Kayla Maskell

The crowd was big and so were the fish.

This year’s Team River Rats catch and release fishing contest resulted in plenty of records being set.

The third annual event, held along the Goulburn River from Raftery Rd to Jordan’s Bend at the weekend, attracted more than 180 entrants.

Organiser Nick Brown said he was pleased to see more competitors, including people from out of town, juniors and families.

“We had about 40 junior entrants and 40 out-of-towners which included people from Melbourne, Bendigo, Yarrawonga and the Gold Coast,” he said.

Shepparton’s Mark Irwin caught the biggest Murray cod, which measured a record 92cm. The biggest yellow-belly was caught by Stuart Hamilton of Shepparton at 51cm.

Mr Brown said about 35 oversized fish were caught during the two-day event including Jemma Maher’s 43cm golden perch, which won the under-13s junior section.

Source: Shepparton News