Barra Bash best yet
by Meagan Patroni Organisers are hailing this year's Halls Creek Fishing Club's Telstra Country Wide's Battle of the Barra as the best yet. The weather was great the tide was high and, with 201 entries, there was plenty of competition. Competitors set off early Saturday morning, some returning with only a bad case of heat stroke. The Pucci family on the other hand brought back a catch that would win them thousands of dollars worth of prizes. When Kim Pucci carried in his 21-kilogram barramundi at 5.30pm on Saturday for the weigh in, there was widespread amazement. Kim said the 21kg fish was the third largest barramundi he had caught in his life. Many competitors felt a bit disheartened by his catch as they set out to try to beat it on Sunday. Kim's nephews followed in his footsteps winning two of the junior awards for their efforts. With all the good equipment they won they'll be an even bigger threat next year. Battle of The Barra ran smoothly, even with the change of venue. |
The Wyndham Town Hotel supported the competition and catered well for the event. Feedback seemed positive, especially regarding the food supplied. Pilots flying over Wyndham on the weekend commented on the many boats seen in the river and channel systems. For locals the number of vehicles and vessels in Wyndham was a rare but an exciting site. The club has praised Doug Shiner and the Sea Search and Rescue crew who kept an eye on the event. Fishing Club organiser, Andrew Bailey, said the total prize pool for the event was $12,562 plus an additional $900 in free coolers, hats and so on from sponsors. As in previous years the club will use some of the proceeds to sponsor other fishing events around the region. Past donations from the club include sponsoring the Sea Search and Rescue shirts, the Katherine Game Fishing Club's, Big Horse Creek Barra Classic, the Fitzroy Crossing's "Barra Splash" and other events around the region. Andrew said: "Meals were of top quality. We were extremely happy with the Wyndham Town Hotel as a venue "The event will be on again next year. We plan to send out a 'debrief survey' to all competitors to fill in and return to monitor competitor expectations and improve on the event for next year. "We are expecting that this Battle Of The Barra event will grow to one of the biggest and most successful fishing event in northern Australia. |
Winners: Junior Barra: Junior Catfish: Junior Salmon: Junior Mulloway: Open Catfish: Open Salmon: Open Mulloway: Open Barra: In total 28 barra were weighed in with only seven over 10kg. |