Our Club
Founded in 1979 by a group of enthusiastic local anglers, the Whitsunday Game Fish Club has become a key part of our region’s fishing community. The club brings together anglers of all ages and skill levels to share knowledge, uphold game fishing ethics, and enjoy a family-friendly, competitive atmosphere. We host various events throughout the year, including our most popular event the three-day Light Tackle Tournament in October. We also run workshops on topics like bait rigging, tackle setup, and boat handling throughout the year.
Our club is dedicated to educating young and novice anglers, as they are the future of game fishing. Part of the membership fees goes to organizations like the Game Fish Association of Australia(G.F.A.A) and the Queensland Game Fish Association (Q.G.F.A) to support sustainable fishing practices. We are also part of a game fish tagging program to collect data on fish migration and health, which has helped eliminate harmful fishing practices
Big-game fishing, also known as offshore sportfishing, offshore game fishing or blue-water fishing, is a form of recreational fishing targeting large game. The WGFC understands that not all anglers understand the ethics of Game fishing and the limitless boundaries that can be met.
Its not all about Giant marlin and big luxury boats. Fishing off a jetty or a rocky headland, In a tinny up the creek or wetting a line on a near shore island can still be a form of Game fishing. This is the clubs understanding, firstly get people fishing, bait fishing, lure fishing, bottom fishing or surface fishing. Encourage the juniors and encourage the parents. Capture a fish to eat or capture a fish for release it doesn’t matter. We like to encourage all styles of fishing with the end goal of challenging yourself and your angling skills against trophy gamefish
Our club proudly promotes junior and women’s participation also with our annual “Sweeties and Squires” Women and kids only fishing competition. We also host a variety of other competitions throughout the year targeting reef fish, mackerel, queenfish, trevally, tuna and billfish
We are blessed to have a fantastic fishery right at our doorstep with trophy fish to be targeted. How could we not when you have the Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea within reach! History also shows with the region holding many state and national records for a variety of game fish species.
Our clubhouse, which is shared with the Volunteer Marine Rescue Whitsunday, is a hub for community activities and special events and arguably the best bit of real estate in the area! It’s a fantastic facility to host all our club events with catering for up to 200 people, BBQ area and Licensed bar etc.
Our Executive Committee
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President |
Ashley Matthews |
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Vice President |
Justin Butler |
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Treasurer |
Stacey Gerhart |
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Secretary |
Steve Obst. |
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Club Captains |
Matt Bird/Gavin Smith |
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Subcommittee |
Ashley Moore |
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Social Event Coordinator |
Jeff Baker |