Barra
Barra bounty available in SE Queensland HERVEY BAY
Dane Radosevic
‘Barramundi? They’re a northern species – you won’t catch one this far south will you?’ Working in a tackle shop I am often faced with this exact response whenever I mention that barra can be successfully targeted here in South East Queensland and very consistently. Barramundi aren’t just a northern species. River systems such as Fitzroy in Central Queensland’s Rockhampton region and the Mary River on the Fraser Coast are home to some of the biggest breeding populations of barra on the east coast. Both river systems are renowned for producing outstanding barramundi fishing, and that trophy size fish could be just one cast away. Previously, Hervey Bay was about the southernmost limit for targeting barramundi, however – possibly due to major flood events that occurred over
Jackson ‘Jacko’ Bargenquast with a fish-of-a-lifetime, measuring 132cm. This fish was taken from the Mary River on the Fraser Coast. recent years – we are starting to see more regular captures as far south as the Sunshine Coast and even Brisbane waters. It is uncharacteristic to find them so far south, yet with varying sizes being
how great an impact certain moon phases and tidal variations could have on the behaviour and movement patterns of this species. This has lead to one rule of thumb I fish by with relative success: on the build-up to a full moon when the tides are big I target areas around the main river mouth of the system and the adjacent flats. During these bigger tides your window of opportunity is only short, due to the sheer volume of water that is being pushed around, making it near impossible to fish when it’s running. These larger tides trigger the barra to travel and aggregate in large numbers in certain locations such as rocky headlands or deeper holes towards the main river mouth where they can sit in a back eddy out of the main flow and gorge
prolonged bite periods and more manageable fishing when targeting structure like rock bars and sunken laydown timber. When faced with exploring a new location it can often be quite daunting to know where to start, as some of these systems are huge! I have found this myself in the past, where I have spent the majority of my day searching for the best looking structure or water quality and have missed the key bite periods, because I have been driving when really I should have been fishing. Try not to overcomplicate things. Firstly, locate a likely-looking structure; my preferred structures are rock bars and outcrops or laydown sunken trees with bait present in the area, as big barra have to feed. The next factor (one
caught in multiple systems, is it possible that they could be breeding successfully there too? Time will tell. I had always thought of barra as being a solitary fish that would find a snag to
It always pays to revive the fish before release so hopefully it can do its thing and contribute to future barra stocks.
This screenshot taken from the Simrad NSS12 shows barra beginning to school up in a back eddy off a big snag pile.
call home and never leave. Over the years as I have put in more hours in search of this species, I have started to realise just how mobile they really are and not just over short distances – I’m talking kilometres over a few days. I started to understand just
themselves on the masses of bait that are being flushed out. Whereas around the period of the quarter moon and as tides begin to subside, a percentage of these fish begin to disperse and travel back upriver. With these smaller tides, it allows for
of the most important) is timing, being at that location at the correct stage of the tide when they are going to bite. Timing is so crucial and learning when to be at a location according to the stages of the tide takes many hours spent on the water.
HALF MOON
You’ll look like a Maverick in Costa’s Half Moon sunglasses, a West Coast inspired beach style that rides the mystique of epic ocean swells.
BLUE MIRROR: Best for bright, full-sun situations on the open water and offshore. • Gray Base • 10% light transmission
10
FEBRUARY 2018
OPTIMAL USE: • Boating and fishing in deep water • Open reflective water • Harsh sun
The author fooled this 93cm model with a suspending hardbody working a back eddy off a rock bar.