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.:: Golden Classic 2002::.

2002 - the 10th Anniversary


By Ian "Barra" Miller

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Under perfect skies and with high hopes, the competitors gathered at the briefing for the Golden Classic at lunchtime on the first day of November. This event, which began as one of the first ever freshwater fishing competitions, is always well patronised, and few anglers ever knock back an invite to this catch and release event! Teams compete for the coveted Steve Starling Champion Team trophy, as well as individual and session prizes.

Once again the format for this year was to be the three-session format that had proven so successful in 2001. As you would imagine, most competitors wasted no time in getting on the water and to their favoured spots to start fishing.

By all reports fishing at the lake had been excellent in the weeks preceding the event. Even under the worst drought in the state's history, Windamere had managed to maintain reasonably good levels at over 70%, and the average size of the fish had been very big. It was hoped that this would continue for the event, although the drought had begun to play a hand as the lake level was now starting to fall more rapidly.

Hey! This beats workin!

Obviously this was having an effect, as was evident by the score sheets handed in that evening after 'Freshwater Fishing' Session 1 - although most teams managed at least a fish or two, and as always there were some good scores amongst them. Leading at this point was the team of 'softplastics.com.au' with 410pts. Then there was somewhat of a break to a bunch of teams all sitting on similar points: 'Old Guns' on 263, 'Going Bush' on 256, 'Hard Core' on 253, 'Last Cast' on 249 and 'Rhythm 'n Bass' on 237.

As usual at Windamere, teams fished a variety of lures and flies, and trolling and casting are both used. One of the different aspects of fishing this lake is that it is very productive to drive the boat to shore, and then fish steeper areas on foot, as well as conventional spinning techniques from the boat.

Ok so your watching us!

The early start by most teams for the 'Shimano' Session 2, made it evident that plenty of anglers still felt they were in with a good chance. Also, because there are separate prizes for each session, it gives everyone the opportunity of winning or placing in a category regardless of how they are travelling overall.

Often this second session is critical in deciding the eventual team winners, so it would be interesting to see the scores when posted at lunchtime, before the all-important final afternoon session.

As the anglers began to return their catch-cards for the morning, and pick up their afternoon paperwork, there were a few long faces. It seemed the morning had been pretty tough going for the majority of the field. But, it had changed the lead, with team 'Hard Core' posting a massive session score of 445 - nearly 300 of which was scored by team leader Glen Stewart - to take a commanding lead with 698 points! In second place and still in the hunt was 'softplastics.com.au' on 518, after which the field was more spread with 'Old Guns' and 'Going Bush' battling for third on 355 and 304 respectively, but at this stage it seemed to be pretty much a two-horse race.

The Lionels hard at work!

After a welcome hour or so off during the heat of the day, the boats hit the water again for the final 'Otto's Fishy Business' Session 3. Now at this stage I can tell you that some teams were feeling a little down and out - at least I was starting to! My two kids and I - team 'Millerods', was feeling the pinch with not a single bite from about six hours fishing, but we were determined to give it one last shot.

With a few hours left in the comp we hit the water and I decided to go back to one of my all-time favourite afternoon possies to see if we couldn't turn things around a little. And, for the first time I decided to tie on a soft plastic and see if that would change my luck!

I selected a #2 Squidgy Fish in 'Gary Glitter' colour and decided to fish it just as I would for bream - in other words basically along the bottom with a slow hopping retrieve. On the third cast there was the telltale 'twitch' of the line when the lure was grabbed as it swum back towards the bottom, and with pure reflex (ie the dumb part of my brain took over) I lifted the rod and was tight to a good fish before I even realised it!

After a bit of a team effort that fish was measured and released, and was estimated at around 4kg - not too bad for my first soft plastics yella! When I got bit again on the second cast - although I missed that fish - there was an instant 'how to fish soft plastics' bank-side clinic undertaken as my two wanted to know exactly how to do it! After a bit of coaching I felt they were doing a fair job, and I walked a few steps away and had another cast.

Amazingly I hooked up again straight away! This time it was a slightly smaller fish, which was duly measured and released. The kids were just as excited as I was for us to be on the board, and of course I had to do another refresher with them! Shortly after another golden plucked at the #2 Fish without eating, so I immediately switched to a smaller #2 Wriggler (Avocado colour) and nailed him on the very next cast!

One last strike rounded the tally out to four fish, and although the kids didn't score any, Jack did manage one nice bite, but missed the fish and got his lure back with its 'legs crossed'. Close, but no cigar, mate. When the bite slowed we simply hopped back into the boat and smiled all the way home. I couldn't stop thinking how similar it actually had been to bream spinning - same tackle, same lures and same retrieve… Hmmm!

The Evening BBQ Saturday night.

With all the catch cards for the final session back in, the anglers began to congregate around the barbie for a chat over a steak or sausage 'sanga' and a beer or three. Finally it was time to announce the results. Team 'Hard Core' had consolidated their lead with a solid third session score to take out the Champion Team trophy. Following them the rest of the teams in the top five were fairly evenly spaced and had scored consistently throughout the event. Glen Stewart was the Champion Angler overall.

While the full presentation listing appears hereabouts, it would be remiss not to mention young Andrew Dunn, who at the tender age of 8 yrs old was not only Champion Junior but also runner-up angler overall! Well done young fella, and we look forward to seeing more of your fishing talents over the coming years.

As far as best techniques fared, Glen Stewart did the damage on a cast and retrieve Legend Lure that was been custom weighted for neutral buoyancy so he could really retrieve slowly and keep it in front of the fish to tease them. Young Andrew, on the other hand had outstanding success by trolling with plenty of dedication - and no doubt some hard work at the helm by Dad - eh Rob?

Also, thanks must go to our generous sponsors, without whom such an event would not be possible. Our sincere thanks to AFN, Shimano Tackle, Otto's Fishy Business, Blakes Marine, Sportsfish.com.au, B.R. Williams, Burrill Bait and Tackle, Atomic baits, Deception Lures, Custom Crafted Lures, Glen Innes Foundry, Halco, Knols Lures, Koolabung Lures, Legend Lures, Top Catch and Skins Alive for contributing to the event.

Continued...

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