great result. As well as pinkies there was a few unstoppables, most likely sharks, that also made their presence felt when attempting to destroy the drag washers! Getting away from game fish, there is an abundance of sand and King George whiting being caught in water depths to 25m. Dylan Picken got out recently from Dawesville and hit a patch of KG s after pulling his pots. A good day s fishing. 18 th November 2017 Page 2
Exmouth Game Fishing Club hosted their annual Billfish Bonanza tournament over three days from 20 th October. Twelve boats entered with three PGFC club members fishing aboard Valiant operated by Coral Bay's Seaforce Charters. On the trip from Coral Bay to Exmouth, two days before the competition Johan Oosthuizen tagged an estimated 90kg black marlin that took a lure on a fast troll of around 15 knots. The plan for the competition was to target marlin out wide using 24kg stand up gear. Strong winds during the competition resulted in the majority of boats concentrating on sailfish on 10kg line in the relative calm of the Exmouth Gulf. The crew of the Valiant persevered with the original plan and were rewarded with the only tagged marlin of the competition, securing the title of "Champion Boat Marlin". Adam Durell tagged two black and one striped marlin, Johan Oosthuizen tagged one black and lost another. Andre de Vries lost two blues. Johan tagged an unexpected sailfish in around 700m of water to secure the title of "Champion Boat Combined". The awards for "Champion Boat Sailfish" and overall highest score went to PGFC sponsor On Strike Charters with 19 sailfish tagged out of the competition total of 36. Footnote: Adam Durell has been a member since 1993 and has recently ordered a Caribbean 49, Andre de Vries and Johan Oosthuizen are recently joined members. Johan has also joined the 2018 committee. 18 th November 2017 Page 3
Rottnest FADs November has seen a lot to do with the Rottnest FAD Program. Two working bees, the first to layout, check and recount all the gear on the 4 th and the second, on the 12 th, to transport all to RPYC and assemble the FADs ready for deployment. On the second of the working bees it was great to see two juniors, Georgia Hyde and Axel Scarrott join in and assist. The PGFC FAD is also carrying surface and bottom temperature trackers for Fisheries WA. Wednesday 15 th, marked the 21 st annual deployment in what is known as the Recoverable FADs at the Rottnest Trench Program. Originally initiated by PGFC in 1997 following many years of deploying FADs which were not recoverable, the knowledge gained in construction, mooring gear design, deployment and recovery techniques has led to excellent durability and an economical asset enjoyed by thousands of metropolitan game fishers. The newly sponsored Fibrelite Boats FAD is of polyethylene construction and is being trialled for its longevity and fish raising potential. All FADs are again fitted with satellite trackers and red radar reflectors. The FADs were loaded aboard the Maritime Image, ably skippered by Andrew Ings with professional crew Gus Davy and Rob Meacham from South Metropolitan TAFE. The deployment took around five and a half hours door to door which is a record time. Conditions were moderate. Approximate positions are: HYC / Hillarys Boat & Taccle 31 54.1 115 12.1 167m Furuno 31 57.3 115 15.8 141m Perth Game Fishing Club 31 59.8 115 13.6 185m Club Marine 32 02.9 115 19.3 107m Fremantle Sailing Club 32 05.1 115 11.4 203m Fibrelite Boats 32 08.4 115 10.9 180m These positions will be confirmed in the next Hook-Up. Members are welcome to contact the club at contact@pgfc.com.au at any time to get an update on exact positions. Thanks are extended to those who helped with the working bees and deployment: Kevin Baker, Nat Brazzalotto, Tim Carson, Peter Coote, John Holmes, Mark & Georgia Hyde, Mark Jones, Dave Littlejohn, Brian Luecke, James McGregor a non member, Brian McGuiness, Dylan Picken, Trevor Rumble, Steve and Axel Scarrott and Rhyss Whittred. Special thanks are extended to Taylor Marine who provided the truck to transport all the gear. 18 th November 2017 Page 4
Opening Weekend Only a week to go. Members are asked to nominate (no cost) for the weekend ASAP so final arrangements can be made. 18 th November 2017 Page 5
Wandering FAD It is still going! The All Marine Services FAD that went adrift on 28 th December 2017 is still chugging along varying its speed and direction on the whims of the currents. It looked like it was heading for the Maldives, but has since changed course to south east. It still has 49% of battery charge remaining. Membership Fees Members are advised that membership renewal invoices were emailed out in early October. For those who have not received them or need another copy, please contact membership@pgfc.com.au. If paying by EFT please include your name or membership number so the payment can be identified. 18 th November 2017 Page 6
Club Championship Scores PGFC ANNUAL CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP SCORES 2018 EDDY MOSS TROPHY CHAMPION ANGLER PRESIDENT S TROPHY CHAMPION BOAT Luke Ryan 670 Simrad 670 Damien Wham 129 Time Out 255 Asley Hicks 126 NEIL PATRICK TROPHY Adam Durell 2 Luke Ryan 1 Johan Oosthuizen 2 Dave Thomson 1 Jonathon Jarvis 1 Marco Fraschetti Club Championship points have been updated to 14 th November 2017. The season begins on 1 st October and ends on 30 th September. Members are reminded that whilst all care is taken, members are responsible for ensuring their points are correct. No adjustments, up or down, will be made after the final club year points have been awarded. Calendar In an addition to the club s calendar, extra fishing, social and special events will be held during the year, please check the club s website http://www.pgfc.com.au/events/ for updates on all events. November Sat & Sun 25 th & 26th Opening Weekend Sail-past Fremantle Garden Island December Tuesday 5th Christmas Social Night RPYC Fremantle January Sunday 21st Swan River Treasure Hunt and Family Social Day Matilda Bay Tuesday 6 th Social Night RPYC Fremantle February Sat & Sun 17 th & 18 th Bluewater Tackle World Marlin Cup. Briefing Thu 15 th. Presentations Thu 22 nd Rottnest Island March Tuesday 6 th Social Night RPYC Fremantle Tuesday 3 rd Social Night RPYC Fremantle April Sat Mon 14 th -16 th Shimano WA Open. Briefing Fri 13 th Presentation Mon 16 th Jurien Bay May TBA Tuesday 1 st Wed 16 th Ladies and Juniors comp Social Night FAD Recovery RPYC Fremantle RPYC Fremantle 18 th November 2017 Page 7
HIBT This year s HIBT was the 58 th running of the event out of Kona Hawaii, an excellent write up of the even is included in the recenly released volume 127 of BlueWater Boats and Sportsfishing. The point in mentioning it in Hook-Up is that our own Dave Thomson of Azura fame has now fished the tournament six times, the first with a group from Fremantle Sailing Club. As with any event fished for a number of times, friendships between groups tend to develop. To cut a long story short Dave became mates with a bunch of guys from the Old South Marlin Club based in Raleigh, South Carolina. It s fairly obvious why Dave joined up with these guys, they had won the tournament a couple of times but their real skill is in throwing parties. Anyway, with Dave nominated as captain for reasons which have not been adequately explained, the team came a very creditable third in 2017 following a similar position in 2016. When asked if he d be going back in 2018 the answer was a resounding Hell yeah! The photo shows the trophies awarded for coming third this year. Contributors Contributors to this issue of Hook-Up were Tim Carson, Peter Coote, Andre de Vries, Ashley Hicks, Dave Littlejohn, Dylan PIcken, Clem Rodgers, Deon van der Westhuizen and John Webber. Thanks to all. 18 th November 2017 Page 8
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