Australia’s Premier All-Women’s Barramundi Fishing Tournament
Twenty-one years of serious fishing. Real women. Real community.
Secret Women’s Business Barra Challenge — known to most as SWB — was born over a glass of wine in 2006 when co-founders Jo and Mel spotted a gap that no one else was filling. Women in the Territory had nowhere to learn angling and boating in an environment that actually worked for them. Not a one-off event, not a novelty — a proper, structured competition that took women seriously as anglers.
What started as a privately run tournament has grown into Australia’s longest-running invitation-only all-women’s barramundi fishing competition, now proudly hosted by the Palmerston Game Fishing Club Inc. and entering its 21st year in 2026.
Where we fish
The tournament is held on Corroboree Billabong, one of the Northern Territory’s most iconic and unforgiving waterways. Spectacular, remote and alive with wildlife, the billabong doesn’t give fish away easily — which is exactly the point. Competitors stay at the Corroboree Park Tavern, fishing hard across two days and coming together each evening for the kind of camaraderie that keeps women returning year after year.
What makes SWB different
SWB is the only women’s barramundi tournament in the Territory fully aligned with a registered fishing club, fully insured, and operating as a true not-for-profit event. There are no male anglers, skippers or deckhands — on the water, it’s women only, in every capacity.
With around 200 competitors and a cap of 60 teams in place to protect the fishery, SWB is a genuinely exclusive event. Entry is by invitation, and the demand reflects that.
What competitors consistently say they come back for isn’t just the competition. It’s the mentoring. It’s the woman in the next boat who’s happy to show you how to rig a lure. It’s the experienced angler who remembers being a beginner and hasn’t forgotten what that felt like. That culture isn’t accidental — it’s built into how we run the event.
Fish welfare and environmental responsibility
SWB operates as a 100% catch and release tournament and has recorded zero confirmed fish mortality during official event hours under marshal oversight across its history. That’s not luck. It’s the result of our Fish Welfare and Stewardship Charter — a binding set of standards covering hook selection, fish handling, landing net requirements, revival procedures and environmental conduct that every competitor, volunteer and official is held to.
Barbless or crimped treble hooks are mandatory. Fish are handled horizontally, kept wet, and returned to the water as quickly as possible. We don’t just meet the legal minimum for recreational fishing in Australia — we choose to operate well above it.
The billabong and the species within it are what make this event possible. Looking after both is non-negotiable.
A tournament with a track record
SWB has been covered by Channel Nine, the ABC, Channel Seven, NT News, Fishing World and Club Marine. In 2017, the event won the inaugural NT Recreational Fishing Award for Best Fishing Tournament — recognised above nationally known events.
Many of the teams who fished the first editions of SWB are still on the water today. That kind of loyalty doesn’t happen by accident.
Who competes
SWB competitors are not passive participants. They’re professionals, decision-makers, business owners, tradies, teachers, mothers and athletes. They come from across Australia, and they come prepared. What they share is a belief that women deserve a serious, well-run space to fish, compete and grow — and that the Northern Territory is one of the best places on earth to do it.
Join the community
Registrations for SWB open by invitation through an expression of interest process. If you’d like to be considered for a future event, or if you’re a brand interested in partnering with Australia’s premier women’s fishing event, we’d love to hear from you.
Contact: swb@palmerstongamefishing.com.au
SWB Barra Challenge is a not-for-profit initiative of the Palmerston Game Fishing Club Inc., Northern Territory, Australia.
Want to Get Involved?
Expressions of interest into the tournament are released each year around late January and run through to April. If you would like to be placed on the mailing list, email swbchallenge@gmail.com or follow us on facebook for regular updates and timelines.
Event Co-Ordinator
Kris Noble swbchallenge@gmail.com
Want to Get Involved?
Expressions of interest into the tournament are released each year around late January and run through to April. If you would like to be placed on the mailing list, email swbchallenge@gmail.com or follow us on facebook for regular updates and timelines.