The presentation for the Eden Amateur Fishing Club's 38th annual fishing competition was held on Saturday, March 14, with clear skies, exhausted but enthusiastic fishermen, women and children, and bundles of prizes.
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There were fairy floss and foosball machines for the kids and plenty of barbecue goodness to go around.
The major prize winner was Errol Fletcher, taking away the Quintrex boat, motor and trailer.
The winners' board was hotly contested and it was no wonder with prize money of $400 for each prize in the open division.
But it wasn't just the winners with tales to tell.
Chris Cocks, of Eden, said he missed out on the dusky river flathead prize by 200 grams.
Mr Cocks said he kept the flathead, caught at Wonboyn, alive for six hours in a tank and then released it.
"Watching it swim away makes you feel really good," Mr Cocks said.
"When they're that big, they breed a lot so it's good to keep them in there."
Mr Cocks, who caught the fish at Wonboyn, was knocked from the top spot for the river flathead through the week by Jamie Turnbull.
Mr Turnbull was gracious in victory and made an impromptu speech, thanking the organisers and sponsors for a "great week of fishing".
Vice-president Eddy Evans also came away with a cracker story.
"We got a tiger shark, probably about 220kg, to the side of the boat after a five-and-a-half-hour battle with it," Mr Evans said.
"Five-and-a-half hours. And then the thing got off. I never even got a photo," Mr Evans said.
"But I'm sort of glad it got off."
Fishing club president, Bob Wilcox, said that locals had been "flogged" this year, proving that local knowledge didn't mean much.
When many winners were asked about the location and the bait used to catch their winning fish they were very coy.
"I caught the biggest bream - it was 1.242kg," Faye McFarlane of Eden said, but when asked the location and the bait she laughed.
"No, that's top secret," she said.
Raffles were a hit, especially with the donated cake in the shape of a fish made by Eden cake-maker Sandy Huff.
Lisa Smith of Eden was the lucky winner of the 'fish-cake'.
But it was not just Mrs Smith who reaped the benefits; she said she would share her winnings with the staff and clients of Bupa Aged Care.
Presentation day was a sunny day out for the whole family with many prize winners and fresh fish to put in the freezer, but regardless of the victories everybody had a great tale to tell.
* Check out more photos at www.edenmagnet.com.au
Results can be viewed on the fishing club website.
More photos and information can be found on 'Whoppers landed at fishing comp' including pictures of many of the winning catches.
