Starlo’s back to basics

NSW STH COAST Steve Starling

www.fishotopia.com

Competitions and tournaments aren’t for every angler, but they can be wonderful learning experiences — if you go in with the right attitude.

Is there really a place for organised competition in fishing? That question always provokes debate. Some people love fishing competitively, others less so.

It feels good to stand on the winners’ podium, even with a bronze medal. But competition fishing is about a whole lot more than winning. This international event in Timor Leste back in 2011 was a remarkable experience in every way.

Organised competition fishing clearly isn’t for everyone. That’s confirmed by the fact that only a small percentage of fishers will ever choose to participate in a structured event that pits

them against fellow anglers for prizes, recognition, trophies or kudos. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea. But I also suspect that many who’d secretly like to give it a shot are put off because they don’t think they’re good enough, or ready to have a go.

I don’t regard myself as an especially competitive person, but I’ve very much enjoyed various forms of competition angling over the decades. For me, it all started with the Australian National Sportfishing Association (ANSA) way back in the 1970s: participating in their annual conventions, chasing lineclass records, or working towards my various “Masters” awards… I loved it!

Later, I also took part in many game fishing tournaments, as well as competing in AFCA and AAA style bag-weight events. They all taught me important things and,

I believe, made me a better angler.

Later still, I dived into the world of ABT BREAM and BASS tournaments, and these were my happiest competition days of all. The ABT’s ethos of “who shares wins” struck a chord then, and it still does. The early days, in particular, were incredibly exciting. We were all on a very steep learning curve. An interesting spin-off from those ABT events took the form of the AFC Outdoors made-for-television series, which I initially competed in and later helped host and commentate. Great times.

More recently, I’ve even tentatively dipped my toe into the world of competition fly fishing, when I was invited to

compete in a round of the Fly Fish Australia (FFA) state and national titles… What an experience that was. Talk about that steep learning curve! From memory, I finished second last…

The main thing structured competition angling has taught me over the years is how much I still have to learn, and how incredibly talented and skilled some anglers are. But it has also taught me that you gain none of these benefits if you don’t bite the bullet and have a crack in the first place. I’ve also learned that performing dismally, blanking or finishing last doesn’t really matter very much, and that hardly anyone apart from you even notices!

That said, mark my words when I tell you this: competition fishing is nothing like day-to-day social fishing. I’ve seen many hopefuls make the mistake of thinking that it is. They’re usually in for a big surprise.

“Catch five good bream from this estuary in seven hours? Mate, I could do that blindfolded, with one hand tied behind my back! If I was in it, I’d win this comp’ no problems at all.” I’d love a dollar for every time I heard a statement like that from a cocky local at a weigh-in while competing on the ABT circuit back ‘in the day’. Very few of them ever put their money where their mouth was. Far fewer were able to match their bold words with results on the scoreboard. Successful tournament fishing is totally unlike most forms of social fishing. That’s just one reason why people like Steve and Tim Morgan, Kris Hickson, Carl Jocumsen, Chris Wright and a dozen others you may never have heard of consistently graced the winners’ podium then, and still do… They’re very good at what they do, simple as that.

So no, competition fishing isn’t for everyone. But make no mistake: it’s part of the bigger picture that is recreational angling, and an important part at that. Chances are, that breakthrough technique you’re so excited to try, or the new piece of equipment you covet, was honed and perfected on a tournament circuit somewhere by a handful of particularly driven guys and girls. I take my hat off to them.

I also strongly urge you to have a crack at a comp’ if you’ve been dreaming about it. The worst you can do is bomb… If you do, the sun will still come up next morning, trust me.

One from the archives of Starlo, Tim Morgan and Kaj ‘Bushy’ Busch pre-fishing the Gold Coast prior to an ABT BREAM round early in the new millennium.

Way back in 2001, Starlo captained the victorious NSW team in what was effectively a ‘state-of-origin’ series against Queensland. The anglers in this image were all extremely successful competition anglers (some still are)… but they all had to start somewhere too.

This fresh-faced young chap created a real splash on the ABT and AFC Tournament scene. Carl Jocumsen would later go on to do his nation proud at the ‘big show’: on the prestigious US Pro Bass circuits. Dreams CAN come true.