Kids Weekend
The kids comps ran for two days, Saturday and Sunday and the weather cooperated with skies that threatened but failed to deliver anything substantial in the form of rain. A couple drops were not enough to put off the kids. The comp for the kids (juniors and cadets) is a typical expression session. A condensed version of the main event for the adults.
111 juniors and 86 cadets signed up for the kids comp chasing key species Bream, whiting and flathead. There was also a category for meritorious captures.
JUNIORS
On Saturday, some quality fish were caught with Makai Oldfield catching the largest Bream for the day with an impressive 432mm fish. The flathead day one winner was Amali Martin with a 480mm catch. Remarkably, the day one winner for whiting was Brody Symonds with a 280mm fish. The most meritorious prize was awarded for a snapper of 625mm.
CADETS
In the cadet category, Makai Oldfield also took out the Bream cadet category, having entered in both Juniors and Cadets. Hamish Souter landed a 584mm flathead to take the win for day one and Leah Jackson Gapps won the whiting category with a teeny 220mm model proving you don’t need a huge fish for a win.
Day Two – Sunday
Organisers wrangled over 180 kids for the Sunday morning kid’s talks and fishing demonstration which was easier than understanding and implementing the new COVID rules. The Shimano team turned up with stack of giveaways making sure no young ones were left without at least something from the event. The idea of the talk was to provide guidance on lure fishing options with soft plastics for flathead being the most accessible. The Shimano team offered a few tips before the kids assembled on the sandbank to test out their new skills.
JUNIORS
Day two results changed a little with Zac Litle taking out the Bream category, Macklin Grothe landing a flathead of 480mm to take out that section while a just legal 270mm whiting for Charlie Palmer was enough to secure him victory. It was good to see different winners for each day.
CADETS
The cadets category also changed with Hamish Souter taking out Bream, Macklin Growth, flathead and Alyssa Symonds the whiting.
Overall
Winners are grinners and the kids always provide a next level of excitement when they win. Zack Little took out a hot field in the bream category with a 362mm model. Chevy Obrien and Stevi Grissel filled out the next two spots. The flathead category featured day two’s Macklin Growth who held onto first. Notable mentions for Hannah Forrester and Matilda West. The Symonds family (we assume they are related) dominated the whiting category with Alyssa Symonds in first, Brody in second and Sophie in third.
Most meritorious winners were Sunny Moreman with a blackfish and Marley Conte with a tailor.
