2023 World Sooty Championship

Friday 28 April dawned fine and clear with light winds at Eungella Dam, for the start of the World Sooty Championship.

MAFSA Inc volunteers soon had the catering area all shipshape, and the marker buoys deployed. Meanwhile, the rigs kept rumbling in throughout the day, and camps were set up around the grounds. The new hot water showers and toilet facilities proved a great success over the weekend.

Friday night was BBQ night, with steak burgers on the menu, and after registration the competitors drifted off for an early night after a bit of fellowship.

After the 7am briefing, competitors lined up in a record number of boats (67). After the 7:30 horn blast, the boats were off, with most heading up the dam towards the timbered areas. Councillor

Alison Jones with husband Rick headed across the dam in a small tinny, and on her 2nd cast she caught her first ever sooty grunter (421mm) and first ever fish on a lure. To say she was excited is an understatement!

After about 20 minutes

Mick Slade was back with two fish (413mm and 354mm) to kick off his scoring. Other good fish in the first session included junior angler Darcy McFarlane (310, 367 and 491mm) and Blake Waring (433mm). Experienced competitor Peter Behrens lobbed in with seven fish over the session, but they were smaller sizes.

Overall, the session from 7:30am to midday yielded 55 fish.

Session 2 on Saturday afternoon saw special guest Mark Berg boat a solid 446mm fish under the experienced guiding of Peter Price. Mark’s mystery guest Andy Dixon from Brisbane also caught his first ever sooty at 352mm.

Other notable captures included Cohen Olsen (440mm) Phil Lyons (488mm) and Trent Power (494mm). Meanwhile, Mick Slade continued to accumulate points with 382 and 454mm fish. By the end of the session the big movers up the leader board were Trent Power, Keegan Hayden, Dan Grech, Dan Curry and Robie Brook, who scored a massive 496mm sooty.

Sunday morning was very still, with some cloud cover, and most boats again headed for the top end of the dam. Anglers seemed to concentrate more on the shallows on most, as it was critical to their overall standings. A bad day could see teams drop out of the top 10.

Jamie Kelly and Jamie Robinson had their best day of the Nationals to finish the daily winners, and Jamie landed the biggest cod for the day at 76.9cm.

Derek and Kade Blow finished off strongly, finishing in 2nd. Rounding out the top three were Steve and Thomas Pinter (Black Widow).

Team KD Fishing, Derek and Kade Blow, were the clear winners, with 64.71 points. They also picked up the Venom Rods Anzac Memorial Award, and Kade also took out the Champion Angler title with 6027.45 points.

In 2nd place was team Black Widow, Steve and Thomas Pinter. Thomas also took out Runner-up Champion Angler.

3rd place was filled by Mutchy’s Contracting, Brad Murray and Daniel Mutch. Brad also finished 3rd in the individual section.

A few new awards were presented. First was Boothy’s Best Newbie, which went to Kane Bolwell, who fished very well to finish in 5th place individually.

Next up was Jones Doyle Plumbing – Most Improved Individual. This went to Shane Melrose, who improved his finishing position by 81 places on his 2022 effort.

Team Fishing Mates, James and Helen McGhee, who took out the Fish Camp Ski – Most Improved Team award. James and Helen rocketed up the final leader board to finish a creditable 14th, 34 places in front of where they finished in 2022. For more info on the comp, look up ‘Mulwala Cod Nationals’ on Facebook.

Sunday, and it wasn’t long before fish started to come in. Keegan Hayden scored with two fish early, and Trent Power lobbed in with another two fish in the mid-400s. Competitors cannot check their scores for the last session as they are covered up, to add a bit more uncertainty to the scoring.

Mick Slade came in with a nice 456mm fish, and it was evident that he would feature near the top of the board. Previous winner Nick Moore was a big improver, with five fish for the session. In total, 72 fish were bought in, about a 50% increase over the first two sessions.

After all boats were in, the scores were double checked before the final presentations.

In the junior division, it was a battle between the two McFarlane boys and Finn Gee. Darcy McFarlane ran out the winner with 2377 points, from Finn Gee 1794 points and his brother Isaac on 1200 points. Mark Berg presented the junior winners’ prizes.

Andrew Camilleri from Reef Marine presented the senior winners with their prizes. Mick Slade was a popular winner after placing 2nd so many times previously. Mick won by nine points from

Trent Power, with Nick Moore coming in 3rd, another 11 points behind Trent. Only 20 points (20mm) separated first and third place.

Mick received a timber plaque, Wilson Blade and Tails rod and reel, a brag mat, engraved Yeti cooler and a $750 Tackle World voucher.

The Largest Sooty winners included Darcy and Isaac McFarlane and Robie Brook, who took out largest overall at 496mm. Robie was competing in his 16th World Sooty Championship, and he won $350 Tackle World vouchers and a Dobyns Fury Series rod donated by Mick Hassett.

The most popular lures included Jackall TN60s, Crackerjack lures, curly tail grubs and soft vibes. No style or make of lure was a real standout.

At the end of the event, many competitors remarked that they enjoyed the camaraderie, hospitality and friendliness of the tournament and will be back next year. To see the full results, visit MAFSA Inc’s Facebook page.