GOT IT: Horsham's Nathaniel Cooke won first prize - a Hyundai i20 - in the Horsham Fishing Competition. Picture: SAMANTHA CAMARRI
IT was quality, not quantity that led Horsham Fishing Competition winner Nathaniel Cooke to the major prize of a Hyundai i20.
Cooke, of Horsham, only caught one fish for the day, but it was the biggest and best out of 1104 fish weighed during the competition.
It was Cooke's 15th Horsham Fishing Competition and the major prize easily beat what he had won previously.
"The best prize I had won before was a $50 gift voucher," he said.
Cooke's fish was weighed in just 30 minutes before the end of the competition, with the 982-gram yellow-belly edging out runner-up Daniel McFarlane's 938-gram yellow-belly.
Regrettably, Cooke said he would not enter the competition next year because of a wedding in Melbourne.
Grant Hayter had a day to remember, finishing third, fifth and sixth with a trio of heavy yellow-belly the biggest of which hit the scales at 890 grams.
Grovedale youngster Jack Spiteri was the pick of the junior fishermen with a 632-gram yellow-belly.
Jack narrowly won over Russell Hefferman, 614-gram yellow-belly, and George Carberry, 518-gram yellow-belly. In the tiddlers section, Horsham's Jasper Christian reigned supreme, reeling in a 516-gram catfish.
Mai Perry, 416-gram catfish, and Rhys Tatti, 330-gram catfish, rounded out the top three.
More than $75,000 worth of prizes were given out on the day, with more than 2500 entries, slightly down from last year.
See this week's Mail-Times for full results from the Horsham Fishing Competition.