The

l FISHING

DESCRIBED as a “majestic piece of God’s creation”, a 109cm barramundi caught in Lake Tinaroo has reeled in Brisbane man Mark Hennessy $3000 in the Fish’n’SIP$ tagged fishing competition.

Mr Hennessy and his brother Mick were fishing on the lake in May after abandoning their plans to go fishing on the Reef due to windy weather.

“Being a happily retired lifelong resident of Brisbane, the lure of large and plentiful fish is something that is shared by many amateur anglers,” Mr Hennessy said.

“To try and satisfy this urge, an annual two week trip with my brother Mick, to stay with

“We have a group of young players who are always keen to play volleyball, so it’ll be good to showcase where Cairns is at.”

Mr Geck said this was an exciting and more affordable opportunity for young players looking to go professional.

“This is an easier pathway for our Cairns rep team to go away,” he said.

“If we want to make a Queensland team it would require five or six trips to Brisbane for the players to represent Queensland which becomes really expensive.

“With this pathway, we can train as a team in Cairns and not have all the travel costs to make a Queensland team.

“It motivates players much more to know that they’re training to go to Sydney and that there’s a better pathway into the Queensland team than going to Townsville a couple of times a year.”

Mr Geck said if the team had a good performance, an under-19 team would also be sent to compete in 2024.

“This is a trial for us to see if we’re competitive and see if we can compete on this level and if we are competitive next year we’ll send an under-19 team as well,” he said.

“The big thing for us is creating opportunities for these kids to play where they haven’t had opportunities in the past and bring them higher-level opportunities.” a friend and avid fisher in Gordonvale, is something that is enthusiastically anticipated.

“We travelled by road at the beginning of May hoping to jag some decent weather. Alas, the high winds on open waters were to stifle any hope of Reef trips. Not to be deterred, a trip to Tinaroo dam was hastily organised.”

“The moment he caught the fish was like some thing out a movie, as they reeled in one of the biggest fish they have ever seen. Three times the fish lurched into the air, violently shaking its head trying to dislodge the hook then making another run in its bid for freedom,” Mr Hennessy said.

“Not sure how long it took to land but it felt as if the battle could have been lost on a few occasions as it circled the boat repeatedly.

“To keep it clear of the outboard and then get it into the landing net seemed to take an immeasurable amount of time. Seeing it secured in the landing net, I was now conscious of the size of this majestic piece of God’s creation.”

Fisheries Queensland executive director Dallas D’Silva said their change in plans had them reeling in the giant winning barramundi, along with 14 others – four of which measured more than a metre long.

“Mark’s tagged barra is the third winning fish caught on Lake Tinaroo during the competition and was landed dur- ing a trip in which he and his brother caught and released 14 barra with all but four of the fish measuring more than a metre in length,” he said.

The competition is still well underway, with $12,000 up for grabs for tagged fish in Lake Tinaroo, Lake Proserpine, Lake Kinchant, Lake Callide, and Lake Cania stocked impoundments.

“The next 11 fish caught on a line and accurately reported to InfoFish will win a prize and the sooner a tagged fish is caught, the larger the prize will be,” Mr D’Silva said.

Visit qld.gov.au/recreation/activities/ boating-fishing/rec-fi shing/dams to find the nearest stocked waterway and buy a permit, or call 13 25 23 for more information.