WOW…….what a tournament 2010 was! It was all about breaking records; from the amount of billfish tagged, to the dozen pending state, national and world records: it was huge! This year 65 boats competed with 237 anglers. Sadly two boats pulled out due to mechanical reasons, but the anglers still enjoyed the events at the NEW clubhouse.

It was a challenging time for the committee after being handed the keys on the Friday morning and the event commencing on the Friday evening…! That night many anglers and locals enjoyed a social evening of catching up with friends. John Payne from Sea Surface Temperature did a talk and presentation to assist anglers chasing billfish, while Ross Newton rigged up a broadie bait and Michael Jacobs rigged up some swimming baits. Peter Pakula was on hand to talk with everyone and the night was a welcome start to the event.

The following day a cruise ship with 1800 passengers passed through the clubhouse, making it rather busy for the volunteers with cold drinks and questions. That was followed by the early briefing at 4pm. Some teams were late and next year there may be a penalty for not registering by 4.30pm, as it does delay proceedings and everyone wants to get home early to be ready to fish the next day. That night the boys from Coral Bay Ocean Game Fishing Charters cooked up a storm on the BBQ and everyone was served hamburgers and chips as they sat through the boat auction. Matt Gates did another entertaining session with the auction, raising over $8000 for the EGFC in under two hours! Thanks go to Matt and everyone who contributed.

This year the tournament attracted over 80 sponsors including some major contributors including Eventscorp, Embroidery Excellence, Exmouth Marina Village, Bluewater Tackle World Exmouth, Shimano, Exmouth Fuel Supplies, Novotel Ningaloo Resort, Caltex Starmart, Boston Whaler, Potshot Hotel Resort, Network Power Solutions,  Exmouth Escape Resort,  Reel Teaser Charters, Engel, Pakula Lures, Ray White Real Estate and Carlton United Breweries.

Day one started with the first marlin tagged at 8 minutes past lines in by team In Deep. This was followed by another staggering 78 billfish for the day, breaking all previous records for the most billfish tagged in one day. On the capture scene there were three pending records including junior world records. The gantry was busy that evening with hundreds of locals coming down to the clubhouse on the Sunday afternoon. Day two resulted in 86 billfish tagged and more pending records. The following day was shortened with the social evening break mid-way through the comp for the Bundy Rum Mexican night.  This was bigger than expected and security kept a tight watch on numbers as the clubhouse was packed with anglers dressed up in all sorts of gear and ready to party.

Day 4 began late after the break and another 76 billfish were tagged for the day. Day 5 followed with similar statistics. That evening the Minister for Tourism attended the weigh-in and she was pleased to see the new venue and interest in the event. Eventscorp are a sponsor through Tourism WA, so it was great to have the minister visit. A blue and black marlin were brought in to be weighed and it was a fantastic opportunity to use both fish as an educational tool and show the crowd the differences between the two species that so often get confused by anglers at sea. Both fish were fully filleted and given out to the crowd after being on ice from capture. All fish that are brought in for capture must be in edible condition and used, not dumped, so many local retirees that can no longer get out on boats came down to collect some fresh fish of an evening.

Each day on the radio Kath Ryan was kept busy at Carlton-Mid base as each tagged fish was reported. Daily weather reports and daily statistics were aired. Every hour there were boat prizes drawn and teams won vouchers from many contributing sponsors.

Day 6 continued in the same fashion with large numbers resulting in a total of 446 billfish tagged comprising of 386 marlin and 60 sailfish for the competition. All of the tag co-ordinates have been uploaded to www.fishgrid.com for anglers information. Go to fishgrid, create a log on, click Australia, click WA and then go to the EGFC grid. There were 12 pending records and a great week of fishing experienced by many. The next morning the de-brief breakfast was well attended as people put forward positives, negatives and suggestions for future events. A few people assisted with the set-up for dinner and somehow, we managed to squeeze 350 seated people into the outside area. The staff from Ningaloo Fusion Charters did a splendid job in serving up a spit roast to all with ice cream and berries for desert.

Many sponsors contribute to this tournament and we ask that members support them in return. They are

Many volunteers put in hours of effort to assist anglers in having a great week of fishing. As President, I would like to thank all those who assisted and the executive committee are trying to put together a night out specifically for the volunteers from this event.

After Gamex a roadblock was conducted 80km out of town to check on anglers leaving town after a big week of fishing. Police checked drivers for alcohol readings, Fisheries checked for amounts of fish being transported and Transport checked car and trailer road worthiness. Out of the 100 vehicles stopped only 40% had frozen fish in some quantity.  The majority of boats that entered (40 from 65) were targeting the tag and release sections of the event and the amount of fish tagged and released far outweighed the fish brought in to the gantry (pardon the pun!). The statistics of this event with 446 billfish tagged and over 12 pending state, national and world records, could place it at the top of tournaments in Australia. We are yet to find out if this is the case for the ratio of anglers to fish tagged and records broken. Regardless of that, the EGFC had many positive comments from those people who attended the event and EGFC welcome any feedback from anglers, locals and visitors.

Next year the EGFC will be hosting the AIBT, Australian International Billfish Tournament. The dates are AIBT briefing March 14^th Fishing March 15^th, 16^th, 17^th Presentation March 18^th. This will be closely followed by Gamex briefing March 19^th with fishing March 20^th-25^th inclusive and presentation March 26^th. I would suggest that if you want to come to either of these events book your accommodation, flights, charter, holidays and anything possible in advance: it will be a big two weeks!

The Official Opening of the EGFC clubhouse is April 23rd from 6pm.  All current members and sponsors have been sent an invitation.  RSVP’s will be essential for numbers will be limited. Following the opening there will be a Recfishwest Fishing Clinic on the Saturday at Town Beach. All kids and adults are welcome to come down. You can register for this clinic at one of the tackle shops, the School or the fuel stations

The AGM for the EGFC will be April 27th starting at 7pm sharp. All current committee members will stand down and nominations for positions will be presented and a new committee elected. If you are interested in being a part of this exciting year, please email secretary@egfc.com.au or mail to PO box 121, Exmouth 6707.