Having fun at Catch a Catty Fishing Comp

Paradise Fish Stocking group held their very popular Catch a Catty Family Fishing Competition recently and I ventured over to join in.

What a great weekend it was and such a great place to be.

It’s held at Mingo Crossing which is on the back road (the old highway) between Gayndah and Mount Perry, west of Bundaberg and situated on the Burnett River.

The council established a caravan park here not too many years ago and it’s an absolute gem in the middle of nowhere.

This section of the Burnett River is downstream from the township of Gayndah and further downstream of Mingo Crossing is Paradise Dam.

Mingo Crossing has well-maintained campgrounds where you can camp right beside the water if you wish or have a powered site a bit further back with the option of renting one of the popular glamping tents.

All the amenities are there, with a stocked kiosk, two shower/toilet blocks, barbecues, shady camp areas and a very good cement boat ramp and cleaning table.

 

The river is stocked with barramundi, bass and golden perch and has bonus fish stocked further upstream.

When there’s a run, some of those fish even want to travel towards the salt and have to pass through Mingo.

What we didn’t have that weekend was ideal water conditions as this district had received between 100-150ml of rain in the week leading up to the competition.

The rain was good for the ground however as tent pegs just pushed in by hand.

We had flooding water, but it slowed down during the competition which meant it was even comfortable for the many kayaks out on the river.

Catties weren’t the only species on the catch list, but they were the most common species caught over the weekend.

There was so much food in the water that even they were a bit picky and it seemed they were only interested in eating small pieces of bait.

 

Maybe that was all they could fit in.

Even though they aren’t on everyone’s favourite list of sport fish, you certainly know when you’ve got a good one hooked.

A 4kg catty puts up a good fight and this was the size of the biggest one weighed in for the competition.

Unfortunately, no barramundi were caught, so the $5000 for the best barramundi prize went back in the bank for next year’s event.

Also caught were a few eel-tailed catfish, three golden perch and a handful of spangled perch.

A few eels and even a huge lungfish were hooked but released; as you should do with any protected species.

Even though the fishing was quiet, the atmosphere made up for that.

The stocking group has a great following, with many sponsors who love the place as much as they do.

There were heaps of great prizes and lucky draws and all the juniors didn’t go home empty-handed.

If you need any more information, you can check out the Catch a Catty competition on Facebook.

See you there next year.