Town’s team hooks early place

l INNISFAIL

A TEAM of anglers from Lindsay Rural North Queensland has been awarded an early place in the final round of a national fishing competition supporting rural mental health.

David McDowell heads up Lindsay Rural’s team in Innisfail competing in the 2023 Bayer Big Fish Challenge.

The Bayer Big Fish Challenge is a friendly fishing competition that supports rural mental wellbeing through a partnership with The Fly Program.

Bayer Crop Science donates $1 per centimetre of the largest fish per species per team to The Fly Program, funding additional places for rural Australians on mental health retreats.

Ordinarily, the top performing finalists at the end of the year are invited to attend a final round of competition for the chance to be crowned Bayer Rural Angler of the Year.

However, Bayer Crop Science national key account manager Ben Thompson said a change to the competition rules this year allowed Lindsay Rural North Queensland to claim a ticket, being the top performing team on April 30.

“David’s team had raised

$1417 by April 30 this year, just four months into the competition,” Mr Thompson said.

“Bayer’s retreats, which are funded through the competition, address the serious consequences of the mental health challenge which faces rural Australians.

Mr McDowell can attest to the importance of the program after attending one of Bayer’s retreats.

“It was a soul-healing experience,” Mr McDowell said. “It was great to spend some time with other likeminded people, who also worked in the ag industry, and to realise there’s a lot of other people in similar situations to you," he said.