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62 competitors signed on to fish the inaugural South East Queensland Snapper Challenge hosted by the Bribie Island Sportfishing Club.

Brisbane SFC member Steve Gregory with the heaviest snapper of the event 5.40kg caught in Moreton Bay.

Presentation of a cheque for $200 to the Redcliffe Coastguard on behalf of the BISFC and all who fished the event.

 

No snapper were weighed by anglers fishing from the canoe / kayak division, or the Brisbane River Division.

 

In the offshore Division, Warren Morgenstern caught the heaviest snapper brought to the scales. His snapper weighed in at 2.82 kg.

 

The fish of the event was a very nice snapper caught by Brisbane Sportfishing Club member Steve Gregory. Steve is an acknowledged big snapper guru who regularly manages to catch trophy fish both in Moreton Bay and offshore. This year, he chose to participate in the Moreton Bay section of the event, and brought a very nice 5.40kg snapper to the scales.

 

A number of captures of other species by competitors during the weekend included a 7.00kg spangled emperor by Kingaroy angler Brendan Moore. Fish caught by participants included amberjack, maori cod, pearl perch, red throat sweetlip, tailor, flathead, bream as well as a host of lesser species.

 

It is a credit to all competitors that the vast majority of fish captured by participants were released after capture showing that recreational anglers in general pose very little threat to fish stocks, and have a very minimal impact of the health of the Moreton Bay Marine Park.

 

The Champion Team categories were awarded to:

 

OFFSHORE: Team 12 consisting of Jeff Betts and Stuart Caulding. Between them they captured 5.510 metres of snapper with a caudal fork length better than 250mm. This gave them a team average of 2.755 metres per angler.

 

MORETON BAY: Team 3 consisting of Gary Sturdy and Mick Kan. They captured 4.64 metres of snapper over 250mm. This gave a team average of 2.32 metres per angler.

 

BRISBANE RIVER: Team 17 consisting of the father and son team of Colin and Kurtis McIntosh fished the Brisbane River en route to their destination at Mud Island. Their capture of a 280mm fork length snapper was enough to award them with this team category. They also went on to score a creditable score in the Moreton Bay section as well.

 

Canoe / Kayak: Maryborough Sportfishing Club member Andrew Davies travelled down to Redcliffe to participate in this event. With no local knowledge of the Redcliffe reefs, he used his experience of fishing Hervey Bay waters to work his kayak around the northern Redcliffe reefs to score a number of fish. His 450mm fork length snapper was enough to award him the champion angler in the canoe / kayak section.

 

The final trophy awarded for the weekend was that awarded to the team that tagged the most snapper during the event. This award also went to the team of Gary Sturdy and Mick Kan. They tagged 20 snapper during the weekend, and this placed them well ahead of the other teams that tagged fish during the weekend.

 

In all, there were 116 snapper between 250mm and 720mm fork length captured during the event. There were 121 fish of other species, or snapper under 250mm caudal fork length captured during the weekend. Of the 237 fish captured during the event, 188 were released back into the waters they came from. A release rate of nearly 80 per cent of all fish captured shows that recreational anglers are fishing conservatively these days, and are releasing all fish surplus to their immediate needs.

 

The catch effort sheets from this year's event will be submitted to the ANSA Queensland Suntag database, and the results of this year's event together with results from future events will help to contribute to the growing picture on the health of our fisheries.

 

Events such as this cannot be held successfully without the assistance of sponsors who donate product, goods and services to be distributed throughout the event. The Bribie Island Sportfishing Club would like to sincerely acknowledge the generousity of a number of businesses within the recreational fishing industry who have supported this event. Their donations ensured that everyone who entered the South East Queensland Snapper Challenge received a presentation pack of their products and helped to ensure the overall success of the weekend.

 

A donation of $200.00 was presented to the Coast Guard at Redcliffe by the Bribie Island Sportfishing Club on behalf of all anglers who fished in the South East Queensland Snapper Challenge. This is one way we are able to show our appreciation for the wonderful job they do in looking after all boaties who venture out into Moreton Bay.

 

We would like to acknowledge and thank the following sponsors.

 

Queensland Fishing Monthly, and Bush N Beach Fishing Magazine for promotion of the event.

TT Lures.

The Tackle Warehouse – Camp Hill.

Gary Howard's – Australian Rod Manufacturers.

The Tackle Shop – Carseldine.

Shimano.

Starlo and Bushy's Squidgies.

Tackle World – Sandgate.

Platypus Pre-Test and Braided Fishing Lines.

Sundown Marine – Redcliffe.

Berkley Gulp.

Ecogear.

Australian Volunteer Coastguard – Redcliffe.

 

regards

 

Jeff Sorrell

President

Bribie Island Sportfishing Club