Keen anglers Neil and Kelley Pickering and their team brought home 60 fish to win the Annual Rosebowl Fishing Competition.
Neil has taken part in the competition, run by Beaudesert Fishing Club, for over 10 years, with wife Kelley joining him for the past six years.
The team consisted of Neil, Kelley, Steve Pickering (Neil’s father), Mick Yuill, Racquel Yuill and Patrick Ford.
Mick’s father, Ray was a member of the team for many years until he passed away and the team now wears shirts in his memory.
The entire team started fishing Saturday afternoon and Neil, Kelley, Mick and Racquel continued through the night.
“We put the boat in at lunchtime on Saturday and fished till it got dark,” said Kelley.
They swapped boats with Steve before going back out at 7pm Saturday and at daybreak on Sunday counted their fish.
“We stayed awake, the weather was good and we were busy catching fish.”
“Mick and Raquel were in their boat nearby and kept in contact during the night.”
Kelley praised Beaudesert Fishing Club’s organisation of the event, saying everything from the registration to the weigh-in was great.
Tony Burgess of Beaudesert Fishing Club said there were 14 teams entered in the competition this year, which he estimates has been running for approximately 50 years.
“We missed out on 2020 due to COVID, and there are usually 17-20 teams,” said Tony.
“Entrants are allowed to weigh in 60 fish, at the end they all get weighed and the heaviest haul of fish is the winner.”
Under competition rules, a minimum size of fish is two centimetres larger than the legal size.
Beaudesert Fishing Club was founded in 1938 and the Rosebowl event was one of the founding competitions.
It has continued to be focused on being a family orientated club designed to encourage families to get out into the great outdoors and enjoy fishing and camping in South East Queensland.
For enquiries about the Beaudesert Fishing Club contact Tony Burgess on 0418 416 003.
