Last weekend, 50 anglers competed in round one of the 2025 Top End Barra Series held from Shady Camp, including the coast and creeks from Marsh Creek to the Wildman River.
This round was different to any previous rounds because, for the first time, there were two categories: New School and Old School.
The 30 New School competitors were those with boats equipped with, and using, forward-facing sonar; while the 20 Old School competitors either didn’t have this technology or did not use it during the round.
This is the first major fishing competition in the Top End to go this way, and it won’t surprise if others follow suit.
According to Evan Dixon, who reported on behalf of TEBS, round one had its fair share of incidents and frustrations, not to mention some terrific barra caught.
“The best fishing windows seemed to line up with the incoming tides, especially on the Saturday,” Evan said.
“While a lot of the biggest fish were caught in daylight, better sessions were reported at night, with barra firing up under the cover of darkness.
“Slow-rolling soft plastics was the go-to technique, with a range of lures working well.
“There were large numbers of prawns in the river systems, which made fish a little fussy.
“Trollers also had success, adjusting lure speeds and placement to match the bait movements,” Evan reported.
Over 250 fish were registered across both categories. This included 9 meteries, 37 barra in the 90s, 32 in the 80s, 42 in the 70s, 78 in the 60s and 68 in the 50s.
“There were plenty of heartbreak moments,” Evan said.
“Kai Hale and Josie Hausler battled what was probably a 120cm-plus barra which was hooked in the dorsal fin but was sadly lost in the later stage of the fight.
“Matt Bolitho had a rough run too, with multiple big fish lost due to hooks pulling.
“Mitchell Northey had a horror moment when a monster barra smashed his lure but didn’t hook up, and then his brother cast in, hooked it, and got gill-raked before watching the fish jump with the lure still in its mouth,” Evan said.
It seems this first round was packed with classic TEBS moments.
Dave Nillon copped a hook in one of his toes when the wake of a passing boat caught him off guard.
Apparently, that didn’t prevent him from landing a 101cm barra with his bare hands as his net wasn’t up to the task.
There seemed to be a pattern to Dave’s fishing, culminating in a motor breakdown.
Fortunately, long-time TEBS competitor, Greg Shields, and TEBS chairperson, Morris Pizutto, helped Dave get back into action.
Evan recounted even more stories from TEBS competitors: “Grosser and Huggy Bear had an unexpected run-in with a territorial buffalo while navigating a narrow, shallow channel up the back of the Mary.
“The big fella took an instant dislike to them, snorting and carrying on from the bank before charging along the channel after the boat which made a hasty exit. “Peter Cooper’s story also includes a significant amount of wildlife, including dodging cows on the road, coming eye to eye with a massive boar at the Shady Camp toilets, and watching a buffalo stroll across the boat ramp.
“Fishing comps can bring out frustrations,” Evan explained.
“One angler, after dropping a few good fish, refused to net his mate’s fish, leaving him to battle it out solo.
“Another angler, who was in a raft-up when he lost a good barra due to gear failure, snapped his rod clean in half, which got a mixed reaction of horror, sympathy and laughter from those nearby.
“Tim Bolch had a rough ending to the day after a barra buried a treble deep into his leg.
“Luckily there were rums and bolt cutters at the raft-up to sort this out,” Evan explained.
I’ve been writing up TEBS rounds for more than a decade now, but I can’t remember a round quite as eventful as this latest one at Shady Camp.
RESULTS:
New School Champions:
1. Tristan Christie – 2140 pts
2. Peter Cooper – 1870 pts
3. Benjamin Vidgen – 1790 pts
4. Kai Hale – 1765 pts
5. Mitchell Northey – 1640 pts
Old School Champions:
1. Tim Bolch – 900 pts
2. Sandie Dean – 895 pts
3. Craig Latimore – 780 pts
4. Luke Tibbits – 670 pts
5. Jack Albury – 525 pts
The next TEBS round will be on the Daly River on 29-30 March.
Tristan Christie with a terrific barra that helped him win New School and Open Class at Shady Camp during round one of the Top End Barra Series.
Tim Bolch competed in the TEBS Old School competition and won by five points from Sandie Dean. Not the lure hanging off his leg.
Mitchell Northey competed in his first TEBS round and came fifth in the New School section.
