The Hunter River Times

BY ALEX TIGANI

What happens when you cross a passionate fisherman with a Singleton raised publican?

The answer, for this month, is a new social fishing club currently in its infancy stages.

The Imperial Fishing Club spokesman Justin Harris has joined forces with local fishing writer Alex Thrift to kick start a new adventure.

“I remember Dad was in the army so we would go fishing up at Palm beach in Cairns and they were fond memories,” Harris told The Hunter River Times.

“We wanted to set up a club in Singleton and the most important thing to remember is that it is an inclusive one.”

“You could be short, fat or even disabled; it does not matter because anyone can fish.”

A total of 30 locals attended the club’s ‘meet and greet’ last month and the introductory weigh in has been set for 3pm on Sunday, July 19 at the Imperial Hotel.

Annual membership costs $10 while kids can join for free.

“We just want to see new faces that day, we’ll have the BBQ going and if there are fish to be weighed on the first weekend then that’s an added bonus,” Thrift added.

As spokesmen for the new venture, the duo can be described as chalk and cheese.

Thrift is a proud seventh generation fisherman who shares cherished memories as a child catching beach worms during trips with his father and brother to Hawks Nest beach.

He has competed in, and conquered, commendable competitions while also contributing fishing editorial for local magazine At The Coal Face for many years.

“I personally fish maybe three or even four times per week but this club is for everyone,” he added.

Harris, a former detective senior constable and three-time nominee for police officer of the year, hopes such as group will invigorate the Imperial.

“I have been running pubs for the last 10 years and I’m also an ex detective, so I have come from that policing background,” Harris explained.

“Pubs have always been the hub of the community and I think a lot of venues have lost their way.

“I sort of built up the Bradford when I came down from Sydney in 2015, now it is one of the biggest pubs in the area which I’m proud of.

“But now it’s all about gaming, turnover and money and they have forgotten the true meaning of the pubs; a place to celebrate, commiserate and integrate.”

Harris now hopes this fishing club will be a smaller step for communities to take ‘making pubs great again’.

“I remember working on murder cases in Sydney and returning to Singleton on the weekend, walk into any pub and I’d know 30 blokes,” he reflected.

“That’s what makes Singleton fantastic but now there is five blokes sitting there on a Friday, so the aim is to get people back.”