Commodore’s Notes

VALE EDWARD STRIBLING

Sadly we have lost two life members in as many weeks. Kevin Murphy and now Edward Stribling who was our first ever Commodore and Life Member.
Edward was born on the 25th of November 1936 to Hector and Mabel Stribling.
He worked with his father in the hotel business for 30 years.
Following in his family tradition, Ed gave to his community.
Around 1961 he was voted the inaugural Commodore of the The Lorne Aquatic and Angling Club.
Being a keen angler he, Rex Baldry and some others decided they needed a spot to wash their boats and clean their fish while having a beer.
The site was selected, he then approached the council and a lease was granted.
He organised and paid for the dining room building from the old Grace Dale Guesthouse to be moved to its current site.
The bar end of our clubhouse is still this old building and the way things are progressing with the Point Grey Redevelopment it will still be serving our members for many more years to come which is pretty amazing considering it’s sitting only a few metres away from the wild waters of Bass Strait.
He took the photo below of Sandy Alsop, Len Wilson and Rex Baldry digging the first foundations.
Ed isn’t in the photo because he was the only one with a decent camera and is on the wrong end of the lens.

 

Don’t you just love the Autumn. Cool to mild weather, no wind, no humidity, no flies, no crowds and you can find a car park!
We’ve just had a week of a glassed over sea which has been sensational.
The club is running like clockwork and is very cosy with the purchase of 2 new outside gas heaters and we’ve just had the inside heater reconditioned.
We have a couple of marquees set up outside with a wall on one side so it’s as warm as toast with the 2 new heaters.
The beer is still the worlds coldest and best served in our famous frozen handle pots. We are running $2 pot nights on Wednesdays and toss the boss on Friday’s both available to members.
We also have a free sausage sizzle and fresh crayfish raffle on Friday’s.
We are open 6 days a week, closing on Tuesdays. Remember our facilities are available to members for weddings, parties, anything.

RECENT EVENTS

WINTER CUP FISHING COMP
SPONSORED BY PETER WHEAL LANDSCAPING

Our first winter comp for the year was a great success with over 20 anglers having a go with perfect weather. We were lucky because just after the comp finished we had a 35 knot northerly get up. There were some great fish weighed in and quite a few juniors having a go which is wonderful. Everyone enjoyed a scrumptious mixed grill after the presentations.

SNAPPERS

As is now the custom, the first Friday of each month is the Snapper Night. This month we had a cold wet Friday night but the snappers all turned up and were as warm as toast inside our weatherbeaten but sturdy old club house.
Following on from last months award to Janet Higgins for her very talented Snapper Slapper technique, we had a trophy made and presented it to Janet.
The trophy now sits in pride of place in their home. Janet is going to have a trophy cabinet built as she is expecting to win many more awards now that she is an Angling Megastar.

EASTER GROUP

For a few years now at Easter we have this large group of friends come to the club and have a wow of a time. They buy about 20 of our tshirts every year and are a real pleasure to have around. Hopefully the tradition continues.

SALMON RECORDS TUMBLING

Over the last few years the Australian Salmon have been very scarce here in Lorne but for the last month or so they are here by the thousands and they are big.
They are feeding on whitebait and are busting up in large schools attacking their prey and often completely jumping out of the water.
Australian Salmon aren’t actually Salmon but were named after the Northern Hemisphere Salmon by early settlers because they look a bit similar.
They are only found in southern Australia and New Zealand where they are called Kahawai.
They are classed as a poor eating fish but that’s just a matter of personal taste. I actually really like them but you must eat them fresh. They are also great smoked.
Recently Alby Dawson set a new junior club record with a 2061 gram Salmon but last week Rita DeBon broke that record with a 2811 gram fish.
Rita held the record for a short time but then Alby reclaimed it with a 2960 gram Salmon which is now the current junior record and is actually heavier than the senior record holder.

GEOFF JARRAT 100 YEARS YOUNG

One of our founding members and club secretary from 1961 until 1966 just cracked the ton recently. Congratulations Geoff from all of us at the club.

UPCOMING EVENTS

MAJOR FISHING COMP NUMBER FOUR 
SPONSORED BY LORNE CONCRETING TOM DAWSON

Our next fishing comp will be held on Sunday the 12th of June which is on the Queens Birthday Weekend. As usual it starts at 6am with the weigh in starting at midday with the cut off time being 12.30pm.
Anyone can win on the day because each angler can only weigh in one fish and fish not caught out of a boat earn more points. Generous prizes awarded to seniors and juniors under 18. A beautiful free roast lunch will be served free of charge to all competitors and only $10 to members.

FISHING REPORT

Well it’s all happening here on the fishing front. The water temperature has dropped back below 16 degrees and the fish are biting like mad. As mentioned the salmon fishing is sensational with big salmon being landed everywhere. The snapper are about in good numbers ranging from 30 to 60cm.
The flathead have reappeared out a bit deeper than usual and are biting well with plenty of big ones amongst them. Gummy Sharks are also fishing well and the King George Whiting are being caught in good numbers with some anglers getting their bag limit. There’s also been quite a few Trevally, Nannygai and Teraki being caught on the snapper grounds.
The Pier is continuing its great run with reports of good catches of King George Whiting, Snapper, Trevally, Salmon, Mullet and Calamari.

POINT GREY UPDATE

Unfortunately I’m not able at this time to issue you all with anything that could be considered remotely positive. The LAAC sub committee have again recently met with the GORCAPA representatives to be told that at the moment the project is at a standstill and they are still considering options, one of them being that they may need to start again with a new over all master plan of the Point Grey Redevelopment. Think of the additional costs to everything and the further extension of time before commencement on site.
It should be pointed out that the LAAC is not in anyway responsible for the situation that the project is in.
When there is more to advise you all on following any upcoming meetings, we will post updated on our socials and website.

Regards,
Rick Addison, Vice Commodore

SAYING OF THE MONTH

A bank is a place that will lend you money, if you can prove that you don’t need it.

SUNDOWNER OR WHISKERY SHARK

Recently we caught what we first thought was a big gummy shark. On closer inspection we realised it was a species of shark that we had never seen before.
It turned out to be a Sundowner or Whiskery Shark. They are called that because they have two long nasal barbels. Their diet consists almost entirely of octopuses and it is one of the sharks who’s meat is marketed as Flake. It’s mainly caught commercially by Western Australian gillnet fishermen.
They were overfished in the 1970’s and their numbers dropped dramatically.
Strict fishery management was then introduced and they are now listed as stable or increasing. They usually live out in the deep off the continental shelf and are quite rare in this part of the world but quite common in Western Australia.

COFFEE

Jason is open Friday’s to Mondays serving up his worlds best Coffee, Tea, Hot Chocolate, Bickies and Energy Balls.

MERCHANDISE

Our tshirt colours for this season will be black, grey and pink. New stock of the pink tshirtd have just arrived. We have also received new stock of masks. They are a fitted mask with a double layer allowing a filter to be inserted if required.
We’ve also got caps in black and navy.
Our prices are:
Tshirts $35
Long Sleeve Tshirts $39
Stubby Holders $8
Caps $25
Masks $9

COURTESY BUS

Our bus will be running on Friday’s and Saturdays. If anyone out there can help us out driving it please let Hutch know. Please be generous with your gold coin donations. Phone 0408 041234.

 

Cheers,

Commodore

Thanks to our sponsors:

KEANE CONTRACTING BRICK/BLOCK and SCAFFOLDING – Gary Keane
SURFCOAST GARDENING – Kerry Webster & Rob Dalziel