WA’s Exmouth Game Fishing Club has been recognised as the most successful game fishing club in Australia at the Game Fishing Association of Australia (GFAA) annual conference in Melbourne.
During the conference awards night the Exmouth Game Fishing Club was awarded the prestigious John O’Brien Trophy for the GFAA affiliated club achieving the Highest Tag and Release Point Score (all species) for the 2013/14 season. The Exmouth Game Fishing Club amassed a total tag and release point score of 324,606 points, the vast majority of which came from marlin and sailfish captures.
In addition to the club award, the individual honour of heaviest marlin landed during the 2013/14 season was awarded to Exmouth Game Fishing Club member, Rowan Smith, whose 368.2kg blue marlin caught under Reel Teaser skipper, Ross Newton in February this year broke the Australian and Western Australian 60kg line class record for the species.
Exmouth Game Fishing Club Weighmaster and GFAA Executive Officer, Dennis Bryan-Smith said the win was a sensational result for the Exmouth Game Fishing Club.
“Our club is only a small one compared to many of the strong east coast game fishing clubs which boast large memberships, so to outperform them all is a testament to the skills and dedication of our club members and goes to show just how extraordinary the fishing is here in Exmouth.” Mr Bryan-Smith said.
The Exmouth Game Fishing Club and all GFAA affiliated fishing clubs function under a predominantly tag and release system following strict International Game Fishing Association (IGFA) rules which promote sustainable recreational fishing and the conservation of game fish species. This system of ethical tag and release fishing provides invaluable data on the movements, habits and availability of many Australian fish species which has been used for decades to establish and assist conservation efforts.
For more information on the Exmouth Game Fishing Club or the Game Fishing Association of Australia, visit: www.egfc.com.au or www.gfaa.com.au.
GFAA Executive Officer, Dennis Bryan-Smith presents the award to Exmouth Game Fishing Club President, Darren Roche.
