Welcome to the Cardwell Sportfishing Club About Us Page

We are extremely privileged to be able to call Cardwell and the Hinchinbrook region home of the Cardwell Sportfishing Club. 

Members range from the very young through to older long-standing members with both men and women anglers being very active.  

Our Club is one of the very few fishing clubs to have their own clubhouse which is provided through lease arrangements from Cassowary Coast Regional Council and includes a licensed bar.

 Fishing ranges from beach and pier through to rivers, creeks and inshore through to reef and bluewater.  

The Club is underpinned by the National Code of Practice for Recreational and Sportfishing with the 4 main areas of fishing responsibility being:

• Treating fish humanely
• Looking after our fisheries
• Protecting the environment
• Respecting the rights of others 

Our members undertake catch and release, tagging and taking fishing sustainability seriously. 

Tagging programs provide vital information about fish breeding, fish migration, habitat changes and general environment information supporting research and fisheries management.  

Several of the Club members are trained Junior Development Officers through Sunfish Qld. 

The Club is affiliated with the Australian National Sportfishing Association and the International Gamefishing Association. 

We hold monthly fishing competitions that follow the rules and relevant guidelines set out by the Australian National Sportfishing Association (ANSA)   

We also hold social events, interclub events and the annual premier angling event the Cardwell Barra Bonanza in October.  

For further information go to our Events Calendar.

General meetings which are open to all club members are held at the clubhouse on dates advised by the secretary.  

Our meetings are informal with a focus on fellowship, updates, general discussion and workshops as suggested by the members. 

Our Membership Page provides all the details about how to join our club. 

As affiliated members of ANSA Qld and ANSA National we conduct and encourage various other types of competition that cover personal achievements, records, club challenges, state challenges and national levels of achievement.  All of these competitions can be accessed through ANSA Qld. 

Founding members of the Cardwell Sportfishing Club including Vic McCristal and Eric Moller helped form the Australian National Sportfishing Association (ANSA) in 1967. 

The Qld branch of ANSA was formed on 5 August 1970 with Cairns, Cardwell and Maryborough Clubs formed on 29 October 1971.  

Vic McCristal went on to become the National President of ANSA and received the Order of Australia for his contribution to Sportfishing in 1986. Sadly, both Vic McCristal and Eric Moller have passed.  

Their legacy endures through a memorial on the Cardwell foreshore (image above) as well as through the Eric Moller Award which is the most prestigious award bestowed annually by ANSA Qld to a member who is responsible, successful and active in all facets of fishing.  

Cardwell Sportfishing Club member Marina Hoare is a recipient of that Award.