Jo ends up singing in the rain

TOP CATCH: Jo Arthur said she had a better shot of this snapper shortly after reeling it in, but said that would have given away her "Spot X" position. PICTURE/SUPPLIED

Mere seconds before reeling in a fish that ended up being worth a cool $1500 on 90 Mile Beach in ferocious conditions on Saturday, Jo Arthur had turned to her partner and said her New Year's resolution was simply to better her previous best catch.

"The really ironic thing was that about 30 seconds before I hooked on to that fish I said to Mil [Milton Arnold] as we were standing there in the rain and wind, 'You know, my goal for the year fishing-wise is to actually catch something bigger than a 5.4kg snapper,' and, wham!, it all happened. Someone was obviously listening."

The 7.56kg snapper Jo reeled in won the heaviest snapper prize ($500) in the inaugural Far North St John Ambulance Family Fishing Competition and it also won her the lucrative, major mystery weight prize, worth $1000.

"I have either used up all of my fishing luck this year in one hit or it may be a sign of things to come. Being a 'glass half-full' kind of lady, I like to think that it is a sign of things to come," Jo said later. And while she felt the mystery weight prize - where a number is pulled out of a hat - was a "good idea", contest organiser Tash Grylls simply rolled her eyes and described her good friend's catch as "tinny".

Both Jo and Tash agreed on one thing, however: that it had been hard yacker for any angler anywhere in the Far North on Saturday with all day rain and a horrendous wind to boot. Despite the foul weather, the competition objective was to fundraise for a new generator which could well end up saving lives this year.

Tash said more than $7300 was taken from ticket sales (79 adults, 40 juniors) and sponsorship and will go towards the cost of a new generator estimated somewhere in the realm of $7500. She noted it was part of a nationwide St John policy to have a generator installed at all ambulance stations enabling them to be able to continue to operate efficiently in power outages such as the one which affected the entire Far North last winter when a big storm struck.

"So I decided to do a fishing competition. It's the first time I have done it," she said, adding the concept proved an unfounded success. "I have had numerous people approach me asking if I am going to do it again next year as it was an awesome event! Who knows what might happen? Watch this space!"

Tash noted the event had been promoted through word of mouth and social networks over the past four months and on behalf of everyone involved, and gave a special thanks to all the event sponsors, adding there were far too many to "rattle off" individually. She concluded by noting her organisation was still slightly shy of the target required, and more was needed as the cost of installing the generator was another "hefty amount". She invited anyone interested in considering donating a small or big amount to call her on 409-8454 for further information.

Results from the competition on January 2 were follows. SENIORS. Snapper: Jo Arthur 7.56kg, 1, Sam Spence 4.56kg, 2, Adam Teichleman 4.36kg, 3; kahawai: Todd Gibbons 2.04kg, Ashley Vanderpole 1.64kg, Sylvia Clearwater 1.62kg; trevally: William Lynton 1.74kg, Callum Critchley 1.06kg, Hamish Crawshaw 0.66kg; and, mystery weight: Jo Arthur's 7.56kg snapper.

JUNIORS. Snapper: Paige Tahitahi 1.34kg, Dallas Posinkavich 1.06kg, Rees Vanderpole 1.02kg; kahawai: Michelle Rogers 1.72kg, Kingston Doctor 1.22kg, Britton Adams 1.18kg; trevally: all lucky angler draws; and mystery weight prize, $200: Michelle Rogers whose 1.64kg kahawai was closest to the drawn weight of 1.72kg (Tash noted both Michelle and Jo Arthur are members of the 90 Mile Beach Surfcasting Club).