The competition,organised by the club’s president, John Bruce, of Ashley, begins this Saturday, on February 4 and ends on February 12.
Families, parents, grandparents and caregivers can take kids aged up to 15›years›old ‘‘anywhere in our backyard’’ at beaches or rivers, to catch fish, John says.
Entrants will have to target certain fish species, but they can fish anywhere they like as long as the fish they catch is presented at the weigh›in stations in an edible condition.
Entries close at 6pm this Friday (February 3), and cost $15 per person.
The idea behind the family› friendly competition is to educate kids about fishing, cleaning fish and how to transport it back home safely so it remains in an edible condition when you get there.
‘‘Catch, clean, gut, ice, and carry in a chilly bin or container with ice,’’ John says. ‘‘Those are the key requirements.’’
About $15,000 in prizes are offer in the competition this year.
‘‘The prizes are mostly fishing gear, and it is all good quality equipment,’’ John says.
The final weigh›in will be at 2.30pm on February 12, in the carpark at John’s local pub, the Ashley Hotel.
Entry forms and competition rules can be obtained from the Ashley Hotel, Mandeville Hotel, Hunting and Fishing Rangiora, Rivers and Ranges Rangiora and Cattermoles Butchery in Kaiapoi.
For more information about the competition, including where the weigh›stations are, go to the Ashley Sport Fishing Club’s Facebook page.
By SHELLEY TOPP
