“LET’S build it and see if they will come,” was the vision behind this dream when Gerry Ryan first mentioned the idea to Daryl Herbert. The rest is history, fishos arrived by the thousands, the boats filled the waterways and the fish were caught.
“The best thing has been the excitement amongst the anglers, it’s incredible to see an event of this scale in regional Victoria, it’s the best!” said GoFish ambassador Rhys Creed. “The festival vibe is fantastic, this event will be here for a long time to come,” continued Rhys.
“1150 fish were caught, a monster cod was caught, I’ve spoken to the guy who caught the fish, it’s so exciting,” remarked GoFish ambassador Paul Worsteling.
The GoFish Nagambie tournament has come to a close, there are stories of huge fish, stories of the one that got away, stories of no fish but the story we want to hear about today is the one of the monster fish that measured 109.96 cm! But first, there are presentations to be made!
Jaclyn Symes, Minister for Regional Development Victoria came along to the festival hub to join in on the festivities, “The Victorian Government is proud to have worked with the organisers and the community to bring GoFish to Nagambie, and along with the visitors and economic boost and fun that it has generated, this is an event we are very proud of!”
“No one wants to listen to a politician when there’s prizes to be won. We know the importance of regional Victoria and on the behalf of the Victorian Government, congratulations to the winners, congratulations to those who competed and congratulations to the community!” said Jaclyn Symes
CEO of Jayco, Gerry Ryan took to the stage and said, “Nagambie is one of the best kept secrets, the waterways are second to none, I hope you all come back again next year, we might have it a little earlier when it’s a bit warmer.”
More than 2000 fishers, 1000 boats and an eager fishing community came together for the better good of the community, the better good of the environment and for a whole lot of fun. There were fish caught, there were friendships made and plenty of stories to be told. $15000 was raised for MS Victoria through a raffle of a Stacer 420 hp boat. The winner of the competition was Brian Forbes
The anticipation of the announcement continued to build as we waited patiently for the announcement of the winner of the open cod category. Congratulations, Clinton Alvey you are the winner of the $80000 cash, a prize pool that is life changing.
“The GoFish Nagambie tournament 2019 has been an absolute success, even better than what we could ever have imagined. We built it, and they came, my advice is get your tickets early, next year this comp is going to go off!” said Paul Worsteling
Results for Open category winners for cod, golden perch and redfin:
Open Category Murray Cod Division presented by Shimano Australia – $80,000 CASH
1st Place – Clint Alvey 109.96 cm, picture with winning catch
Open Category Golden Perch Division presented by Shimano Australia – $20,000 CASH
1st Place – Nathan Birch 60.73 cm
Open Category Redfin Division presented by Shimano Australia – $5,000 CASH
1st Place – Dean Cummings 39.65 cm
