The Isisford Barcoo Recreational Fishing Club invites you to their annual fishing competition on 28-30 July – this month!

This fantastic event happens each year on the banks of the Barcoo River at the good old Oma Waterhole. It’s the place to be, so plan a trip for the last full weekend of July. Bring your family, friends or whoever wants to come along, join in on the fun and try and catch the longest yellowbelly, or just lay back and enjoy the scenery.

It’s a two day competition, starting at 10am Saturday and finishing 11am Sunday. You can fish all day and all night until your heart’s content. You can fish through the Saturday night, as long as you bring the fish up to be measured alive. The club encourages competitors to catch and release, so fish numbers can replenish after the competition.

If you arrive early before the competition, nominations are taken on Friday afternoon at the control point from 1pm to 6pm and then they start again on Saturday morning around 7.30am. Friday night is a meet and greet; the bar will be opened and NRL football televised on the big screen at the Yellowbelly Bar.

The categories are adult and junior and the species to be caught over the weekend are yellowbelly, black bream and catfish. Nomination fees are $20 for adults and $5 for juniors. You don’t have to catch a fish to be in the draw, and your name automatically goes in the draw for both major and smaller prizes. To be eligible for the draws or to bring in a fish, you just have to be nominated.

The competition is based on measurement (legal fish size only) and fish have to be alive when they are brought up to be measured. Cash prizes are there for the adults and there are object prizes for the juniors.

Adult competitors will be aiming to win the Ernie Dagan Memorial Shield and the juniors will be after the Lawrence Reynolds Memorial Shield. Each first place getter of the adult section will take home a trophy donated by the Bignell family.

The Barcoo River Rats have included a team competition for fun. You just need a team of five, the team has to be registered and the competition is that each team member registers one fish. Once measured (by the measuring team at the control point) they cannot enter any other fish. The winning team is determined by the total length of the five fish. Teams can also win prizes for the best dressed and best named.

It all starts happening on Saturday with nominations, displays from Desert Edge Outdoors Winton and Fish ‘N’ Bits Bait & Tackle Toowoomba, raffles and merchandise. The fishing competition will have catering over the weekend with a nice meal on Saturday night.

The bar will be open all weekend. Please come and enjoy the novelty events which happen Saturday afternoon at 4pm, including the Carole Reynolds Memorial Damper Competition, hay bale rolling, ChipNDale’s Dog Jump Competition, foot racing, women’s horse shoe throwing, and a whip cracking competition.

Saturday night’s entertainment will be Owen Blundell from 6.00pm-8.00pm and Outback Sound and Visual DJ Nev. There will even be a karaoke competition, so come and be part of the line-up. The best female, best male, best duet and best group will all win a prize. Come along have a great meal and a few refreshments while listening to good music.

Portable toilets will be available for your convenience as well as showers at the control point. The showers are limited, so please be patient. Firewood is in limited supply as well this year, so please bring that little extra.

Prizes and presentation will take place on Sunday at 12.00pm. For the major draws, competitors are asked to be present. If not, they will be redrawn. Thank you to all our sponsors for supporting the club. More information will be provided on the weekend, or just visit our website at www.isisfordfishingcomp.com.au. Take home a few stories and spread the word of what a great little comp it is. – Isisford Barcoo Recreational Fishing Club