EXPRESS sPORT
All sorts to wet a line at Barra Bash By Ryan Groube whether an old-hand at seven or a late bloomer from interstate, this weekend’s Barra Bash at Lake Tinaroo will attract a diverse range of anglers all looking to land the big one. The annual event, run by the Tableland Fish Stocking Society, is a three-day fishing competition with a prize pool of more than $10,000 up for grabs. Competition fishing begins at 5.30pm on October 18, through Saturday with ‘stop fishing’ called at 10am Sunday. Weigh-in finishes at 11am with presentations in all divisions to begin just after noon. Charlotte Moller, a seven year old from Gordonvale, has been fishing at the event with her Dad Shane since she was old enough to hold a rod. Last year, as a six-year-old weighing 22 kilograms, Charlotte reeled in a 25.15 kilogram Barramundi at Lake Tinaroo which secured her a International Game Fish Association female small fry world record. Charlotte said landing the monster had been “very hard” but that she hoped to catch a bigger one this weekend. “My Dad taught me that the golden rule of fishing is not to panic,” she said. “When I hooked it he told me what to do and I did it straight away and that is how I pulled it in. “It is a good sport finishing. It is what my Dad likes to do and I like my Dad.” Tableland pharmacist Mark Hope didn’t become a regular angler until he moved to the far north from New South Wales. Today, Mark is ranked number five in the world for fresh water fishing and is the holder of seven world records, with a further two pending. The fishing bug has bitten so hard, he has also tacked on a tackle shop, World Record Barra Tackle, onto his pharmacy at Yungaburra.
Charlotte Moller wets a line at Lake Tinaroo, inset, Mark Hope with a mould of his world record breaking catch from 2011 and inset bottom, Charlotte with her world record fish
“I didn’t really ever chase fish until my pharmacy bought me up here,” he said. “I was a bit bored one day and I hadn’t been barra fishing before so I went fishing out at Yungaburra hoping to catch my first one. “That first trip we didn’t catch anything but I really enjoyed it and I have just kept getting better at it.” Mark plans to take his father out on the water for the Barra Bash this weekend but said he will only fish for a couple of hours and won’t be chasing any of the major prizes this year. “This year I am just going to enter to spend a
couple of hours out on the water with Dad,” he said. “We are just going to have a relaxed day in what is a lovely environment and see if we can’t hook anything.” The Tableland Fish Stocking Society runs the event each year to encourage people to purchase Stocked Impounded Permits of which a portion is returned to the group to purchase fish to stock Lake Tinaroo. It is also used to monitor the fish population in Lake Tinaroo and to fund a hatchery. The society has recently stocked 3200 fish, between 200 to 250mm in size into the Severin
Arm of Tinaroo, bringing the annual intake this year to about 10,000. Information for competitors: Only two fish may be taken per angler all fish will be weighed whole any Barramundi taken must exceed 56cm a lucky door prize of $10,000 will be selected from Adult nomination form purchasers no fish may be moved from one catchment to another please clean up after yourselves and keep the bank and waterway clear of rubbish
Cracking start for juniors By Ryan Groube
Adam Howarth and Garry Parker try their hand at archery on Sunday
Archery club hosts Sporting Wheelies Tableland Company of Archers hosted a handful of Sporting Wheelies on Sunday as they tried their hand at archery. Sporting Wheelies is Queensland’s peak body for sport, recreation and fitness for people with a physical disability or vision impairment. Garry Parker, Adam Howarth and Bob Moore had all shot with TCoA before. For Jasmine Manning and Christine Wolf, Sunday was the first time they had fired an arrow. Christine, a gold medal winning Paralympian in the long jump, organised Sunday’s trip to the Tableland. “Sporting Wheelies is all about connecting people with a disability to sport,” she said. “We try and do all sorts of come and try days like today at least once a month.”
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The group underwent instruction from TCoA head coach George Neilson prior to a shoot off. “Today we are just hoping to give them some confidence and a sence of archery,” he said. “Once they all feel confident enough we’ll have a shoot off. “Archery is a Paralympic sport and if any of them get good enough there is the pathway for them to go right through but if they want to do it for a bit of fun then that is fine as well.” As for the early favourite to take out the shoot out was Bob who was dubbed by Adam as “Bobby of Sherwood Forest”. Bob dealt with the expectation to win the shoot with 101 points from Adam on 86 points and Garry one point back on 85.
Mareeba’s junior cricketers are off to a flyer in season 2013-14, dominating in all grades. The Mareeba Bad Boys Under 12s travelled to Port Douglas to face the Muddies in their opening one-day game for the year. Mossman/Port Douglas batted first and were rolled for 98 with Milan Quintieri doing the damage with the ball claiming figures of three wickets for two runs off two overs. Lane Hanush and Jett Prien anchored the Bad Boys batting innings, registering scores of 46 and 22, as Mareeba coasted to a comfortable first up win. The Mareeba Blue Under 14s hosted the Mossman/ Port Douglas Muddies at Borzi Park on Saturday. Batting first Luke Lamborne (26) and Lachlan Ford (24) led the way for Mareeba as they made a competitive 130 off their 32 overs. Fielding a young side with a number of 11-yearolds, Mareeba Blue were ruthless in the field, bowling the Muddies out for 62. Braydon Olufson (11) and Daniel Prien (11) both took their first wickets in the Under 14s competition. Under 14s coach Bomber Adams said Lachlan Palmer, another 11 year old as well as fellow youngster Luke Russo were outstanding for the team. “Lachlan more than held his own against the older boys and Luke Russo was brilliant in the field - he is a real pocket rocket,” Bomber said. “The bowlers shared the wickets around so I just wanted to mention those guys who were playing in thier first Under 14s game.” Mareeba’s Under 16s are also on top after the first day of their two-day clash against Cairns Rovers at Kerribee Park. Batting first, Mareeba compiled 159 runs for the loss of seven wickets from their 42 overs with Ethan McCulloch top scoring with 45. Blistering spells from Nick Turner and Hayden D’Addona, who both took three wickets for three runs
Mareeba Under 14s star Lachlan Ford plays a classical cover drive Picture Peter Roy
off four overs saw Rovers collapse to be all out for 76. “We will be looking for an outright victory in that game next week,” Bomber said. The Mareeba Bandits C Grade side also played at the weekend, hosting Norths at Kerribee Park for the second leg of their two-day game. Defending a huge first innings of 282, the Bandits rolled Norths for 48. Robert Wallace was the chief destroyer for the Bandits taking three for 17 off six overs as Rovers barely survived until after the first drinks break. Enforcing the follow-on in a bid for an outright victory, saw Rovers batsman shut up shop and block out the rest of the day. The game ended with Rovers at four for 111 with the Bandits claiming first innings points.
The Express, Wednesday, October 16, 2013 PAGE 27