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Welcome to the latest edition of the CBAC newsletter. It's been a busy time at the club with a number of competitions being held with great prizes being awarded to the comp winners. The after comp BBQ’s have been well attended however as always I encourage you and your friends to come along to the BBQ even if you haven’t entered the comp. The BBQ’s are always a great place to catch up on the goss and to find out where the fish are biting. As mentioned in this newsletter the Junior Try Fishing

Day was a huge success with a number of mums and

dads and kids enjoying the great weather and the day.

A special thank you to all the Committee Members

and members who helped make the day the success it

was. A special thank you to our Treasurer Kevin Ryan

who worked tirelessly on the day. Thanks Kevin.

A number of new members have joined the club

recently and a special welcome to them. It’s good to

see the number of members increasing. A benefit of

increased member numbers is the ability to arrange

more varied social functions and fishing competitions.

The clubhouse project is progressing and as I write

this message the draft of clubhouse proposal should

become available. Projects of this size are never easy

however the benefits should we be successful in

obtaining a clubhouse site are enormous not only for

the club now but into the future.

A number of Social events are coming up in the club

calendar so please have a look at the events available

and if possible attend as many as you can. Some

events require a boat but if don’t have one or don’t

want to take your own boat then don’t let that stop

you attending. Other members are always looking for

crew.

Until next time enjoy!

Yours in fishing

Bob Ricketts

President

Corinella Boating and Angling Club ran a community

based Junior Fishing Day on Sunday 23rd November. A

brilliant day weatherwise, with mild temperatures,

and a slight breeze.

The club committee and a few additional volunteers

were flat out in their preparation for the day,

including preparing showbags full of goodies. The

clubs Junior Competition banner was placed out on

the highway. The club marquee was erected near the

jetty hut, and the BBQ fired up to cook sausages for a

free lunch for the young anglers.

In this Edition:

Club’s Junior Fishing Day Success

Xmas Cruise to Spit Point

Competition Results

o Annual Snapper Comp November 28-29

o January 9-11

o January 23-26

Members Snippets

Club contacts and sponsors

www.corinellafishing.com.au

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The competition was well attended by 33 Junior

competitors along with their parents. There were

three age group categories: 5-8 years with 16 entries,

9-12years with 14 entries and 3 entries in the 13-

17years age group. Excellent prizes including fishing

rod combos and fishing tackle boxes full of fishing

gear were awarded to the first three competitors in

each age group. There were also prizes awarded to

lucky dip winners and other competitors who caught

fish.

There was a range of fish caught including whiting,

flatties, salmon, mullet, leatherjackets, squid and

toadies. All kids and even mums and dads received

show bags with lots of goodies including tackle and

information on responsible fishing practices. The

weather was nice and warm with little wind and it

made for a good day for all. Club members were on

hand to assist with advice, preparing tackle and

weighing and recording fish caught.

A free sausage sizzle and bottles of water were

handed out thanks to a grant obtained by Councillor

Clare LeServe of Bass Coast Shire. A special thanks

also to Sally Whelan of Corinella and District

Community Centre for co-ordinating the event along

with the Boating & Angling Club.

Thanks also to the members who were on hand to

help organise the day and to help kids with their rods,

bait and bringing in their fish.

The clubs annual cruise to Spit Point, French Island,

was held on Saturday 13th December. With the tides

running fairly late, the cruise started at 1pm to head

over to the point. A total of 6 boats headed out from

Corinella and on arrival, were tied up and left to float

around while the BBQ, shade tent and gear were

carried up to the top of the beach.

Food included prawns, sausages, salads. Members

brought their own drinks along and enjoyed the warm

sunny afternoon.

With the perfect conditions, someone thought it

would be a good idea to go for a ski while others

looked on from the beach.

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As the afternoon started to fade, all the gear was

packed up, members loaded up their boats and

headed back into Corinella.

Nov 28-29 Annual Snapper Competition

The clubs annual Snapper Competition saw a great

turnout, with prizes awarded to junior and adult

categories. New member young Brian Kelson took out

the Junior 1st prize with a very nice 5.08kg snapper;

2nd prize went to young Jack Marasco for his 3.23kg

red.

Gerald Sammut took the 1st prize in the adult

category, bringing in a 6.21kg snapper; Damien Reid

took 2nd prize for a 4.65kg red; Kane Ricketts came up

3rd with his 4.47kg snapper.

The comp was followed by a BBQ with an excellent

turnout.

Jan 9-11 Whiting Competition

The first competition of 2015 saw a number of

members out fishing for whiting. Winner of the comp

was Allan Willoughby, bringing in a 570gm whiting.

Fishing with wife Gloris, they brought in a total of 19

good sized whiting and one nice pinkie snapper.

Well folks I’m here to tell you that miracles do

happen!!!

As many of you know the boys in McKenzie’s road

have been trying to restore old wooden boats for

years, some say decades.

Many a time we’ve seen them rumbling down the

road with an old wooden boat on a trailer. A boat that

they thought would be the one that would become

their pride and joy floating on a mooring.

As most of you know the currency to purchase most

of these restoration projects is Carlton or VB and the

going rate for most boats is a skilfully negotiated slab

or two.

Bob Ricketts ably assisted by Chris Milton have for

years scoured the country retrieving old wooden

boats from backyards, front yards and paddocks. Their

obsession with finding, grinding and stripping them

back and then forgetting about them is legendary and

known to all at the club and for that matter most of

Bass and Corinella. Chris’ backyard is testament to the

amount of work, drinking, ideas and engineering that

has gone into one day getting a boat that will float

and grace the waters of Westernport. In fact I think

the count is up to 12 likely restoration projects that

have been thought through, worked on and become

static displays.

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This is where our story changes.

Many of you remember from the last newsletter that

the latest project is the Mud Skipper - a boat that the

boys had been “working on” for about 4 years

(pictured above in the “workyard”), was resurrected

and towed from Chris’ boat graveyard to Bob’s house

down the road. The experienced sea captains had

decided that it was time to seek some professional

help in restoring the Skipper.

A net was cast far and wide to find the right person

and interviews over a coldie went on for weeks.

Finally a candidate with all the right skills was coerced

into taking on the project.

A few weeks went by and the professionals slowly

stripped the old paint off the Skipper and bogged and

plugged the many holes in the hull. Ably supervised

by Bob, the Skipper was finally taking shape and

looking like she would float. In fact many a comment

was heard that look what happens to an old broken

down boat when you get someone that knows what

they’re doing do the restoration.

After many site meetings with suitable refreshments

and in a couple of weeks the Skipper was ready to be

launched back into her new home of Westernport.

Only one problem, how do you safely get a couple of

tons of heavy wooden refurbished boat back from

Tenby Point where she was restored to the boat ramp

at Corinella?

Never fear Chris is here. Chris commandeered a

tractor from his father-in-laws place in Bass and drove

it to Tenby Point. Another site meeting was held,

consensus was reached and large tractor tyres were

placed between the Skipper and the trailer to stop any

damage to the pristine Skipper. A feat of engineering

genius.

Following a few congratulatory pats on the back the

Skip slowly slipped down the driveway and headed to

Corinella.

Upon arrival the Skipper was backed down the ramp

and she began to float. Comments were heard far and

wide from onlookers that they thought this day would

never come. The Skipper gracefully floated beside the

jetty at the same time the large tractor tyres used to

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balance the Skipper on the trailer slowly floated out to

sea causing a boating hazard.

It was at this point seeing the danger of the floating

tyres that President Bob dived into the water and

skilfully retrieved the tyres. An amazing feat for those

who know Bob and his aversion to swimming.

The Skipper continued to float which is a good thing

and after a couple of minor repairs to sections of the

hull that were letting in more water than was

supposed to she proudly now sits on a mooring at

Corinella (pictured below).

Stay tuned for the next instalment……. Sea trials!

Congrats to Kane Ricketts who recently became a

certified scuba diver.

Apparently Kane’s 1st order of business was to help

father Bob and salvage expert Chris Milton raise the

Black Pearl, (pictured right - I think you get why it’s

called the black pearl).

Another wooden boat that had sunk at the mooring at

Corinella and now sits at Chris’ restoration yard...

Do you have a great pic of your catch?

Have you had a memorable fishing or

boating trip, or a great story to tell?

Share your pics, videos and story. You can upload

details on club Members page at

www.corinellafishing.com.au/members

Scroll down to the bottom of the member’s page to

the “Members Upload Your Pics” section, fill in the

details and upload your pic or video.

Any questions, call Gloris in 0438 355 124.

www.corinellafishing.com.au

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The club acknowledges the ongoing support of its sponsors, and encourages all members to use their services.

President Bob Ricketts horses_r_us@bigpond.com 0437 949 903

Vice President Brian Ellis corcon1@bigpond.com 0417 566 164

Treasurer Kev Ryan grumpykev@aapt.net.au 0425 720 236

Secretary John Oates jandboates@bigpond.com 0417 665 463

Assistant Secretary Allan Willoughby allanwilloughby@bigpond.com 0419 601 500

Committee Richard Harper 0407 526 665

Committee Andrew Smyth 0400 614 460

All correspondence to: The Secretary PO Box20 Corinella 3984

Our club sponsors help fund our prizes and awards, to ensure we continue to promote boating and fishing to

members, the community and juniors alike. If you would like to know more about becoming a club sponsor, please

contact Treasurer Kevin Ryan on 0425 720 236 or email grumpykev@aapt.net.au