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Australian Defence Force Comp
By Ben Kenyon
Over the last weekend in October, more than 100 Australian Defence Force (ADF) Personnel set out for remote Dundee Beach in the Northern Territory to compete in the annual ADF Inter-Service Fishing Competition. This year the competition was fierce as members took to the waters in hopes of catching the elusive barramundi and earning themselves bragging rights for the year.
The team-based competition was split into two categories - open and restricted. People fishing the 'open' category could fish anywhere within the Dundee region; whereas those fishing 'restricted' were limited to Bynoe Harbour and no more than 2 Nm in open waters off Dundee. The top teams from each category would add their points together to determine which service would take home the bragging rights for 2018. This year the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) won, with Army second and Navy coming in third place.
The NT Inter-Service fishing competition had been an annual event for decades until 2004, where it was paused for 10 years. Since resuming the competition in 2014, the event has continued to grow each year. Designed to promote morale and esprit de corps among the ranks and provide an opportunity to experience the fantastic fishing available in the NT. Understandably, NT based Defence Force members look forward to the annual event each year. The competition is open to defence members employed within the Northern Territory or Western Australia Kimberly region. This year the ARMY was represented with 13 teams, the RAAF with 26 and Navy with 4. The competition used a 'best 5 fish' system to score points. Only two fish per species could be entered, with a minimum of three different species required to maximise points. Forty-three teams entered this year's competition, along with 106 individual entrants.
Conditions were tough for the weekend for all 43 teams, with a +7m swing in the tides, big winds, and choppy seas. Despite these less than ideal conditions, spirits remained high.
"For a lot of anglers the fish were just not biting, but those who did manage to catch fish did really well" said Leading Aircraftswomen Natasha Morse.
The winning team for the 'open' competition was comprised of two mates, one from the Army and one from the Airforce. Fishing out of a 5.2m Formosa with a 100hp Honda engine, they travelled over 60km over open ocean to fish the famous Perron Islands south of Dundee. They began by making their way to 'Witches' Nose' to troll for sailfish; however, there was little to no bait around, so they moved on. Using their local knowledge and in an effort to find some action, they motored an additional 30km to bottom bash a favourite area near 'Sail City', where they managed to catch several smaller fish.
On the turn of the tide they were able land a 109cm and 93cm Spanish mackerel, as well as a 106cm and a 93cm Barracuda. As the day wore on the sharks were getting thicker, so they decided to call it and make their way back to Perron Islands for shelter overnight. They spent the rest of the weekend exploring the islands and enjoying the exclusive fishing that its remoteness had to offer. When they weren't bottom bashing, they were using poopers and stickbaits, both with wire trace. It was their 'go hard or go home' attitude that pushed them throughout the competition and ended up earning them the highest overall score for the weekend.
The highest scoring individual angler in the 'restricted' category, fishing from a 4.55m Stacer with a 40hp engine, won the restricted competition with a 38cm mangrove jack, small trevally, rock cod and a batfish. This is an indication of how tough the conditions were for the weekend of fishing. To land the mangrove jack, he was fishing deep into a small tidal creek in Bynoe harbour. The remaining fish were caught fishing around Little Roache Reef off Dundee Beach boat ramp.
The women and men of the ADF competing is this competition are employed in a variety of roles within the Top End of the Territory. This includes, F/A-18 Classic Hornet pilots and full maintenance and logistic support people, Army's Tiger armed reconnaissance helicopter crew and maintenance personnel, Navy's Armidale class patrol boat crew, along with a full Army brigade operating M1A1 Abrams main Battle Tanks as well as other armoured units and support regiments.
The team at Tackle Tactics are proud to support this ADF fishing event and acknowledge the important role that each of the participants and the ADF play in Australia. For more information on the Australian Defence Force, visit http://www.defence.gov.au/