Queensland visitor Kimberley Heming has become the first interstate winner of Season 11 of the Million Dollar Fish competition, reeling in the seventh red-tagged $10,000 barramundi of the season.
Kimberly caught the 65cm barra at Dundee Beach while fishing with her father, Geoff Delaney, a long-time Darwin local.
Visiting from Bundaberg, Kimberley, and her husband made the road trip north in their camper van to help her dad settle in after a hospital stay. She decided to register for Season 11 only days before her lucky catch - after her brother encouraged her to enter.
"I registered about six days ago because my brother kept saying, 'You make sure you register if you're going out [to] Dundee,'" Kimberley said.
The pair headed to Geoffe’s favourite fishing spot near the Dundee boat ramp casting prawn and pilchard bait. Kimberley was ready to pack up when her dad encouraged her to use the last bit of bait.
"Dad says, 'Oh, we've got one more bit of pilchard.' 'I'll put this on for you and throw it out,'" she recalled. "I threw it out, and straight away got it. And it was just like it swam straight to me."
The excitement quickly built as the fish revealed a reg tag. "When we got a bit closer, we could see the tag. I was like, 'Don't you fall off the line! Don't you fall off on them rocks!'"
The winnings couldn't have come at a better time for Kimberley. She said the prize money will pay for her Darwin holiday and fund much-needed work on her camper trailer, which may allow her and her husband to take an extra week when travelling home.
To date, $70,000 in prize money has been awarded this season. The competition also benefits its official charity partner, Surf Life Saving NT, has also received $7000, with $1,000 donated for every $10,000 red-tagged fish caught.
There are still 93 red-tagged barramundi worth $10,000 swimming around the Top End waterways, and 11 carrying a $1 million tag – nine from Season 9, one from Season 10, and one from Season 11.
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