The 30th of July, 8:00am marked the kick off for the highly anticipated clash between maroon and blue - The State Of Origin Fishing Competition. The 2010 installment of this event was once again held on the stunning Brunswick River in northern New South Wales. Friday morning saw dozens of anglers from as far away as the Hawkesbury River and as near as Byron Bay converge on the Event HQ ready to do their various home states proud. With an official briefing given, fishing licences checked and team shirts issued, it was time for the competitors to hit the water in search of State Points and glory. 
Catches: There had been some concern in the lead up to the event regarding the massive down pours the catchment had received over the past week. With different schools of thought regarding what this extra fresh would do to the system, many new game plans had been laid last minute to compensate for the deluge. One fish that was noticeably absent in 2010 that was however quite prevalent in 2009 was tailor. It takes a local to know every local condition, and the murky water at the mouth did not dissuade Robbie Graham from the NSW team from targeting tailor first off. Robbie ended up taking a clean sweep in the tailor category for NSW winning 1st, 2nd and 3rd in this category! Robbie’s largest fish measured in the event was an impressive 680mm specimen caught at night on a very windy beach.
Caption: Lox Ambassador Henry Do presents Robbie Graham with his Prizes and Certificates for winning the Tailor category.
The week’s rains were seen as a blessing to those chasing jewies. With only 1 jewfish registered in the 2009 event, this species was certainly seen as the ‘dark horse” category leading up the event. Nevertheless the 2010 event saw 16 jewfish registered by event competitors. Many of these fish were picked up flicking smaller plastics and hard bodies for bream over the course of the event. With the NSW Fishing Trust putting so much effort into the stocking of jew in the northern rivers, it was great to see these numbers in evidence. Most jew caught during the event were of the typical “school jew” size. However QLD competitor Quang Bui was lucky enough to score a model just over shy of 700mm which secured him first place for this category.Caption: Franco from Uncharted Tackle presents some GLoomis rods to the 1st and 2nd place getters in the Jewfish category.
The ever present bream were the staple catch this year with over 170 fish registered for this category at HQ over the course of the event. Sizes started off a bit tough for anglers with a lot of just legal fish being caught. To many anglers relief, as the event proceeded, more and more fish over the 350mm mark started coming in. As always in the bream category, the winning fish looked as if it would be decided by mere mm’s. Luckily for QLD competitor Kylie Wahry her 396mm bream had those extra mm’s required. Kylie, a self confessed flathead magnet, managed this winning bream putting in the hard yards in an all nighter session around the highway bridge, proof that persistence pays off! To emphasise the small margin required to win, the 2nd and 3rd placed fish were Dennis Metzdorf’s (QLD) 385mm fish and Jonathon Scopes 378mm fish respectively. Caption: Jono Scopes with his 3rd place winning bream.
Like the bream, the flathead entries started off quite small with a large number of the 70+ flathead registered for the event being just legal fish. For the majority of the event NSW competitor Douglas Wright’s 521mm specimen looked like it could take out the category. However, using his tried and tested Brisbane River flathead technique, QLD’er Rob Low came out of the wood work registering an 837mm flathead later in the competition! This beast of a fish was caught on the troll by Rob, comfortably giving him a lead that proved unassailable in end. Douglas Wright received a consolation prize in the form of the “Sharpest Hook In The Tackle Box” trophy. This trophy was kindly donated from the team at North Coast Fishing NSW (www.northcoastfishingnsw.com.au) and was designed for the competitor who registered the most fish for the event. This trophy is aimed at rewarding consistency of fishing, rather than the ability to bag a one off monster.Caption: Rob Low with his beast - 1st Place winning Flathead!
The kids were not quiet throughout the event either with some fierce competition shown from the under 12’s. A special mention should be made to both Declan Stevens and Megan Harvey. These two juniors sustained some nasty injuries, a hook through the finger and some oyster cuts respectively, while competing. They did however both not only come back to continue fishing, but took out 2nd and 3rd placings! First place went to the very dedicated Megan Harvey for a flathead she caught which did in fact place 7th in the overall flathead category!Caption: Andrea Harvey takes out the Junior Category for NSW!
Overall Results: To make the competition more inclusive of all anglers contributing towards their State’s efforts, the points system was modified in the early stages of the event. This was done unbiasedly and with consideration of the number of fish being caught to keep the competition competitive between the two teams. We know this system can be improved and further refinement of this system will be made for future events. The awarded points were NSW 282 and QLD 564 and on the original points system NSW 127 and QLD 244.Caption: Douglas Wright from NSW, winner of the coveted "Sharpest Hook In The Tackle Box" trophy.
Jewfish
1st – 690mm – Quang Bui QLD
2nd – 645mm – Kris Sweres QLD
3rd – 596mm – Travis Warren QLD
Bream
1st - 396 mm – Kylie Wahry QLD
2nd – 385mm – Denis Metzdorf QLD
3rd – 378mm – Jonathon Scopes QLD
Flathead
1st – 837mm – Rob Low QLD
2nd – 521mm – Douglas Wright NSW
3rd – 464mm – Ray Kennedy QLD
Tailor
1st – 671mm - Robbie Graham NSW
2nd – 537mm - Robbie Graham NSW
3rd – 530mm - Robbie Graham NSW
Junior
1st – Andrea Harvey
2nd – Declan Stevens
3rd – Megan Harvey
4th – Jacob Stevens
Sharpest Hook In The Tackle Box: Douglas Wright
Lucky Door Prize Winners:
Ray Kennedy
David Paczkowski
Sustainability: As the 2010 State Of Origin was held in the Cape Byron Marine Park, a permit was required from the Marine Park Authority to hold this event and certain conditions were made. A special mention must be made to the New South Wales DPI for attending the event and having their event trailer on hand to help clarify and explain the fishing regulations in NSW and also sustainable fishing practices In attending the event and providing useful information, resources and clarifications, the NSW DPI helped make it very easy for competitors to ensure they were in fact doing the right thing! The Event Management Team would like to extend a huge thanks to Eddie and Chris for attending the event and providing the support that they did.Caption: The NSW DPI talking to the kids about responsible fishing and handing out some great prizes while they were at it!
Further mention must go to the event format itself and its promotion of sustainable fishing practices. Although some fish were kept for a feed, thanks to the photo entry technique used in this event, the vast majority of fish caught were released back into the water within seconds of being caught. We are happy that due to these entry methods, anglers are free to keep their legal quota if they wish, however no fish ends up on a set of scales for purely trophy reasons. It is with great pride and enthusiasm that we have committed ourselves to this sustainable approach. We look forward to refining this further in future years as we see this as the way forward instead of large dead fish weigh-ins done by other fishing events.
Thanks & Appreciation: As always with our events there are a lot of people we would like to thank for their support and participation. Of course a massive thanks must as always go out to all those who attended and competed in the event. The general atmosphere at the event was overwhelmingly friendly and fun. Also a special thanks to all the websites and print media that published information leading up to the event: North Coast Fishing NSW (www.northcoastfishingnsw.com.au), Bush & Beach, Nuggets Fishing (www.nuggetsfishing.com.au), Fishing World, Fishing Australia and The Tweed News. A further thanks is also extended to the lads from NCF for donating such a great trophy for the “Sharpest Hook In The Tackle Box” category.A very big thanks goes out to our sponsors, Uncharted Tackle, Flying Fisherman Polarized Sunglasses, Lox, 2 Bent Rods and Bridgestone Select Springfield whom provided the prizes for the event! For more information regarding these sponsors and their products please visit out website (www.brisbanefishing.com.au).
Caption: State Of Competiors enjoy the wares on display by Uncharted Tackle and Flying Fisherman Polarized Eyewear.
Wrap Up: Overall it was a sensational event and we were very pleased with the overall result. The event and its format shows massive potential for the future and we can not wait to see what the future holds for State Of Origin fishing. The State Of Origin Event Committee has already begun research into the dates and venue for the 2011 State Of Origin Fishing Competition, so please stay tuned for details! The Team at Brisbane Fishing Online has now set its sites on their next event for the year, the 2010 Brisbane River Classic being held in November. For more information regarding these events, and any others we run, please don’t hesitate to check out our Brisbane Fishing Online website: www.brisbanefishing.com.au .{mos_fb_discuss:95}
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