Father and daughter Brad and Sienna Treloar have won this year’s Horsham Fishing Competition senior and junior sections with their respective 50-centimetre and 48.5-centimetre catfish. 

Competition committee president Bart Turgoose said there were about 1000 entrants this year.

“This is an increase of about 15 per cent of entrants on last year’s competition,” he said.

“But what we acknowledge in that is, our riverbanks were a lot quieter. 

“We believe people have supported our local caravan parks and our accommodation providers, which is a fantastic economic boost for Horsham. 

“And I guess more than anything, camping on the river, whilst it’s good free camping, it’s also great to support our local businesses in the way of caravan parks and accommodation providers more than anything.”

Anglers caught about 580 fish; natives were catch-and-release, carp were not.

“We saw a lot of catfish this year, which is interesting. We normally get a lot of yellowbelly and silver perch caught,” Mr Turgoose said.

“Lots of carp were caught and removed from the river, which is fantastic because it’s the best result possible. The more carp we get out of our waterways, the better.”

Mr Turgoose said organisers had worked to provide a family-friendly event, which saw more junior anglers participate in this year’s competition.

“We had an increase in juniors, which is fantastic. We want it to be a family friendly event. We want more juniors there, more families there, more people there in that way,” he said.

“That’s why we’ve moved away from major prizes like a car and a boat, because not everyone wants to win a car or a boat. 

“Something like a $7500 travel voucher to take your family away on a holiday is a fantastic prize, we feel, for families that are coming along to enjoy our comp. 

“Even the random draw – the winner took home a Big4 Holiday Parks voucher, which they can use anywhere in Australia.” 

Mr Turgoose said feedback for this year’s competition would open in coming days.

“Previous feedback from our competitors showed they wanted to see a different prize, so that’s what we went to. We need to support families for the sustainability of our competition, and I think we’ve hit that mark quite well,” he said.

Participants and residents alike are welcome to provide feedback; a link will be provided on the competition Facebook page www.facebook.com/horshamfishingcomp. 

“We want to hear everything about the comp, what people would think is better, what people think was perfect or what they think we need to improve on,” Mr Turgoose 

“We hold a special meeting just to discuss all of the feedback to make sure we’re keeping people engaged with our competition.”

Organisers worked with Victoria Police, Horsham Rural City Council local laws and other emergency services to ensure participant safety, with no incidents reported during the competition.

“More than anything, we’re super impressed that everyone’s done the right thing. It makes it enjoyable and it lets us have these things continue on,” Mr Turgoose said.

Results

Senior longest native fish winners: first, Brad Treloar 50cm catfish; second Chris Campbell, third Shaun Brown, fourth Lyall Walker, all with 49-centimetre catfish; fifth Naomi Chequer, 46cm yellowbelly; sixth Lachlan Sedsman, 42cm silver perch; seventh Ian Smith, 48cm catfish; eighth Curtis Morson, 45cm yellowbelly; ninth Anthony Crute, 40cm redfin; 10th Mark Conduit, 46cm catfish; 11th Naomi Chequer, 44.5cm yellowbelly; 12th Donald McConnell, 40cm redfin; 13th Ajdin Elkasovic, 45cm catfish; 14th Kane Beaton, 45cm catfish; 15th Brad Treloar, 44cm catfish; 16th Adis Plecic, 44cm catfish; 17th Heath Klemm, 44cm catfish; 18th Barry Matulick, 43.5cm catfish; 19th Steve Chircop, 43cm catfish; 20th Justin Cardona, 43cm catfish.

Senior longest five carp: Shannon Francis, 291cm; Jesse Denton, 280.5cm.

Senior longest carp: first Justin Cardona, 74cm; second Martin Jonas, 72cm; third Jesse Denton, 67cm; fourth, Daniel Searle, 67cm; fifth, Tharren Hutchenson, 66cm. 

Junior longest carp: Zack Tink, 70cm; Jaxon Jeffery, 61cm.

Senior random draw winners: first, Byron Colls; second, Avalon Launer; third, Scott Beaton; fourth, Shannon Churchill; fifth, Craig Hadfield; sixth, Edward Williamson; seventh, Garth Clark.

Junior longest native fish: first, Sienna Treloar, 48.5cm catfish; second, Lyla Launer 48cm catfish; third, Ruby Watson 47.5cm catfish, fourth, Sienna Treloar, 46cm catfish; fifth, Kaizer Hately 45cm catfish; sixth, Holly Haby 45cm catfish; seventh, Germand Van Jarrsveld 44.5cm catfish; eighth, Xavier Egan 44.5cm catfish; ninth, Mackenzie O’Connor 44.5cm catfish; 10th, Emelia Chircop 44cm catfish. 

The entire March 12, 2025 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!

The entire March 12, 2025 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!