Big bountiful barra

from Fishing Monthly Magazine | June 2023

GEN III

COOKTOWN

Justin Coventry

The populations of barra around at the moment is a good sign that the river systems are healthy and they have been active and come up as the small ones are captured and released. One session with the kids saw us all on and fish running for cover, but the barra seemed to get bigger as we fished the same snag. My son Joshua was stoked to catch a 98cm specimen, so close to the the extra weight suspends the lures longer on the float back to the surface. I prefer casting at snags, and lures need to float with slow floating allowing more time in the strike zone.

The waterfront in Cooktown has seen some moving around through the rivers in large numbers.

The author and his sons had a very productive session chasing little barra.

The cooler weather, however, may slow things down as the water temperatures start to drop.

The lure fishing has been next level with lots of fish around the river mouths with the first couple of isolated snags being very productive. There are multiple fish on them to keep everyone busy and the action is insane to say the least. Small barramundi are usually the first to strike and the big girls seem to magic-metre!

The timber lures are the go and I know that there are lots of plastic lures that work but there is something about timber hand-made that produces the goods. I make my own and also use other timber lure makers products and they just work and keep working even when the paint comes off. The plastic ones can get holes and water gets in and it’s done, but timber lures even scuffed up still work and sometimes water in the timber even helps as action with schooling barra moving through the area at times and are easily seen when they are very active. Usually on the last of the run out, and a well-placed lure in the right spot, usually produces results.

Scott was walking along the waterfront for exercise one morning and saw the barramundi feeding and then next day brought down his rod and seeing the action again placed his lure next to the last boof he saw. Bang, he hooked, captured and released a 102cm fish. So, it does show observing the times when you can see fish can produce the best times to target them. It’s great to see such big female barramundi around and even better when they are released to help the big breeders in our local system.

Some trevally and queenfish have also started moving around our river mouths and the action can be intense on poppers. The queensfish are so acrobatic in their display as they try to free themselves from the lure. Great fun and put on so much of a show. They start travelling up and down the river mouth areas on the tides and can be easily found when they are actively feeding. I usually find them when heading out putting in some crab pots and it’s always worth having a popper ready to go. The crabs are still around but not as much moving because of the fresh water but placing pots in your favourite gullies will still produce a good feed.

The reef will be hard this month as no doubt the SE winds will be constantly blowing at around 25kn but there is always an opportunity to sneak out in between highpressure systems. The window is usually only small but can be very productive with red fishing at night. So, the motto is always be ready for the opportunity and take advantage if you can as red emperor fishing can be great in these cooler months.

The Cape will be busy with visitors rushing up there this month, especially in the school holiday period and the campsites throughout the national parks are near capacity. The waters will be cool and a little harder to get a bite from barramundi but there will be some hungry fish there with the flowing backwaters producing well and the smaller fish always seem keen for a feed. The barra fishing will start to improve as levels drop later in the year and as the weather heats up again and the fish become more active and hungrier.