Picture: Supplied
It’s time to Explore Rockhampton With Zac Garven, Acting Executive Manager Advance Rockhampton
The lines are tight in Rocky right now with giant barra reeling in well and truly over the trophy 100cm!
Advance Rockhampton recently welcomed Michael ‘Guesty’ Guest to the region, an avid fisherman who produces the television series Reel Action TV.
You may remember Guesty as one of Australia’s leading rally car drivers at both national and international level, commencing his rallying career in 1989. He’s a bit of a legend!
Last month Guesty and local angler Coby Pascoe hit the water to test out our region’s shiny new Inkerman Creek boat ramp at Port Alma and catch a few trophy barra of their own and that they did!
With one reeling in at a massive 130cm, Guesty was quite pleased with our Fitzroy barra!
Rockhampton is proud to have some of the best barra fishing in the world, right here on the mighty Fitzroy River (Tunuba).
With Rockhampton’s Recreational Fishing Voluntary Code of Practice now in place for more than 7 years, the closed season between November and January continues to give barramundi time to spawn and protect them at this vulnerable time in their life cycle, and as a result of this we are seeing catches like we’ve never seen in the past.
A strong focus on sustainable fishing has helped to make our barra fishery the envy across Australia with fishing related tourism netting more tourists year on year chasing their trophy barra “PB” right in the heart of our city, which is great for our fishing tourism economy.
Tourism Research Australia reported that annually Australians take 5.6 million trips to go fishing and 86% of those are choosing regional destinations, resulting in $670 million expenditure.
In Rocky we have the added benefit that you can be on a plane, checked in to your hotel room and on the water, fishing the Fitzroy in less than two hours.
That’s a fantastic advantage for Rockhampton, with more people visiting our region, booking accommodation, eating in our cafes and restaurants and stocking up in local tackle shops.
If you’re looking to head out on the water and try your luck, get in touch with one of the fantastic fishing charters in our region, or grab a line and fish from the land!
We are so lucky to have land-based fishing platforms, including two wheelchair accessible platforms, all over the region, even right in the heart of our CBD.