There were no new records set for a variety of reasons at the National Casting Championships in Port Macquarie this week – but it wasn’t through a lack of trying.
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The main one, ironically, related to water – and too much of it.
More than 30 millimetres of rain fell on Monday and Tuesday which forced the first day to be postponed before casters headed out to a soggy Tuffins Lane.
Australian Anglers’ Association president Bob Smith said casters came from all over the country and New Zealand.
They were all searching for their place in the record books, but it wasn’t to be.
“The distances weren’t great but there were some good accuracy scores and 160 was the top accuracy score which out of 200 isn’t too bad,” he said.
“But it wasn’t a record.
“To cast an Australian record is a big achievement. I think that’s one of the aims of people turning up.
“Everybody is testing out new rods and reels and lines so the chances of records getting broken are improving each year.
“But the rainy conditions this year slowed the process down because it didn’t give them the best chance to throw in wet conditions.”
“People think they’re really good at casting until we have to measure them and then it’s a different story, but I think it’s just the achievement of being the winner (that draws people),” Smith said.
Port Macquarie’s Renee Ferguson didn’t cast as well as she’d have liked, while Queenslander Luline Curtis was one of the competition favourites who struggled.
Smith said casters were also tested on their accuracy, with several managing to hit the different targets.
“There were quite a few targets hit,” Smith said.
“They scored a 25 so normally you would get one or two but we had four or five, so some of them have been practicing pretty well,” he said.
The next National Casting Championships will be held in two years’ time, in Queensland.
