On Tuesday 21 October, Year 12 Aquatic Practices students spent the afternoon engaging in recreational fishing at Burnett Heads. This excursion was a culmination of their final unit “Commercial and Recreational Fishing”. For their final assessment task, students researched and created a lure designed to target a local fish species.

The fishing excursion provided an opportunity for students to put into practice the basic skills of recreational fishing. While some students were regular ‘fishers’, others had limited experience or had not fished for a very long time. A cast net was also available, with a number of students having a go with great success in their casting technique.

There were sufficient nibbles and catches (and release) of small fish to keep the students engaged. Competition quickly grew between students to see who could catch the most fish. Zoe S pipped George H seconds before we packed up by landing her sixth fish of the day. This meant Zoe took out the inaugural ‘Shalom Aquatic Practices Fishing Champion’ trophy!

A huge thank you to Lenore from Tackleworld Bundaberg who supplied the rod/reel combinations, tackle and bait to allow students this opportunity – as well as giving advice on baiting hooks, casting and general operation of a rod / reel, along with how to throw a cast net. Hopefully it has sparked an interest and put some students on a course to be regular recreational fishers.

Top Left to Bottom Right: 1. George H with a small barred grunter. 2. Zoe S with a golden toad fish. 3. Flynn A with an effective throw of the cast net. 4. Students and staff on the Burnett Heads fishing excursion. 5. Zoe S with her fishing champion trophy.

Mr Troy Braund & Mr Ben Stranieri
Aquatic Practices Teachers