The first ten days of Season 11 of Million Dollar Fish (MDF) are off to a flying start, with five lucky fishos each reeling in a red-tagged barramundi worth $10,000.
From Darwin’s coastline to the East Alligator River, anglers have wasted no time getting out on the water for Australia’s richest fishing competition.
Russell Kenny
Karama local Russell Kenny was the first winner of the season, landing a 71cm barramundi at Corroboree Billabong while fishing with his grandson on opening day.
“We were just casting soft plastics in the lilies and what not. The young bloke got a small one, and then I picked up that [red-tag] one,” Russell said.
“I didn't see it [the tag] straight away. It came away from the lilies and the Grandson said, ‘Pa, it’s got a tag in it!’”
Otto Kainulainen
The next day, fellow Karama resident Otto Kainulainen landed an 81.5cm barra at Fisherman’s Wharf using a soft plastic prawn lure.
“It was very spontaneous. I was just trying to have a relaxing time and throw a rod in after a long day,” Otto said.
“I was there for a while, probably about an hour and a half I guess at the time. And it just hit, it just struck. It was just a pure flukey. I'm not a brilliant fisherman by any stretch of the imagination.”
Jamie Poniris
Darwin’s Jamie Poniris soon joined the winners’ list, catching a 76cm barra at Bridge Billabong on the Mary River — his third $10,000 red-tagged fish after previous wins in Season 6 and Season 10.
“It's one of those things like we're going out to get it but it's a surprise when you get it because it's still surreal. It's like a little fairy tale. It’s brilliant,” Jamie said.
“I've got a couple of people I might help take care of. And if there's leftover, I'm going to build a man cave. I was kind of in the process of renovating and so this will help pimp it out.
“Her [his partner’s] father, it's his 70th birthday next month and so we plan on taking him on a bit of a fishing holiday to try to get a tag as well.”
Leah Pettersson
Jabiru fisho Leah Pettersson was next to reel in a $10,000 prize, catching a 73cm barra about four kilometres upstream from the East Alligator River boat ramp using a lure chosen by her daughter.
“I got it inside the boat and went to grab it by the leader, but realised it was a bit bigger than I originally thought. So my partner grabbed the net, and as he netted it, he just started yelling ‘Red tag! Red tag!’ But I thought he was joking.”
“It feels good. I’ve probably invested more than 10 grand into fishing, so I'm glad it's finally coming back,” Leah said. “I feel like I owe it to my daughter to have a little bit of a splurge on her since she met me halfway and chose the lure.”
“It's been that many years of entering in the competition, and I never saw a red tag. I kind of gave up on the fact that it is even possible. And then it happened.”
James Arratta
Rounding out the week, Darwin angler James Arratta caught an 85cm barra at Bridge Billabong on 7 October — the second tagged fish caught there in a week.
“I ended up landing it and then I kind of laid down in the boat for about another 20 minutes, just being like, ‘Oh my god, it just happened,’” James said.
“I just blasted music up and down the river [after the catch] for about 20 minutes just to soak up the euphoria.”
“I'd probably eat it [the fish] on the moral that it's worth 10k, so even if it tastes bad, I'm just going to eat it.”
It’s not just the fishos celebrating – Surf Life Saving NT, the official charity partner, has also received $5,000, with $1,000 donated for each red-tagged fish caught.
There are still 95 red-tagged barramundi worth $10,000 swimming around Top End waterways, along with 11 fish carrying the life-changing $1 million prize-tag (nine from Season 9, one from Season 10 and one from Season 11).
Season 11 of Million Dollar Fish runs until 31 March 2026. To be eligible to claim any prize money, participants must be registered and over the age of 18. Registration is free and automatically enters entrants into the monthly prize draw.
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