North Australian FISH FINDER TM forums

AFANT Press Release

Cath and Him take the win at the
2007 NT Saltwater Fly Fishing Challenge

A total of 1987 fish were measured and released during this year’s Northern Territory Saltwater Fly Fishing Challenge on Bynoe Harbour.

It was battle of the small fry with anglers using small size 4 hooks outperforming the rest.

The husband and wife team of Cathie and Roger Basset managed to take out the event using small flies. Cathie even passed on this information to all the competitors at the end of day one…and they still won!

The team of Cath and Him amassed a total score of 9979, with Cath doing a little better than Him to take out the Champion Angler award as well.

Sitting in second place was NT fishing guide Mark West and his brother Matt from team Fishing and Outdoor World.

Just 12 points separated second and third place, so making sure you got your fish in the net proved vital this year.

20 teams took part in the Challenge, which was hosted by the Darwin Flyrodders at Crab Claw Island Fishermen’s Village, with many anglers making the trip north from interstate.

Conditions were a little more windy than expected on the first day of the two and a half day event at Bynoe Harbour. However by the morning of day two you could skip stones across the harbour as the seas glassed out for a perfect day of fly fishing, with day three producing much of the same.

The competition is made up of seven target species, with a bonus point system for multiple species caught. The Grand Slam remained elusive this year with none of the competing teams managing to catch all seven target species in the one day.

The largest fish caught this year was an 83 cm giant trevally and the biggest barramundi was 70 cm.

For more information on the competition contact Ross Marriner on 0418 113 506 or visit: www.darwinflyrodders.org.au