WHETHER you had a red claw yabby tipping the scales at nearly half a kilo, a metre-long barramundi or a tiny Mouth Almighty, the event described by organisers as the highlight of the year for fishing families, the Tinaroo Barra Bash, had something for everyone.
A total of 880 adult and 240 junior nominations were received and anglers took to the water in all manner of craft at all hours of the day and night in the hope of securing a slice of the prize pool worth more than $25,000 in 22 categories.
Contenders could even win good money for catching tilapia, a nuisance species introduced into waters from South Africa.
Luke Purcell took out the primary school prize of $300 for his catch of 66 tilapia, much to the delight of Dr Allan Webb from the Australian Centre for Tropical Freshwater Research.
In awarding the prize, Mr Webb said there had been a lot of juvenile tilapia caught, which indicated a good breeding season for them.
He said people should not use the fish as live bait and report any sightings to the DPI Fisheries.
“It’s good to see the contribution made by the kids,” he said. “These fish don’t belong.”
During the weekend 81 barra were weighed in for a total of just over three quarters of a tonne.
The biggest was a 21.8 kilogram whopper caught on a lure by Cairns man Mark Edwards.
Among the sponsors were Sports North, King Reef Resort, Atherton Bait & Tackle, Outdoor Game and Marine, Watson Backhoe Hire, Eacham Abrasive Blasting, Col Barkworth Plumbing, Network Video, Koci Electrical, Cairns Tackle & Bait, Tilapia Busters, Bendigo Bank, Tableland Fish Stocking Society and Redding Motors.
*More photos and results in this week’s North Queensland Register, out Thursday.
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