The 19th Australian Snapper Championships saw 824 anglers participate in the three-day event held over the Easter long weekend at Whyalla, on South Australia’s Spencer Gulf.
Whyalla is regarded as our nation’s premier snapper locale, however, the big fish lived up to their fickle reputation during the competition period by frustrating many anglers. Although the fish were a bit slow, some quality reds were still weighed in during the competition period.
Anglers travelled from afar to compete for $55,000 in prizes, however, it was local angler Ray Curnow who took championship honours with a superb 15.04kg snapper. Ray’s fish weighed in at a massive 15.58kg on capture, but as he was too late returning to shore on the Friday evening was forced to wait until the following morning to officially weigh in his winning red.
In second place (for the second year in a row) was Frank Zarnotal of Hallet Cove, SA, with a 13.24kg snapper, and in third place was Joe Richichi of Athelstone, SA, with a 12.82kg fish. The top 10 fish were all over 10kg, and this year it was SA anglers who dominated the leader board. There’s a healthy rivalry between competing SA and Vic anglers, and to their credit the Victorians generally fare well.
On completion of the competition, the leader board looked as follows:
1st – 15.04kg, Raymond Curnow, Whyalla, SA
2nd – 13.24kg, Frank Zarnotal, Hallet Cove, SA
3rd – 12.82kg, Joe Richichi, Athelstone, SA
4th – 12.26kg, Joe Nicholson, Whyalla, SA
5th – 11.74kg, Kelvin Rigden, Port Augusta, SA
6th – 11.45kg, Greg Roediger, Whyalla, SA
7th – 11.40kg, Ashley Talbot, Semaphore Park, SA
8th – 11.32kg, David Cocks, Wynnvale, SA
9th – 11.22kg, Mark Otten, Cranbourne North, Voctoria
10th – 10.98kg, Mitchell Walsh, Woodcroft, SA
