His was one of 150 entries in the competition, with notable mentions for crowd favourite suggestions like ‘COVID the cod’, ‘Rona’ and ‘Calamurray’.
The Cod Father’s top prize can only be claimed if the fish is caught during the Fishing Classic weekend — between 7am and 5pm on Saturday, February 19 and 7am to 11am Sunday, February 20.
If caught before or after the official fishing times, the prize money will drop to $1000.
The tagging of the special Murray Cod started in 2016 and to date none of the tagged fish have ever been caught.
And unfortunately, that means Colin (2016), Murray (2017), Ripper (2018), Jack (2019) and Jill (2020) no longer attract a prize if caught.
The Deni Fishing Classic is a three day event, with family friendly activities hosted outside of the fishing times.
The Classic will kick off with the prizearama draw held at Classic HQ — the Deniliquin RSL Club — from 7.30pm on Friday, February 18. Tickets will be available from 5pm.
Saturday night’s entertainment will include food and bar facilities, live music, kids activities and trade sites in the RSL carpark and adjacent playground.
The $5 boat raffle prize — a $13,950 Dundee 390 boat with Yamaha F25 4 stroke engine, rigging and 4.4 trailer — will be drawn on the night.
Also drawn will be the early bird boat prize — a Digger 340 punt, with Yamaha F5 4 stroke engine, rigging and 4.3 trailer, valued at $7,550.
The boats form part of the mega pool of prizes available during the weekend, valued at over $100,000.
There are two more boats to be won on the Sunday during presentations — a Digger 340 punt with Yamaha engine as the junior lucky entry prize and another Dundee 380 boat, engine and trailer package as the major prize.
All entrants get one ticket in the draw for these boats, with additional entries earned for any legal native fish caught during the weekend.
Pre-regristration for the classic is still open. Visit www.denifishingclasssic.com.au to enter or for more information.
Adults can enter for $45 and juniors (15 and under) are $20.
You can also purchase a 2022 fishing classic shirt with your welcome pack or at the Deni RSL Club. They are $70 for adults, $60 for kids and sizes from small to 4XL are available.
There are also stubby holders, hats and stickers available to purchase.
