Rhys, who will enter the classic again this year with his 14 year-old son Pat, went to one of his hotspots on the Edward River and took no time in hauling in a 107cm Murray Cod.
‘‘I headed out in the boat with my son Pat about 10.30am Saturday to run in my new motor,’’ he said.
‘‘I wasn’t going to take the rods but Pat was keen to have a fish, so we pulled up at a snag and I pulled out a new StumpJumper lure I bought the week before.
‘‘I had only cast it a few times before hooking a small cod, then three casts later I hooked up to the big fella.
‘‘It snagged me up at the beginning but with a little patience I managed to get it free.
‘‘We took a few quick pics and it was released to fight another day.’’
Rhys has only missed three classics since the event started, and he’s had Patrick tag along with him for the last eight years.
The avid angler said that river conditions were ‘‘near perfect’’ heading into this year’s event.
‘‘At this stage the river conditions are great for fishing. The water level has dropped and has cleared up beautifully,’’ he said.
‘‘Unfortunately they seem to flush through extra water about a week before the classic, but if the river stays the same there will be a few fish about.’’
Rhys said he will hopefully be able to put his local knowledge of the Edward River to good use.
‘‘We head out fishing nearly every weekend so we know the hotspots, but we’re keeping them secret,’’ he said.
‘‘Hopefully the weather stays pleasant and the event can attract more competitors than last year.’’
Despite speaking to the Pastoral Times, Rhys isn’t worried that other anglers may try and follow him to his hotspots for the competition.
‘‘They’ll have to be up pretty early to see where we go,’’ he said with a laugh.
The Deniliquin Fishing Classic will be held from Friday, February 15 to Sunday, February 17.
The tagged ‘Jack’ the cod will be worth $20,000 if caught on the weekend, and there’s $80,000 in other prizes to be won.
It includes four boat and trailer packages, and a huge Prize-A-Rama draw at the Deniliquin RSL Club to start the weekend on the Friday.
Classic HQ will be operating over all three days, and is the epicentre of the celebrations for a family fun night on the Saturday and the presentations on the Sunday afternoon.
For more information about the event and the boat prizes, or to register, go to www.denifishingclassic.com.au
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