Team Swifty reel in Classic

A Cooloongup angling trio were all smiles on Sunday when they took first prize in this year’s Calamari Classic fishing competition.

John Tomlinson, along with sons Andrew and Luke, collected thousands of dollars worth of prizes when they returned to Woodman Point boat ramp with 4.2kg of squid, including the competition’s biggest, weighing in at 915g.

‘Team Swifty’ patriarch Mr Tomlinson said he had come close to winning last year’s event and was delighted to take first prize this year with the help of his sons.

“I was runner-up last year, but this year I had two new deckies,” John said.

“It’s a good competition because it’s fair and great fun.”

The Tomlinsons battled it out against 50 other boats on board Swifty to take home a huge bounty of fishing gear and a 40 litre Engel fridge-freezer.

Andrew said he and his two brothers had grown up with fishing because of their father’s enthusiasm for the sport.

“Dad’s in to all kinds of fishing — he gets into the deep sea and diving for crays — anything to do with the ocean and the outdoors,” he said.

“We also like a bit of fourwheel driving and camping.”

Event spokesman Paul Willis, for Sportsforce WA, said the event was aimed at boat, kayak and shore anglers of all skill levels and coincided with a strong squid presence at this time of year. Other prizes included best squid inking, where people participants showed “inked” photographs.