Million Dollar Fish Season 10 is underway, and already two things have been repeated from previous years: a Sportsbet-tagged barra was caught on the very first day of the competition; and within two days a 10K barra was caught from the Daly River Crossing.
Bing Quan Mo (AKA Ken) is officially the first winner of MDF S10 after he caught his prize barra on live bait at Buffalo Creek boat ramp on the first day of the competition.
At first, he was disappointed because the barra was only 61cm, and he had not yet seen the red tag.
This of course begs the question of how big are the barra Ken normally catches at Buffalo Creek boat ramp.
Well, Ken was about to clean the fish at home when he spotted the tag.
Full of excitement that he had caught a red-tagged barramundi on the day the competition opened, he quickly called his daughter, Bao Mo.
“I have been fishing for a long time, and registered every year,” Ken said.
“I have never caught a red-tagged barra, and I am so excited that I might go home and visit my elderly mum in China.
“This barra will be the best-tasting fish,” Ken reckoned.
At 4.15pm on only the second day of competition, Theo Vondros reeled in the most valuable fish he’s ever caught at Daly River.
Theo is not usually a barra fisho but was convinced by his brother-in-law to sign up and try his luck.
Theo was stubbornly trying to catch some live bait before his brother-in-law convinced him to use a lure and cast a line.
Talk about Karma: after only a few casts, he hooked and landed a 76cm red-tagged barramundi.
“I can’t believe it; my wife was in shock, because we’ve never won anything,” Theo said.
“After work, we went to the Daly River crossing for a quick flick before dinner.
“I was looking for live bait, and my bother-in-law told me to stop stuffing around and gave me a lure to start casting.
“I mainly go deep-sea fishing, or hunting; I never go barra fishing and I don’t even own a barra rod,” the 10K-richer angler said.
There are still 97 $10,000 barramundi waiting to be caught, as well as 10 fish carrying a tag worth a million bucks.
Season 10 of the Million Dollar Fish competition began on 1 October and will finish on 31 March 2025.
To claim any prize money from a tagged fish, you must be registered for Season 10 on www.milliondollarfish.com.au.
This also automatically enters you into the monthly giveaway draw.
Northern Territory Major Events Company Acting CEO, Trevor Cox, said: "I’m delighted to see two of the $10,000 prizes go off and I’d like to offer my congratulations to Theo and Ken.
“We are lucky to have some of the country’s best fishing right here in our backyard, and we’re likely to see plenty more fishos hook onto red-tagged barra throughout Season 10 of this iconic competition.”
Sportsbet’s NT Operations and Partnerships Manager, Thijs Bors, was thrilled to be awarding the first two lucky fishos of Season 10 a cheque for $10,000 each.
“The season is off to an amazing start, and we look forward to seeing more red-tagged barra caught in Territory waters, Thijs said.
The muddies are running: Sunshine Coast visitor, Zac Waddell, proudly wears his Million Dollar Fish shirt whilst presenting a pair of ripper bucks from the Adelaide River.
The tides on the Adelaide River are all set this weekend to produce barra like this terrific fish caught in the TEBS comp a fortnight ago by Blake Adcock.
