February 23, 2024
If you love fishing and would like to connect with like-minded people who share your passion and forge life-long friendships, you should consider joining a fishing club.
Fishing clubs provide recfishers with the opportunity to come together, learn, socialise and enjoy some friendly competition.
There are so many advantages to joining your local fishing club. It is a great way to learn from and teach others, you will always have someone to go fishing with and brag to about your latest catch, and while it can be relaxing to fish alone, it is safer to go fishing with others. Joining a fishing club also provides members with a sense of contributing to the local community.
By joining a fishing club, you’ll be able to share your fishing experiences with other club members so you will always know where the fish are biting or the best local fishing spots to try. You’ll also have the opportunity to learn new fishing skills from other members and share your own tips to help others improve their fishing techniques. Learning from fellow anglers is often the best way to improve your fishing.
With this in mind, beginners and children will also benefit from joining a fishing club as they will be able to learn the basics of fishing from more experienced fishers and always have somewhere to go where they can ask any fishing questions. Many fishing clubs also host ‘come and try’ fishing days where children and beginners can learn how to fish from more experienced members.
Many of us enjoy fishing with others and being a member of a fishing club means you’ll always have someone to go fishing with. Having a mate to wet a line with always comes in handy when you need a hand with a large fish and it can help ensure your safety if you were to end up in a dangerous situation on the water.
As a member of a fishing club, you are provided with the opportunity to participate in a variety of social and competitive events. Some fishing clubs have special guest speakers present at their meetings, an opportunity that non-club fishers will miss out on. Often fishing clubs will hold member only fishing competitions, participating at club, inter-club, state and national levels.
Fishing clubs are a significant part of the community and our recreational fishing sector. They’re the backbone of many local and regional projects and generously give their time back to the sport they love.
For those interested in making fishing better for everyone, club membership also provides a means to contribute to the political landscape of fishing. Members have the opportunity to have their say on issues that affect recreational fishing and Victoria’s world class fisheries.
Fishing clubs are filled with history from members past and present, there are often members who have dedicated their lives to the club who provide invaluable knowledge and support to new members.
WHAT FISHING CLUBS ARE UP TO
Fishing clubs are regularly hosting a range of events to drive an increase in fishing participation. Club’s have been holding ‘come and try fishing’ days to get more kids hooked on fishing as well as fishing clinics for women and CALD communities. Many clubs also have regular ‘catch a carp’ days to rid their local waterways of the highly invasive pest species.
The Port Fairy Angling Club has successfully introduced many children and other members of the public to recreational fishing, particularly through their junior fishing clinics, for many years.
Mitcham Angling Club hold regular fishing talk nights that are open to the public and feature a range of guest speakers discussing hot topics amongst the recreational fishing community. In the south-west, Warrnambool Offshore and Light Game Fishing Club are also hosting evenings with guest speakers that are open to the public.
Bob Pearce and his fishing club, Albert Park Yachting and Angling Club (APYAC), have been a driving force behind the shellfish reef restoration in Port Phillip Bay for over a decade. Following the success of past reef restoration projects in the bay, a new ‘Kayakers Reef’ off Kerford Road pier has been announced with deployment set for spring 2024.
Of course, this is just a few of the things our fishing club and association members are up to at the moment. Many of our fishing club and association members are driving projects in their local area that make fishing better, for everyone.
HOW TO FIND YOUR LOCAL FISHING CLUB
There are more than 150 VRFish fishing club and association members across the state that would love to have you join their fishing club.
If you require further assistance, you can also contact VRFish directly, via [email protected] or (03) 5221 1104.
Any Victorian Fishing Club or Association can join VRFish as a Fishing Club Supporter.
