THE Bulahdelah Fishing Club played host to this year's annual Gibber to Gibber Inter club fishing competition.
Once again five clubs participated in this great local event, where over the years many friendships have been made, stories have been told, some true some slightly stretched, and in the process a few fish have been caught as well.
Clubs from Bulahdelah, Tea Gardens, Hawks Nest, Dungog and a relative newcomer to the comp, Narrabeen, all gathered at the Mungo Brush Rotunda on Friday night to 'sign on', have a barbie, a beer and a yarn before getting to the important part of the weekend - fishing, which started at midnight, with the ‘weigh in' to be held on Sunday at 11am at Mungo.
The weekend's weather didn't start out the best, with a big swell on all the beaches and dark skies and showers, but Mother Nature was kind to us and the weekend finished in bright sunshine and good fishing conditions.
When it came down to the weigh in there was not a great number of fish caught, but those who put in the hard yards were justly rewarded. The individual results for the weekend was dominated by the Bulahdelah Club, taking out all but one of the placing's.
The winner of the sub juniors went to Jayden Lillee, who had a smile as big as the sky when he received his prize.
First in the junior section went to Guy Higgins with a nice bag of Bream, Tailor, Salmon and a Whiting. Guy also came in with the third highest individual score for the weekend.
Second in the juniors went to Emily Bidgood who cleaned up on the Bream and Whiting on Sunday morning, with last years junior winner, Luke Benson coming in third to give Bulahdelah a clean sweep in the juniors.
In the ladies division Bulahdelah's Vanessa Shultz took out first place with some nice Bream and Whiting, second place went to Dungog's only flag bearer to get a prize - Margaret Longbottom, with Bulahdelah's Angela Battle taking out third.
In the men's section, the Gibber to Gibber champion with the biggest bag of fish overall for the weekend went to Nigel Baker with a great bag of fish - Bream, Whiting and a full bag of Drummer, one taking the clubs yearly record along with the mystery fish prize helped Nigel to a clear victory. Nigel's pig weighed in at 2.195kg.
Second went to Grant ‘Hop a Long' Bidgood with a bag of Bream, some Whiting and Tailor, with Barry Griffis giving the Bulahdelah boys the trifecta.
Bulahdelah may have had a victory in the individuals, but the winner of the coveted Gibber to Gibber shield went to the local Tea Gardens Fishing Club, who was judged the winner, with a scoring system not unlike cricket's Duckworth Lewis system.
Dungog took out the silver medal spot, with Bulahdelah third and Narrabeen forth, narrowly beating Hawks Nest who claimed the wooden spoon.
Congratulations to Tea Gardens on their win and to all the other winners and competitors who made it a memorable weekend.
A big thank you must go also to Steve Ellicott from Tea Gardens Engineering for donating his you beaut trailer barbeque to help feed the hundred or so hungry mob of anglers.
There were so many clubs and anglers fishing the one stretch of beach there was bound to be some interesting events happening.
Bulahdelah club member Arthur "Tow Truck" Baker thought he had finally joined the Big Jewie Club on Saturday night only to be surprised and disappointed to land a monster six foot plus Wobbygong shark. After a 30-minute battle the Wobby was released to fight another day.
It is also pleasing to see the Stunned Mullet Club membership is growing, with many trying to join this elite club.
The Gibber to Gibber was also a club meeting for Bulahdelah, the only thing to change from the results is in the ladies section, where Angela Battle takes second place for the outing with Pat Baker coming in third with a nice catch of Bream. The other results for both juniors and men remain the same.
Thanks to everyone who made this event a success and to all who helped on the weekend. The club would also like to thank the National Parks and Wildlife Services for their cooperation over the weekend.
Next club outing is on May 13 and 14, so until then, good fishing.
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