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Scratching the barra itch before closure MACKAY
Cameron Christian
October means the waters will be warming up, and this is the best time to chase some chrome before the closure on 1 November. Plenty of barramundi are available in the Pioneer River, and the best spots are those where the bait is holding or left vulnerable. Places where currents converge and funnel bait or around the adjacent hole where they may school are usually productive. Similarly, look for breaks in the retaining walls where bait can be funnelled through as the tide moves. During the night, flicking along the shadow lines from the
Alligator, Sandy and Rocky Dam creeks can all provide good barra fishing when bashing this sort of structure. Neap tides are usually the most productive times and are best worked by gathering live bait on the outgoing tide, using the bottom of the tide to find the feeding fish, and then hopefully using the bite time around the tide change to catch quality fish. Live baits typically work best around Mackay, with live herring, mullet and prawn all great options. Lures will also work for persistent anglers, and hardbodies diving to 3-4m, poppers, soft and hard vibes and paddle-tail soft plastics are all essentials. The onset of spring and the northerly winds
Back in the creeks, barramundi won’t be the only fish chewing. The warmer weather, calm days and afternoon storms will see the estuary species like jacks, cod, bream and golden snapper (fingermark) spring into action. All these species are often by-catch while barra fishing, and they can really make creek bashing with lures a great time. Whiting, flathead, oyster crackers (also known as permit or snubnosed dart) and trevally can be targeted on the beaches, particularly on the higher tides. Smaller baits like yabbies and prawns can be a good option, while small soft plastics, divers and vibes are the best lures for these species. In the dams, the Seth Price with a great Teemburra barra caught using a Berkley Powerbait 5” Hollowbelly.
There should be plenty of jacks available alongside the barra during October. Adison scored this one on a ZMman 5” DieZel MinnowZ in opening night colour. streetlights on the bridges can produce barra as they patrol the shadows as well. In the shorter systems like Reliance, Murray and Eimeo creeks and those around Seaforth, barra can normally be found around creek junctions, side gullies and drains as the tide falls and bait is funnelled out. Rock bars and deep holes, like those found in Constant Creek, are also great spots to try. Barra are typically caught around the edges of these holes, and floating live baits or working surface lures over them can is most effective. Other st r u c t u r e like drop-offs, fallen mangroves and mangrove roots are also great barra territory, and the southern systems including Bakers, 34
OCTOBER 2022
prevalent during this time of year usually sees large bait schools pushed inshore, leading to plenty of pelagic species like mackerel, tuna, trevally, queenfish, cobia and plenty of sharks getting around. The harbour walls are a very popular spot to capitalise on these bait schools and target some pelagic species. The southern wall is a wellknown land-based spot, as currents will swirl past the tip and push bait in close to the rocks. Many anglers favour live baits like herring rigged with a stinger, or pilchards on a gang rig. Popular lures include poppers, metal slugs, spoons, soft plastics and hardbody divers like Rapalas.
barramundi action will really be firing up with the warmer weather, and the results of the barra competitions will really be worth paying attention to if you want to find the best lures and techniques. All the dam levels, except for Proserpine, are high at the moment, and if we get more rain Teemburra will begin overflowing. The rise in dam levels over winter usually kills back the weeds quite a bit and sees the lilies becoming the prominent structure along the points, edges and coves. Just like in the salt, the consistent northerly winds can dictate where the bait schools move in the dams, and so following the winds is almost always the first step in finding where the barra are holding. Finding congregations of barra using down and side
imaging technology, and staying on them until the bite time – whenever that might be – can be a great technique. It is important, however, to pay close attention to the way these barra are moving through on your sounder. Observing to see if they are moving from deeper water to the shallows, or to structure, rather than away from it, and of course identifying the presence of bait will help paint a picture of whether you are holding on a highway or a restaurant. Once the restaurant is found, varying retrieves and lures are essential to figuring out the feeding pattern and having a great barra session. During the warmer weather, barra can be more inclined to take larger lures, so big soft plastics like Molix 140s, 130mm Squidgy Slick Rigs
or Zerek Flat Shads are all worth keeping around. The Mackay Area Fish Stocking Association recently released 200 tagged barra ranging from 300-360mm into Kinchant, the first ever tagged barra release for Mackay dams. It will be exciting to see the growth rate data from these fish, with results expected within six months when they reach a catchable size. Sooty grunter will also be on the chew over the spring and summer months, and with plenty of rain they will be looking to breed and become more aggravated than usual. The MAFSA hatchery is currently being prepared and MAFSA members will soon be aiming to catch some quality broodstock for it. By now there may even be new hatchlings growing in the hatchery for release in Mackay dams soon!
Brendan Pollard caught this lovely barra from Murray Creek on a Berkley Powerbait 6” Hollowbelly.
