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Organisers of the 15th annual Deniliquin RSL Club Fishing Classic promised a bigger and better classic this year ... and they delivered.

The annual fishing event marked record numbers in registrations at the weekend.

Total entries almost doubled from last year with close to 1200 anglers registered. There was only 680 anglers competing last year.

And the classic recorded its largest ever number of junior anglers, increasing from about 200 to 281 registrations.

Early bird registrations also nearly doubled from last year, with 620 of the weekend’s anglers signing up for the competition before the event had arrived.

As an added bonus, classic coordinator Andrew Jefferies said a large number of the anglers were new to Deniliquin’s Fishing Classic.

‘‘We had a lot of new entries,’’ he said.

‘‘With four years of data collated, we were able to see that about 30 to 40 per cent of this year’s entrants were first timers.

‘‘The success of last year, the change of format, is the most likely contributing factor.’’

Deniliquin Council manager economic development and tourism Greg Lawrence said it was results like those recorded at the weekend which highlight the importance of events like the classic to the town.

Mr Lawrence said the success was a credit to the Fishing Classic Committee and the band of volunteers who helped run it.

‘‘The Fishing Classic Committee deserves a pat on the back,’’ he said.

‘‘There were sensational numbers, especially considering now is usually a very quiet time.

‘‘It shows the importance of events like this, like the Deniliquin Matchmakers and the Ute Muster.

‘‘On Friday night the Deniliquin RSL Club was chock-a-block for the Prize-A-Rama and there was a lot of excitement at Edward River Oval.

‘‘There will certainly be a lot of good vibes going back to where all these people come from.’’

Mr Jefferies said the classic did attract a number of interstate entrants this year, partly because of an increased advertising campaign.

‘‘We had a big crowd from Dubbo, some from Nowra and a lot from throughout central Victoria,’’ he said.

‘‘We also had a few entrants from South Australia and from Penrith in western Sydney.

‘‘We increased our advertising this year, including in national fishing magazines. We also sent letters out to all the angling clubs, and it’s had a good result.’’

Mr Jefferies said the success of the weekend was not only highlighted by the fishing itself, but the ‘‘fantastic’’ response to other activities associated with the weekend’s event.

He said the Deniliquin RSL Club Prize-A-Rama on Friday night attracted at least 2000 people, while crowds for the inaugural fish race and carp trapping and electrofishing demonstrations were in excess of 200 people.

The Fishing Classic Committee has already started discussions on how to improve next year’s event.

Mr Jefferies said the success of the weekend’s event was a great starting block for next year, and following years.

‘‘We were just overwhelmed with the response,’’ he said.

‘‘There is a lot to build on for next year.’’

■ More stories and major prize winners page 7