Fishing comp cements memorial fund future

WITH almost double the entries and enough money raised to kickstart a funding program, the second annual Ash Memorial Fishing Comp and Treasure Hunt had “really become an event” at Tinaroo Dam.

Aiden Leibel submitted his brag photo with a great sized Barra.

“We had 193 people register, which absolutely blew us out of the water,” a delighted (and exhausted) organiser, Megan McDowall, said last week.

“We certainly were not expecting the turnout we got, it was amazing and a bit overwhelming.”

Megan set up the competition last year to honour her 19-year-old son, Ashley, who died after a single-vehicle accident in 2022. Proceeds were to go towards establishing the Ashley McDowall Holm Memorial Fund.

At the inaugural competition, about 100 came to support the event, many of whom were friends and people who knew the popular young local. However, this year Megan had known that some of those supporters would not be able to make it, so had not expected a big crowd.

“So, we nearly doubled the number, even without the people we knew couldn’t come,” she said.

The enthusiastic turn-out was evident on the competition’s Facebook page with many well wishes and a lot of fishing brag photos.

Megan and some friends managed the weekend event, despite winds which “played havoc on the flags” for the treasure hunt, and a lack of sleep, she acknowledged with a laugh, but the best news was the amount of funds raised.

“I have enough now to get the foundation up and running and start helping families with the costs of sporting activities,” she said.

As a mother raising an active son and a daughter, she was fully aware of how much needed to be spent on kitting out a child for a sport or activity, as well as paying the fees.

The fund would be open to all schooling and sporting events through a grant process, to contribute to fees and alleviate financial pressure for parents.

In the meantime, Megan was grateful for the donations, which made the event a true family affair.

The catch and release competition confined to Tinaroo Dam (Tinaburra), awarded a cash prize of $500 for the first 1-metre-plus barramundi caught, which went to Matthew Lee with his 105 cm barra caught on 15 November at 7.18pm.

Nomination winners included Michael Townson (Adult) on 354 points, Cecilia Daley (Junior) on 333 points and Will Henry (Littlies) on 354 points.

The winner of the longest barra in the adults’ section was Mack Burns, with a catch of a 121cm specimen.

More than $14,000 in prizes was distributed to participants in the event, with about $7,000 being for winners in the categories of Open, Adult, Junior, Littlies, and Team.

An additional Family Medley event this year saw the Molloy family enjoy a Christmas hamper donated by Minbun Prints.