Event targets pest fish
STEFAN Kirstenfeldt caught a 1.1kg carp at the Carp Catching Competition in the Condamine River in Warwick yesterday.
Mr Kirstenfeldt fishes once a week in the river, usually in a different spot.
While the carp was earmarked for disposal due to the way it damages the river, he has often caught 2kg and 3kg cod.
"My motto is catch and release. I am definitely after cod when I fish," he said.
"You have got to be there at the right time.
"It is good to help clean the river of carp."
He was in a group of two adults and three children fishing below the skatebowl on the Queens Park reach of the river, but it wasn't a day for big catches.
The day was organised by Condamine Headwaters Landcare, Condamine Alliance and Warwick District Recreational Fish Stocking Association and attracted 150 anglers.
Association secretary Eddie Kemp said carp ate the habitat in the river by burrowing under gum trees, which eventually fell into the river.
"Every carp caught in the competition was destroyed," he said.
