Mackay

Feisty fish at Faust

MACKAY Cameron Christian

Prime barra weather, plus barra closed season, equals impoundment barra fishing! Conditions are heating up and the barra are really on the chew, however with the closed season starting from 1 November, barra action will be restricted to the dams.

Liam Robinson from Team Zerek with one of the many great barra caught during the first round of the Mackay Tournament Angler’s King of the Dams series.

A recent MTA comp at Peter Faust saw prime impoundment barra conditions due to a significant spike in temperature and a constant northerly wind in the weeks leading up to the comp. Stable conditions like this meant the barra were on the chew and almost every team reported great barra catches.

Some successful teams observed a hot daytime bite by fishing wind blown weed edges in 2-3m of water using swimbaits, such as Slick Rigs. Nightfall saw the wind drop off and activity around windblown weed edges disappear, successful teams took this opportunity to move to the timber and jig around structure where the fish could be found holding.

Others successful teams observed a better bite right on nightfall by fishing shallow flats on the windward side of the dam, focusing on weed gutters and towers using lightly weighted swimbaits. Such a variance in bite times and structure types highlights the importance of varying lures and retrieves to hone-in on the feeding pattern of a particular school of barra.

Great fishing action like this should continue right through the warmer months in all the dams around Mackay and so far, many monster barra have been reported from Teemburra. When chasing the big barra available in

the dams as the wet season builds, it can be important to consider the possibility of ‘staging’, whereby barra slowly migrate toward dam wall as their instinct drives them to head to the salt and breed. The fish don’t just swim from one end of the dam to the other however, instead they can typically be found gathering on prominent spots like points, flats or creek beds as they slowly migrate toward the dam wall (hence the term ‘staging’). Finding these schools and paying attention to their movement can lead to very productive sessions.

Barra will be unavailable in the creeks, nevertheless many other species such as jacks, fingermark and cod are available while snag bashing. Jacks are a great species to target but they can be quite sparse around the Mackay systems, since jacks like to find a nice snag and hold there, fishing systems that retain a good amount of water at low tide can be a good start.

The snags which remain below the water during the low tide are typically a great place to find the jacks, which may then be targeted by casting live baits like herring, mullet or prawn or typical barra lures tight into the structure. Jacks usually smash lures whilst facing their snag, hence it is important to remain focused and keep a tight drag to avoid being snagged or busted off in the blink of an eye. Around the top of the tide jacks can be found heading into the mangrove root systems as the tide begins to flood in. Once the jacks are into the root systems they are about impossible to find or retrieve unless anglers are able to find small clearings and pitch tight into the structure. A more reliable technique can be to wait for the tide to fall and then hammer the mangrove roots with live baits or barra lures as the jacks leave with the tide.

There are also lots of beaches around the Mackay area offering great land-based opportunities. Using fresh baits such as yabbies, prawn or herring or working soft plastics like grubs or small swimbaits can produce quality flathead, grunter, trevally and king salmon. Focusing on features such as gutters or drains can help to find where the feeding fish are holding along a vast and seemingly boring beach. Similarly, finding where the schools of bait are hanging will help to locate the feeding fish.

Mud crabs are around in good numbers and this should continue right up to the big tides around Christmas and New Year. Fresh baits like fish frames are best and keeping close to your pots will help to prevent people and crocs robbing your prize.

Offshore fishing through November could be hindered with the high rainfall predicted for summer, speaking with local tackle shops will provide the most up to date info on the areas least affected by any influxes of freshwater.

November also usually sees mackerel and tuna fishing continue however poor weather and large influxes of fresh water may hinder efforts. If the weather remains stable and the northerly winds continue, reliable mackerel spots like the mouth of the pioneer river and the harbour walls should continue to fish

well. Looking for the bait schools blown in by the northerly winds will help to find the feeding fish, Mack tuna can usually be seen on the surface as they herd bait to the surface and slash through them, while the longtails are typically down a few metres hitting from the bottom. Metal jigs, slugs, barra style minnows and soft plastics will all work however lures under about 75mm can produce the best results. Avoid spooking the schools by making long casts and working lures around the edges of the bait schools.

Anglers are also likely to run across several other species when out chasing mackerel and tuna including various species of trevally, cobia and barracuda. Many sharks are also about with some substantial tigers coming in close for the action. Most sharks are whalers however and are usually up to about 2m, certainly big enough to

need to avoid handling.

November can be quite a difficult time around Mackay systems with anglers having to tailor techniques to avoid targeting barra. Luckily there is a wealth of impoundments in the area full of barra unaffected by the closure and large community of tournament anglers constantly finding and sharing the best lures and techniques for targeting these sometimes temperamental fish.

Hayden Kirchner with a monster GT caught on a Hammerhead stickbait around the inshore islands off Mackay.

Addison with a nice threadfin caught around Shoal Point with a ZMan 5” DieZel MinnowZ in opening night.