No lanyards. No name tags. No function room. On Friday 30 October, builders, trades and suppliers swapped the office for the water at Bli Bli Barra Park, and the first Good Builder Fishing Classic delivered big barra, a few new nail gun owners and one very unexpected catch.
Most industry events follow the same script.
A function room. A lanyard. A name tag. Some lukewarm coffee and a lot of polite small talk before everyone heads back to their phones.
We wanted to try something different.
So on Friday 30 October, we packed the rods and headed to Bli Bli Barra Park on the Sunshine Coast for the first ever Good Builder Fishing Classic. Builders, trades and suppliers out of the office, lines in the water, and a full day outdoors with nothing to do but fish and talk.
The turnout was well beyond what we expected for a first go. To everyone who rocked up, thank you. The day worked because you showed up.
Why We Took the Industry Fishing
This industry runs on relationships.
The builder who trusts a supplier to deliver when they said they would. The trade who gets the next job because the last one went well. The rep who actually picks up the phone when something goes sideways on site.
Those relationships don’t get built in a function room. They get built over time, in real conversations, when people have the space to just be themselves.
Our community spends all week flat out on site, on the phone, chasing trades and keeping clients happy. The last thing anyone needed was another stuffy event. So we got everyone outside with a hat, some sunscreen and a rod in hand, and let people be people for a day.
We exist to back the people who build Australia’s homes and to bring the industry together. A day on the water turned out to be a pretty good way to do both. The good conversations happen on the water, and the good working relationships come from those.
How the Day Worked
The Classic ran as a team event. Every crew fished under a partner’s name, so it was as much about the people around you as the fish on the end of your line.
There was serious competition for a perpetual shield, plenty of bragging rights on offer, and a few nail guns up for grabs for the standout performers, courtesy of Paslode. Nonna Makes food truck kept everyone fed all day, which earned it a big shout out of its own.
Photos from the day.
Some Crews Came to Fish
Not everyone was there just for the yarns.
Creation Homes pulled in some huge catches. The Futurebuild crew? Same story.
And Metricon proved it isn’t just Australia’s biggest builder. Sam Gribble landed a barra around 80cm, and it still wasn’t the biggest fish of the day.
That tells you something about the standard on the water. It also tells you how quickly a fishing story grows once the whole industry has heard it.
The 2026 Honour Roll
Here’s who took home the silverware, the bragging rights and the power tools.
Perpetual Shield: Team Casa Ceramica. They fished as a team and it paid off. Theirs are the first names on the shield, and they stay there for good.
Biggest Barra: Jordy, J3 Built. Well fished, mate.
Champion Angler: Scott Clague, Stroud Homes. The honour roll also records the smallest fish of the day, a 12cm whiting, alongside this one. We will let Scott tell that story.
Fish Whisperer: John Leonardis, Metricon. John earned the title with a 57cm mangrove jack.
First Catch: Alex, James Marsden Builders. The young apprentice beat everyone to the first fish and went home with a Paslode Nightwolf nail gun. Not a bad day at work.
Oddest Catch: Linn Batey, Nyblad Constructions. Linn caught a bird. Yes, a bird.
Total Legend: Steve’s young fella, Stroud Homes. The youngest angler on the day, about six years old, voted Total Legend by the crowd. He now owns a nail gun, which is more than most of us could say at six.
Az put it best on the day. “You couldn’t get the smile off his face, and that was what the whole day was about.”
View all the Winners
The Catches That Deserve a Mention
Some of the best moments of the day never made the official honour roll.
Rick Rubin, Senior Estimator at Bold Living, landed a very cool barra.
Sophie and Alexandra from Ausbuild were among the first to catch, pulling a massive barramundi off the island while everyone else was still coming up empty.
And then there were Ash North and Eleni from Futurebuild Events. They landed the biggest barra of the day while the Biggest Barra award was being handed out. If there is a lesson in that, it is that timing is everything, in fishing and in building.
“You couldn’t get the smile off his face, and that was what the whole day was about.” Az
Thank You to Our Partners
Our partners backed this day before anyone knew it would work.
No track record. No guarantee anyone would show up. These businesses put their hand up for year one anyway, and in return they got a full day out with some of the best builders in the country.
Without them the day doesn’t happen. We are genuinely grateful, and we hope to see every one of them back on the water next time.
Find Yourself in the Photos
The photos are up. Head to the Fishing Classic photo album to find yourself, your crew and, most importantly, your catch.
Hear the Full Wrap From Az
If you want the full story, Az has wrapped the whole day on the podcast. Every winner, every partner, and yes, the bird. Listen to the Fishing Classic wrap now.
Jack from James Marsden Builders, whose apprentice landed the first fish of the day, also joins the podcast this week.
The First of Many
This was year one, and it will not be the last.
We are keen to take the Classic on tour to more states, so keep an eye out. You can register your interest on the Fishing Classic page to hear first when the next one is locked in.
Here is the thing we took away from the day. Builders, trades and suppliers spend most of their working lives talking to each other about problems. Late deliveries. Variations. Payments. Weather.
Give the same people a rod, a sunny day and nowhere to be, and the conversation changes. They talk about their families, their crews, their apprentices and the fish that got away. That is where trust starts, and trust is what this industry runs on.
Hope to see you on the water again soon.
Frequently Asked Questions
The first Good Builder Fishing Classic was held on Friday 30 October 2026 at Bli Bli Barra Park on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland.
Team Casa Ceramica won the Perpetual Shield, the first names engraved on it. Other winners included Jordy from J3 Built for Biggest Barra, Scott Clague from Stroud Homes for Champion Angler and John Leonardis from Metricon for Fish Whisperer.
It is a team event. Every crew fishes under a partner’s name, with awards including the Perpetual Shield, Biggest Barra, Champion Angler, Fish Whisperer, First Catch, Oddest Catch and a crowd voted Total Legend award.
Yes. We plan to take the Classic on tour to more states. Register your interest on the Fishing Classic page to hear about the next event.
Send a link to your pictures to [email protected] and we will add them to the official album.
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General Information Only. This article is general information only. It does not take into account your particular circumstances and is not legal, financial or professional advice. We make every effort to ensure the information is accurate at the time of publication.
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