Wests Diggers Nelson Bay Fishing Club

November Interclub Tournament is only 1 week away! Time flies and we have good numbers signed up to participate in the tournament next week. 4 clubs and 77 anglers with $700 in prizemoney.

Members please check your email with a list of preparation activities leading into the weekend and on the Sunday for the Weigh-In.

As communicated the sign on will be at Wests Nelson Bay (Remembrance Room) adjacent to reception from 17:30 - 1900.

We have dominated the Flathead category the last two years with a clean sweep. Can Paul Williams maintain his good form on the Bream and will The LachJess and R-Ageing Rabbit be able to get amongst the snapper and reef species?

The Club Championship race is very tight in 2024 up less than 50 points separating our top 3 anglers and only 2 outings remaining!

Looking forward to next weekend.

I will also post a few snaps from the October outing.

Tight lines and safe fishing.

Members,

After postponing our regular competition outing last week due to a poor weather forecast, we will proceed this weekend (18-20th Oct). The forecast is far from ideal with WSW winds around 25Km / Hr forecast for Saturday then strong southerly coming through late Saturday afternoon and continuing into Sunday.

Some Bream have been on offer in the bay and Flathead might start to get more active as we move into the warmer months.

A few reds have also been caught around Broughton with both the R-Ageing Rabbit and the LachJess picking up a nice feed 2 weeks back over the long weekend. We also noticed the Lon Tail were still busting up in side the bay. One of our members, Zac, managed to pick up a nice Dolphin Fish around 1m in length.

I have attached a few snaps of the weather forecast apps for reference.

Hope to see members at the BBQ on Sunday at Little Beach 1300. New members are always welcome.

Tight Lines & Safe Fishing,

Jeremy Norgard
WDNBFC President and Safety Officer

WDNB FC Points Table Update

For those ho were unable to attend the BBQ on Sunday I have attached the Club Championship points table update. This has the year to date points tallies for each member across all categories. A surprising leader, Margaret Norgard, leading both the Club Championship and the Deep Sea category!

I think that may have changed based on the weekends results as Paul Williams presents a bag of over 13Kg from the estuary.

Fishing Enthusiasts,
There have been some good quality reds on offer off Newcastle. Here are a few photos from last weekend. It was slow going early but we hit a nice patch on the last move for the day, a hot bite with 8-10 fish between 45 - 67cm landed in about an hour.

A few small tailor also in the mix.

We will be heading up the bay late today for the comp.

Tight lines!

A reminder to members that the WDNBFC has a competition outing this weekend. Conditions look reasonable on Saturday before a strong Southerly kicks in early Sunday morning.

Hope to see people on the water on Saturday and at the weigh-in and BBQ on Sunday.

There have been a few reds around of Newcastle with a couple of our members heading our last weekend. Jeremy and Margaret ventured out of Newcastle to rack up a few hours on the LachJess after recent motor repairs.

It was a fresh morning with the car reading 6 degrees on the run into Carrington. A slow start with 2 in the box in the first 1-2 hours, then after a little shift we hit a little purple patch mid morning on a low tide saw a few nice reds landed. Plastics came up empty for the day (other than Red Scorpions and Sargent Baker) and the single slab of Bonito proved irresistible. Landing 6 reds in 7 casts over a 20 - 30 min period, including being bitten off! Then just as quickly as they came on the bite they disappeared.

The day was topped off with a 2Kg salmon on 10lb leader flicking for tailor around Big Ben reef at Nobbys.

A pleasant day on the water with the westerlies flattening out the seas close to shore, a feed of fish was a bonus.

Wests have updated their web page with an overview of their Community Clubs. This includes the a short overview of the Wests Diggers Nelson Bay Fishing Club. Navigate to the web page to click on the link to have a look.

I am attempting to get a couple of other documents added to the web page (WDNBFC Rules, Constitution and New Member Forms).

The June competition weekend was not for the faint hearted. Strong westerlies made Deep Sea conditions very challenging other than Friday night. Fingal beach was fishable and a few bream and salmon were on offer.

A few nice fish caught with a mix of reds, tailor, bream and salmon.

One of our female members won the outing, Margaret Norgard, narrowly beating her husband. Also a mention on the nice haul of Bream from Paul Williams, presenting another that tipped the scales over 1Kg!

Looking forward to the next competition outing from Friday 12th to Sunday 14th July.

A few snaps of the June long weekend outing.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.455719737391348&type=3

A few photos, including the weather forecast screen shots from the June long weekend competition.

Just letting our followers know one of our members is participating in the Push-Up Challenge for 2024. The challenge is 3,249 push-ups in the month of June (24 day challenge). The cause is to raise awareness of mental health, supporting charities such as Headspace, Lifeline and Push For Better. The club has made a small donation to support the cause. If you feel passionate about the cause and would like to make a donation below is a link to Jeremy's Push Up Challenge page.

Donate to level-up mental health in Australia Help raise funds for much-needed mental health services and initiatives by donating to my page. I’m completing The Push-Up Challenge to support this great cause and would love your help to reach my fundraising target.

For members who were unable to attend the April outing please find attached the YTD Club Championship point update (up to and Including March results).

It is great to see one of our female members, Margaret Norgard, is leading Club Championship, and with a solid catch in April she has maintained her lead. I expect her husband will restore order over the remainder of the year!

I do expect to see some of the Deane / Killen crew to make their way onto the scoreboard for 2024. Paul and Brock's first outing for the year was in April.

I will add a few photos from recent outings over the weekend.

Just a reminder to members our May weekend outing is scheduled on Friday 17th May through to Sunday 19th May. This is one week later than our usual weekend due to Mothers Day (12th May).

WDNBFC Members,

A copy of the WDNBFC calendar for 2024 is shown below. A PDF file was also sent out via email earlier this week. Printed copies will be available at the January competition outing as well as at the AGM in February.

New members are welcome and can join at any of our monthly competition outings.

Regards,

Jeremy Norgard
WDNBFC President

Unfortunately the weather was far from favourable for our final competition outing of 2023 (8-10th Dec). Most anglers opted for the safety of the estuary.

Chris landed a bruiser lizard and Paul Williams managed a nice feed of Bream with a bag of just over a 3Kg, including one just under 900g. The LachJess had motor troubles and settled for a tow back to Soldier Point from a good Samaritan aboard the vessel "The Mistress". A few school whiting were on offer in the bay with a dozen presented to the Weighmaster.

Even though it was our Christmas weekend, photos were very scarce. Here are a couple of snaps from the December competition with the one of the first competition "Catch and Release". Chris with a nice dusky that measured 81cm, with a DPI weight estimate of 3.8Kg. A new club record on the last competition weekend of 2023!

Sorry Michelle, I think you just got pipped at the post for biggest flathead of 2023!

WDNBFC are keen to see more catch and release presented for 2024. Note the technique of supporting the fish along its length. It is also good practice to wet the measuring brag mat before taking the length photograph. Well done Chris, it will be tough to beat in 2024.

Tight Lines.

Members and guests,

Safety is always a priority for our members. How long since you check your inflatable life jacket? Please be advised NSW Maritime is running a free lifejacket servicing clinic on at Little Beach on Saturday afternoon, 11th November 2023 (1-5pm). They will also be at Soldiers Point ramp on Sunday from 10am-2pm.

I have included a link to their web site for details.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/JdzgmtFgexXYue4a/?mibextid=Zmo65R

Stay water safe! More info here 👉

A few photos and a couple of videos from the harbour cruise on the weekend. Hope members enjoyed the day. The weather was certainly kind and it was a relaxing day on the water.