Evans Head Fishing Classic

[novice23]

I'm planning on heading down for the first time.
Are any fellow aus-fishers going down / been down before?
Sounds pretty big.
Any advice for a first timer?

[banshee]

The best advice I can give is keep your valuables locked up out of site during the draws each night,especialy on the last night.

[Tony_N]

Nah - no fish at Evans Head - not worth going

tony

[revs57]

and I thought all the lies were told in offshore reports Tony

[stonecold]

Banshee's advice is gold. Keep everything out of site and under lock and key.
Also make sure you have all your rego's (boat and trailer), safety equipment i.e flares, and nsw fishing liscence up to date. With such an influx of fishermen in one place it makes it easy for the regulatory bodies to carry out spot checks. I have never been asked for my fishing licenses by a fisheries oficer since they were made compulsory......except for the 3 times during the week of the classic last year

[Tony_N]

and I thought all the lies were told in offshore reports Tony

Mate, it WAS said as a joke, true - but its not really all that funny - last years Classic decimated especially the snapper population. It seems that the event coincided with a spawning run to the inshore reefs following the good rain we got at that time. The contestants cleaned up - but most of the fish were full of roe.The fishing has only just started to recover. Local amateurs and pros are spewin'. I'd like to see the classic banned - but it brings in so much money to the town that there's not much chance of that.


Tony

[onerabbit]

Hey Tony,
I was really dissappointed to here the Evans classic was on again after suggestions that it may have been called off.

Yeah, why not let 1000 extra fishermen come & kill our spawning snapper stocks, of course they will only take the bag limit ( possibly 10,000 snapper PER DAY OVER 7 DAYS OF FISHING, a possible 70,000 fish).
In reality, who benefits, bait shops, petrol stations & caravan parks.

I hope the wind blows its ar$e off for the whole week.

Muzz

[banshee]

G'day Muzz,I'm not sure if your having a shot at the anglers that blatantly flaunt the fisheries laws or if your not right up to speed so I'll say this,the bag limmits set in NSW are an in possesion limit that apply to licensed/legal rec fishos,you can not legaly take fish if you have the bag limit already in your possesion at home or back at the camp etc,and for the record I am totaly opposed to the event.

[onerabbit]

Hey Banshee,
I am aware that bag limits also apply to whats in the freezer, but how many of the competitors at the classic will take heed of this.
I cant imagine too many would be putting fish back when they had 10 at home.
Is there any regulation as to how many fish one person can weigh-in over the week of competition? Do they stop at 10 snapper or 2 big jew or 5 pearlies?
I dont want to be overly critical, everyone has the right to go & catch fish, I just hate the rape & pillage mentality that seems to come with these sort of events, most competitors will travel to get there, so will want to leave with a heap of fish to cover their costs. How many tubs of fish will be stored in the local butcher or bait shop freezer until the end of the week?
All this said, & especially with overall bag limits in mind, I think the classic should be shortened to 2-3 days of competition, ( I'd prefer for it to be stopped altogeather) a week is just to much pressure on our fish stocks.
I'll get off my soap box now,

Muzz

[The_Tub]

Hi fellas

I fish evans alot,the comp destroys the fish stockes in the hole area{reardons etc] after the comp last year you were lucky to loose a bait let alone get a good feed which is a shame,i'm making the most out of every chance i get to get out there before the slaughter beins.what date does it start.
there wont be that many big knobbies there because they dont like my boat anymore as its taking afew of there brothers and sisters now
ha! ha!

[onerabbit]

Hey Mal,
Did you go out on saturday as you had planned???
Might have been a bit rough.

Muzz

[The_Tub]

Hi muzz

i didn't go on the weekend,but i am hoping to get out later in the week,wednesday or thursday i hope,evans or ballina i'm not sure depends on the swell,i reckon there is some good snapper getting around in close as there was last thursday

[Fishing_Jake]

I am against all the people that want to go. If you insist on it you should keep the fish alive and when a bigger and better fish comes along you keep it and relese the other fish. Dose anyone agree on that idea?

Cheers

Jake

[Big_Les]

Novice 23

I go every year from the Gold Coast and I agree with the comments by some of the others. You need to keep a good eye on your gear as some of it might go missing overnight. Also the amount of fish taken seems to be too much. I support a photo on brag mat type comp with a unique coloured tag or similar issued by the committee daily to prove the fish was taken that day. All in all it is a good week, very social and a great town.

Big Les

[fish_head]

I know a few of the pros were complaining about the event last year with a lot of spawning snapper caught, but i wonder how many of them stayed at home while the snapper were spawning or kept to a bag limit