April Friday 4-11
Port Victoria Caravan Park
Ph 888342012
Click picture to enlarge
Port Victoria Trip Report
It’s early days in Autumn,
The heatwave gone, thank God!
The car packed with provisions,
My fishing gear and rod.
I’m off to Port Victoria
To join the ARPA crew,
For a week of jetty fishing
And I’m bound to catch a few.
I’ve checked the tyres, the car has fuel,
The doors in deadlock mode.
The neighbours wave goodbye,
And I am ready for the road.
At Plympton Park I stop
For June, my fishing mate.
But what’s this on the lawn
And crowding out the gate?
She can’t be moving house?
I have a dreadful thought.
She wants to pack the lot,
And take it to the Port.
We’ll never shut the boot,
Her trolley is a pest.
We juggle back and forth,
We do our level best.
The back doors scarcely shut,
There are parcels at our feet.
We’ve got June’s beer aboard,
And we back out on the street.
Port Wakefield for a coffee,
June’s navigated well.
A little detour only,
And I’ve promised not to tell.
A Cornish pasty beckons,
At Ardrossan bakery,
With Jim and Rae we share,
In sight and sound of sea.
At last we’re at Port Vic,
And it’s welcome hugs all round,
And quite a lot of kissing,
And some gossip, I’ll be bound.
Between the rows of caravans
There’s scarcely room to walk.
We set aside gazebo space
For Happy Hour and talk.
There is news to be delivered,
Old friends to talk about.
And cures for arthritis,
Wonky knees and gout.
Visitors we are pleased to see,
We welcome them of course.
Not to mention all the Bennetts,
Who’ve invaded us in force!
And so it’s off to fishing,
As we hike out on the pier.
Our trolleys fully laden,
With important fishing gear.
Now Huck Finn was a fisherman
According to the tale,
On the Mississippi River
With a piece of string and nail.
Young Huck was quite successful
And he always caught his share,
While we stand on the jetty,
With technology to spare.
It’s all fibreglass and nylon,
And lines with breaking strains.
And ratchets on our reels,
Drag tension on our brains.
It’s mostly gents and cockles
For the mainstay of our bait,
And we toss our lines to windward
And prepare to stand and wait.
Here come the weedy whiting
And it’s Murray’s turn to shine.
He’s a most persistent angler,
And they’re biting on his line.
Squid jags trail the waters,
At any time of day
And Cephalopods are smart
Out here on Hardwicke Bay.
But they’ve met their match with our chaps,
And the ink stains go to show
That Ross and Les and Don
Can get them from below.
Now fishing brings surprises
As Robert J can tell,
When a wire cage for berley
Rose up from the swell.
Some fishermen are fussy
They remind me of John West,
For when you buy their cans
You only get “the best”.
So in this fishy tale
Before I get too far,
Some mention made of Tommies,
Of the Mullet and the Gar.
And for those who strive for “quality”
And all that’s good and holy,
The ones that take the cake
Are Colin Brown and Roly.
It’s hamburgers and fish and chips
On a balmy April night,
The sea is like a millpond
A sole canoe in sight.
Well lubricated voices
Are breaking into song,
As Kath, our faithful muso,
Leads the sing-a-long.
And now it’s sausage-sizzle,
We line up for a treat,
The Dons, Maxine and Myra
Hand out onions, bread and meat.
Girls! It’s understood,
Have been the butt of jokes
On driving cars and engines
From all the clever blokes.
But when it comes to fishing
We can’t be overlooked.
The proof is in the pudding
In how many fish we hooked.
So June and I are happy
Now we know how fishing’s done,
Competing on the jetty
Where we’ve had a lot of fun.
And to all who helped, much thanks,
Solving problems with our gear,
And many thanks to Marg and Bob,
To us you’re very dear.
Now it’s time to choose a winner,
To wear the fishing crown
For the longest fish presented,
And the champ is Colin Brown. Nancy Weisbrodt. top of page
July Monday 21-28
Elliston Caravan park
Ph 0886879061
Elliston Trip Report:
Our recent trip to Elliston was a very happy occasion with thirty members attending.
The Elliston Caravan Park Managers, Troy and Andrea Taylor, provided all our necessary needs.
In particular the Activity Shed in the park was excellent, having free barbeque facilities, and in the shed, a slow combustion heater providing warmth during various occasions we were using it.
This shed enabled us to have our coffee breaks in the morning, and in the late afternoon the enjoyable drinky poos, while members could enjoy each other’s company.
Following arrival on a Monday, everyone went out to the local Elliston Hotel on the Wednesday evening to enjoy a pleasant meal.
During the evening we celebrated Joy’s 77th birthday.
Thursday evening was set aside for a Quiz and Card Night.
The first quiz was won by Bob, Margaret, Les and Brenda. This was followed by a second Quiz, the winners being Colin, Graham, Don and Jeanette.
Our thanks go to Rae and Kath for well organized Quizzes.
Friday was our Barbeque Night where members did their own barbequing at the Activity Shed, followed by a great surprise arranged by Iris and Tom who provided ice-cream in cones for dessert. Many thanks to Iris and Tom.
Saturday night our hosts of the park, Troy and Andrea, prepared a variety of curries with rice: thoroughly enjoyed by all. Prior to this, Kebabs had been cooked on the barbeques by Bob and Don, so everyone had plenty to eat.
Many of the ladies helped to prepare the Kebabs.
Sunday was our final night together for a sing-along. We were very fortunate to have Kath, always very happy to lead us with her accordion.
Prior to the singing, the presentation was made of the Yellow Jacket, which was won by Allan, who was successful in catching the longest fish for the trip: a magnificent King George Whiting. For the week, 290 fish were caught by the group.
The sing-along, as usual, was entertaining and a great success, finishing up with the Song of Australia.
Many thanks must go to the two Bobs who arranged this trip, ably assisted by their wives Margaret and Claire, and many other ladies of the group.
In closing, and I can’t mention names, but I am to understand that two of our Males were about to depart for the trip to Elliston, but found that they had not fitted their wide mirrors to their vehicles. Thank goodness this was adjusted before they got too far.
Compiled by Murray Fraser.
November Saturday 22-29
Point Turton Caravan park
Ph 88545222
Point Turton Trip Report:
Between wind, showers and under grey skies, 58 members of the ARPA Pleasure Fishing Group arrived at the Point Turton caravan park for the end of year gathering.
After the usual greetings and swapping of news, the serious side of the week got under way.
Rugged up in all kinds of apparel to keep out the wind and the cold, the keenest of the group headed for the jetty to do battle, with the elements as well as with the fish.
Happy hour each afternoon was time to catch up with friends and reflect on the days efforts. Garfish and Tommies were the most fish landed and with a lot of skill (luck) 4 Kingfish were brought onto the jetty. Murray caught a nice whiting but lost his glasses in the effort.
Morning tea in the camp kitchen and under the trees was popular with those not engaged in hunting and gathering, and the weather was fine enough for the walkers to enjoy their morning strolls.
Tuesday afternoon saw the arrival of Bob and Margaret. Bob has been on the sick list for a while, so it was great that they could make it for the remainder of the stay.
The group gathered at The Inland Sea Restaurant for our Christmas Dinner with Jenny, Malcolm and Lyle joining us for the evening. Thanks once again go to Don and his helpers for the very creative table decorations. A delicious 3 course dinner was enjoyed by all.
Wednesday night there was a Karaoke night which kept everyone amused and entertained.
Thursday evening, 37 of the group dined at the Warooka Bowls Club and enjoyed some home cooking and friendly country hospitality.
Friday midday saw the end of the fishing competition, so the keenest of the keen were on the jetty early to try and get their bag numbers up. Those who were leaving next day spent the afternoon packing annexes etc. while they were still dry.
Five O’clock and our last happy hour for the trip, an assortment of wines and nibbles and the usual banter of friends on the last night.
The BBQ of chicken, snags and patties was supplied by Jenny and Malcolm, with Roly helping with the cooking of a delicious meal, complimented by a large range of salads made by members of our group.
Don MC’d the evening and the presentation of the trophies.
Most fish, Men’s, 1st.Murray F. 2nd. Paul.
Ladies, 1st.Jeanette, 2nd. Nancy.
The winner of the Yellow Jacket for the longest fish caught off the jetty and The Jaws Trophy for the heaviest fish went to Don T.
A big thankyou to our hosts Jenny and Malcolm for the donation of the prizes for the men’s and ladies competition, this is very much appreciated by the group.
Wendy and Joy saw to the drawing of the raffle.
Joy F. first, Les second, with numerous other drawings and prizes.
Once again Nancy entertained us with wit and style with her rendition of A Poem For Bob.
Brenda
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