A tremendous weekend was had on our mighty Macintyre River with the fourth annual OzFish Goondiwindi Classic taking place. There were a record breaking 372 contestants, which included 103 junior anglers.
Contestants travelled from near and far to participate with 27% of entries travelling 100 kilometres plus to compete.
It was hard work but those that worked were rewarded with over 200 Golden Perch (that we’re aware of) caught and released back into the river, 5 elusive Murray Cod and just under 300 carp eradicated.
The lucky junior winners were Tayla McGowan taking out Most Fish Caught, Tarnia Tatnell landing the Biggest Fish (a 66cm Murray Cod) and Oliver Laurence taking home the Mystery prize.
The Carp were targeted with a $1000 prize for Most Carp being taken home by Kyle Sutherland with 37, and KyeJahn Weatherall netted the biggest at a whopping 78cms.
The Golden Perch Winnings were taken home by Jack Gilbert, Ryan Lindenberg and Allen Sutton in a close call, measuring 53.5cms, 52.2cms and 49.5cms with two other competitors missing out by millimetres.
It was great to see some beautiful Murray Cod about but Jay Emerton, Fritz White and Jake Burgess had the luck, with an 87cm, 85cm and 80cm.
This year we introduced a Lucky Lady Angler prize to encourage more females to get involved and Janelle Faulkner was lucky enough to take home the $500 prize.
The junior lure casting comp has always been a fan favourite and this year our talented youngsters were Mortimer Rodgers, Alex Schell and Hugo Brown.
This year the entertainment was all in the adult’s lure casting comp, with Gregor Anderson and Robby Hanna taking home the bragging rights (along with some awesome prizes).
As always, these sorts of events are not possible without the support of the community, the many amazing businesses who sponsored and donated and every single competitor who entered.
Make sure the 6th-8th June 2025 is marked in the diary for next year, as we continue to grow this will be an event not to be missed.
By: Rachel Holmes
