More than 440 keen anglers tried their skills on the banks of the Wimmera River on Saturday to land the biggest fish in the annual Jeparit Easter Fishing contest.
Senior entries topped 300, with 313 entered in this category, up from 294 last year, and the 130 Junior entries exceeded 2016 by one.
The 92 eligible fish weighted in by senior competitors included 65 Golden perch (Yellowbelly), 17 Catfish and 10 English perch (Redfin), up on the 87 caught last year, which were made up of 35 English perch (Redfin), 30 Catfish and 22 Golden perch (Yellowbelly).
The winning fish was caught by Russell Osborne and was a 3.851 kilogram golden perch, and he took home a cheque for $2,000 for his effort.
The biggest European Carp of the 38 caught in this category was 1.293 kilograms.
In the Junior section, 47 eligible fish were caught, with 24 Golden Perch, 14 Catfish, 7 English perch (Redfin) and 2 Silver perch, with the winning fish reeled in by Rhys Dickerson of Horsham being a 1928 gram Yellowbelly which won him $500 and a swag.
The nominated target for the Kevin Humphery Memorial Lucky Weight prize was 617 grams, and it was Gary Jordan from Horsham who landed a Yellowbelly of exactly that weight.
The raffle held on the day raised around $2,000 for the Good Friday Appeal.
Results
Seniors
| No. | Name | Town | Fish | Weight
| | 1 | Russell Osborne | Horsham | Yellowbelly | 3851 grams
| | 2 | Sandy Vaughan | Balmoral | Yellowbelly | 3338 grams
| | 3 | Jason Davidson | Sunbury | Yellowbelly | 3004 grams
| | 4 | Soe Naing | Horsham | Yellowbelly | 2930 grams
| | 5 | Gordon Stevenson | Gordon | Yellowbelly | 2622 grams
| | 6 | Mark Walkenhorst | Cranbourne West | Yellowbelly | 2226 grams
| | 7 | Troy Mickan | Hahndorf | Yellowbelly | 2171 grams
| | 8 | Chris Domaschenz | Horsham | Yellowbelly | 2067 grams
| | 9 | Shayne Wallis | Serviceton | Yellowbelly | 1982 grams
| | 10 | Acncz Say | Nhill | Yellowbelly | 1788 grams
| | 11 | Brent Walker | Horsham | Yellowbelly | 1667 grams
| | 12 | Locky Greig | Horsham | Yellowbelly | 1639 grams
| | 13 | Peter Bone | Nhill | Yellowbelly | 1622 grams
| | 14 | Bryce Day | Jeparit | Yellowbelly | 1622 grams
| | 15 | Jack Bone | Kaniva | Yellowbelly | 1593 grams |
2017 Heaviest Fish Winner - Russell Osborne - Horsham
Senior - Carp
| No. | Name | Town | Weight
| | 1 | Colin Williams | Horsham | 2913 grams
| | 2 | Ian Taylor | | 2578 grams
|
Kevin Humphery Memorial Lucky Weight
| Name | Town | Fish | Wieght
| | Gary Jordan | Horsham | Yellowbelly | 617 grams
|
Juniors
| No. | Name | Town | Fish | Weight
| | 1 | Rhys Dickerson | Horsham | Yellowbelly | 1928 grams
| | 2 | Bronte Williams | Horsham | Yellowbelly | 1494 grams
| | 3 | Ethan King | Jeparit | Yellowbelly | 1159 grams
| | 4 | Cassidy Jones | Nhill | Yellowbelly | 1110 grams
| | 5 | Annabelle Walker | Horsham | Yellowbelly | 1100 grams
| | 6 | Tayte Dickerson | Horsham | Yellowbelly | 1099 grams
| | 7 | Chelsea Bone | Nhill | Yellowbelly | 1058 grams
| | 8 | Tobey Anson | Horsham | Yellowbelly | 1008 grams
| | 9 | Olivia Revell | Dimboola | Yellowbelly | 990 grams
| | 10 | Rhiannon Smith | Nhill | Yellowbelly | 957 grams
| | 11 | AJ Beatie | Nhill | Yellowbelly | 919 grams
| | 12 | Tilli Menzel | Nhill | Yellowbelly | 906 grams
| | 13 | Millie Wright | Hamilton | Yellowbelly | 881 grams
| | 14 | Tori Menzel | Nhill | Yellowbelly | 856 grams
| | 15 | Oliver Bone | Nhill | Yellowbelly | 849 grams
|
2017 Junior Heaviest Fish Winner - Rhys Dickerson (right) - Horsham with Jeparit Anglers Club President, Rick Day
Junior - Carp
| No. | Name | Town | Weight
| | 1 | Jordan Nitschke | | 2581 grams
| | 2 | Verity Williams | Horsham | 2458 grams
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