Day of the Giant Herring

Firstly, it has been suggested by the incumbent SFC champion that due to the tardiness of this post a championship point should be deducted from the result of the session that occurred on the weekend of the 20/05/2012. The champ has a point, in the fact I cannot remember what the date was of the last session. So therefore in a sporting gesture I hereby sacrifice one SFC championship point for the lateness of this post.

By my recollection we hit Kalang River at Urunga about 0900 hrs on a rising tide. it was a clear blue day with little to no wind. We had not ever tried the upstream section of this river so proceeded to steam up river to a very wide deep section of the river at the junction of south arm and Newry Island.

Seeing as I was holding a very health lead in the 2012 SFC I offered up the proposition of double points for the first legal fish landed for the day. The proposition was eagerly taken up by the champ and the session commenced.

I landed the first fish, an undersized flathead, but shortly after whilst we drifted down stream I managed to hook up with something that had us both a little bemused. It seemed like a very ordinary fish until it saw the boat and took off.  After a very satisfying fight I managed to land a 55cm? Silver specimen that neither of had ever seen. Needless to say both of us knew it was legal and most probably a new species as well. So with the double points for the first legal fish and a new species I was off to a great start.

Enz was the next to land a legal fish with a very nice 30 cm bream caught off a nasty snag. Just goes to show finesse sometimes pays off.  We continued to drift down stream with various amount of success, mostly undersized flatheads until we encountered the oyster leases.

It was on the first oyster lease I managed to land a 26cm bream, on a 100mmm bloodworm wriggler and shortly after on another oyster rack land a legal flathead whilst Enz went fishless. We continued do drift down stream with very little success.

We ended up back by the highway bridge with the tide well and truly come and gone so we decided to hit the rock walls to see if Enz could have a change of fortune. So we headed to the junction of the Bellinger and Kalang to try our luck. And as it was with a random cast into the middle of the river I landed another legal flathead.

At this stage we had been on the water a good while and the champ was in the hole for at least 7 points and I was sure that he will had been broken. However never the one to throw in the towel, Enz wanted to persist in a vain attempt to recoup some championship  points, It was about ½ an hour later when I landed another good legal fathead that his resolve was finally broken.  So the session ended with Enz only able to land 1 legal fish to my 5 legal catches.

After much research by Enz upon our return we were able to identify the first legal fish I caught as a Giant Herring. So I scored double points for the first legal fish and a bonus point for a new species. My day was just getting better and better!

The end result was Geoff defeats Enz 8 to 1. What a result!!! However adjusted points for a late post  very sporting gesture. Geoff clearly wins the day 7 to 1.

The champ has to ask himself

Can I come back from here?

Does the title mean that much to me?

What do I have to do to win?

At the half way mark of the season, the champ finds himself 9 points behind.