CLUB COMPETITIONS

The Tuross Head Fishing Club is excited to have new rules governing our fishing competitions. These rules were passed at the 2015 AGM, with a resounding 95% of the voting membership electing to move to a “length” measuring system, rather than weight.

This new system augments a steadily growing ethos within the Club to embrace sustainable fishing practices and encourage the safe release of any caught fish that are not wanted for the table. We firmly believe that our new rules will have a positive impact on the fish stocks of our region, not to mention the fun-levels without the Club on Comp Weekends.

Our new scoring system affects all Tuross Head Fishing Club Competitions, being our Monthly Comp (Goblet) Weekends and our Annual Championship Comp.

Prizes for our competitions are awarded at our annual Presentation Night… always a fun and memorable affair. The 23 prizes awarded are:

The Longest Fish, of each of our fish species, captured during the fishing year
The Highest Point Scoring Fish Caught in Lake and Estuary
The Highest Point Scoring Fish Caught In Lake and Estuary by a junior member
The Highest Point Scoring Fish Caught From Rock or Beach
The Highest Point Scoring Fish Caught Offshore
The Highest Point Scoring Fish Caught Offshore by a junior member
Most Variety of Fish caught
Highest Combined Length of Lake and Estuary Flathead (caught during all 12 monthly competition weekends)
Sustainable Fishing Award, most fish (scoring 50 points or more) caught and released during the year
Largest Lake Flathead
Longest Blackfish
Longest Salmon
Longest Snapper
Most Consistent Bream Fisherwoman (most bream recorded over the year, only one per normal fishing day and two during each monthly weekend goblet weekend)
Most Consistent Bream Fisherman (most bream recorded over the year, only one per normal fishing day and two during each monthly weekend goblet weekend)
Most Consistent Fisherwoman (most fish recorded over the year, only one of each species, per normal fishing day and two during each monthly weekend goblet weekend)
Most Consistent Fisherman (most fish recorded over the year, only one of each species, per normal fishing day and two during each monthly weekend goblet weekend)
Champion Junior Angler (the most combined points scored over the twelve month period for fish caught during each monthly weekend goblet weekend)
Champion Female Angler (the most combined points scored over the twelve month period for fish caught during each monthly weekend goblet weekend)
Champion Male Angler (the most combined points scored over the twelve month period for fish caught during each monthly weekend goblet weekend)
Bert Ippoliti Encouragement Award (selected by the competition secretary)
Club Person Of The Year (as selected by nominations at the AGM and voted on by the members)
Turkey Of The Year (a light-hearted jibe at the silly mistakes made throughout the year)

In a nutshell, the scoring works like this…

Each legal fish measured is worth 30 points right off the bat. Fish that do not meet legal length do not score and may not be kept, obviously.

Then, additional points apply for each millimetre the fish achieves over the legal length. The points per millimetre vary from species to species, based on a formula that has been developed to recognise that each species has it’s own measure of a “trophy” specimen… meaning a trophy garfish may only measure 30cm, but it’s still a cracking garfish and worthy of big points.

It may sound complicated, but we’ve got it fully automated! All our fishers need to do is correctly photograph their catch on a NSW Fisheries measuring mat and submit that photograph at the scoring table… the computer does the rest. Of course, we realise that anglers want to have an idea of the value of their catch. That’s why we provide a Scoring Table Booklet as a pdf, so that every angler can carry a ready reference in their tackle box.

You can also bring fish that you want to keep to the monthly comp and we will measure them for you!

Other rules to keep in mind:

Only ONE fish of each species may be recorded on any normal fishing day.
TWO fish of each species may be recorded each day of a Club Competition (Goblet) Weekend.
Only the fish length needs to be recorded and this measurement should be as accurate as possible, to the millimetre. The overall measurement of a fish, whether it is concave (fork-tailed) or convex (round-tailed), is taken from the snout to the end of the tail. The snout** MUST line up on the zero mark of the measuring mat in the photograph, with no space visible between those two points when the photograph is scrutinised. ONLY PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN FROM DIRECTLY ABOVE THE FISH QUALIFY. **In the case of garfish, the snout is to be recognised as the the top lip, not the beak (as this can easily break) and the fish can be measured with the tip of the tail on the zero mark.
Photos must be clear and in focus, with measurement markings on the mat clearly visible and legible. Photos must be taken square-on from directly above the fish, with the whole fish in frame to be eligible for entry. Photographs that do not meet these criteria are automatically disqualified, so it pays to make sure you get it right.

For a full explanation of the Rules, please click here. Our Scoring Table Booklet also has a more in-depth overview and some working examples of the scoring formula in action… you can download this booklet below.

Our Scoring Table Booklet is designed “2-up”, meaning that you will get two booklets out of each print run. You will need to print it double-sided, cut the pages in half to make two A5-sized sheets, fold these in half, collate according to the page numbers and staple. We suggest you keep one book in a zip-lock sandwich bag in your tackle box and one safely in reserve—just in case yours blows overboard or gets eaten by the one that gets away.

DOWNLOAD the 2018-19 point score table as a pdf file

DOWNLOAD printable scoring table booklet as a reference guide only