Team Salty Susu took the best-dressed boat prize out of a record number of participants this year. Photo: Weipa Billfish Club.
A record number of 63 anglers took part in the 11th annual Clearwater Ladies Gamefish Day, raising a record donation of more than $12,000 for the McGrath Foundation, which places breast care nurses in Australian communities.
The competition began on Saturday (November 4) when teams dressed up their vessels in a bid to be judged best-dressed boat in line with the Copacabana theme.
Tournament organiser Darryl French said it was one of the highlights of the event, with team Salty Susu taking the prize.
“A lot of imagination and time and effort went into a lot of the creations, and it was a hard one to judge,” he said.
The weather on the fishing day was described as “kind”, allowing even the smallest of boats in the fleet to fish for the whole day.
“Over the course of the day, there were 22 billfish bites, with 13 of these being hooked and six caught and photographed [two black marlin and four sailfish],” he said.
Pineapple Princess’s Theona Down caught the first black marlin and heaviest mackerel of the day. Photo: Weipa Billfish Club.
Moto Moto Melon’s Stacey Sorbello caught the first fish of the day, a sailfish, and the first black marlin was caught by Pineapple Princess’s Theona Down.
Mackerel were the most common fish caught for the day, with 18 weighed, the biggest being 7.18 kg.
Mr French said the presentation luncheon to award the winners of the 21 categories was another highlight this year.
“The Ladies Day committee did an amazing set-up of the venue to set the tone for a great afternoon of fun and stories,” he said.
“With 48 sponsors supporting the event this year, the prize pool was huge, with not only the category winners taking home some great prizes but also ladies and girls who didn’t feature in the winner’s circle.
”The Weipa Billfish Club would like to thank our amazing sponsors who made this event possible.”
