The Wimmera’s only boat and bank fishing event was run on the river from Dimboola Weir to Ackle Bend.

Classic organiser Stoph Pilmore said 320 anglers tried their luck from both the bank and boats.

‘‘There was somewhere in excess of 250 fish out of the water,’’ he said.

‘‘The wind was a bit blowy, but the fish were on the bite because of overcast weather.

‘‘The sun was off the water, but the water was warm so there was an amazing amount of catfish on the go, along with yellowbelly, redfin and silver perch.’’

Mr Pilmore said about two thirds of the entrants fished from boats, while the rest were on the bank.

‘‘First place was caught from a boat and second was caught from the bank, so it didn’t make a difference where people fished from, it all came down to skill,’’ he said.

First place in the senior native category went to Horsham’s Royden Klemm with a 458 millimetre catfish.

Second was Denis Searle with a 450mm catfish and third was Ben Zanker with a 442mm yellowbelly.

Mr Klemm caught the winning fish at 1.12pm.

‘‘Second place was caught at about 7am and it was leading all day until Royden caught his a bit after 1pm,’’ Mr Pilmore said.

Mr Klemm won an all-expenses paid fishing tour with Dhipirri Barra and Sportsfishing Lodge in the Northern Territory, valued at $10,000.

He said he did not know he had the winning fish when he pulled it out of the water.

‘‘I heard it was going alright throughout the day, but it was great to hear that I’d won,’’ he said.

Mr Klemm said a fishing trip to the Northern Territory would be ‘bloody good’.

First place in the junior native category was won by Pimpinio’s Mayci Porter, 9, with a 425mm yellowbelly, caught at 10.52am.

Second was Will Griffiths with a 422mm catfish and third was Nick Williamson with a 335mm catfish.

Mayci won a $1000 fishing package, which included a fishing kayak.

Her mum Shari Porter said Mayci was excited to win the competition.

‘‘We do a lot of fishing and she loves outdoor activities, so we will get a lot of use out of the prize,’’ she said.

First place in the senior carp category was John Lancaster and first in the junior category was Levi Stevens.

The event raised money for the Allambi Aged Care Centre at Dimboola.

Mr Pilmore estimated about $5000 would go to the centre.

‘‘We are pretty stoked with that,’’ he said.

Mr Pilmore said there were no incidents or complaints throughout the day.

‘‘Some registrations were a bit hesitant at first because the fish were measured for length and not weighed, but once we got into the swing of things, people realised it made perfect sense,’’ he said.

‘‘Being a catch and release event, it was all about the health and welfare of the fish.’’

Mr Pilmore said the committee was already looking ahead to next year.

‘‘We are encouraging all participants to get online and send us their feedback,’’ he said.

He said people could go dimboolafishingclassic.com.au for more information.