North Australian FISH FINDER TM forums

just wondering have many of you thought about how you handle big Barra's prior to releasing them? I see many (most) people netting them then immediately hauling them in the boat. When you do this your barra has less chance of releasing successfully . My method is to leave the net in the water so the barra can have a rest and get its breath back after fighting for its life. I use this time to get the camera ,pliers ,bragmat and lipgrips ready so the fish spends minimal time out of the water. I believe this give it the best chance of survival. Does anyone have any other thoughts on releasing the breeders?

No luck with big girls yet seano , but that's some fantastic advise
makes sense , do you find that it takes less time on release swimming them ?

Agreed seano.
BUT after seeing that big croc grab a fish right next to the boat, i now try to let it go by returning it into the net, drop the net over the side still in the net and chugging over to a bank and release it between the boat and shore.
i did accidentally drop a 98 over the side last year and i hope it made it

Jefish- generally the barra is still trying to swim while I hold it so I don't even have to swim them- just place them in the water and push them away.
Nomad- never had issues with crocs yet so I will keep doing what works for the fish

cant catch them so I haven't developed a technique yet

Good tip, hope I get to use it one day

jeffish wrote:No luck with big girls yet

Hopefully this will change soon

seano wrote: Nomad- never had issues with crocs yet so I will keep doing what works for the fish

Its only going to happen once

Good system Seano.

I reckon the 'duty of care' (if you like) starts once hooked. Don't muck around with them, get them in quick - lock up your drag. They'll still pull some string. Easier said than done when you're attempting to break your virginity; I know, but I believe it provides the best chance of landing and successful release.

Never release in the middle of the river, find some protection snag/bank etc. Pretty obvious but you still see plenty fed to the sharks.

I did this until a fortnight ago when I had a big fish in the net, at the side of the boat, she did a big kick and went straight through. I need a new net!

Was it one of those clear silicon ones fish tank ??

wally gator wrote:Was it one of those clear silicon ones fish tank ??

Nope it was a knotless string net. Few years old and had a few big fish in it this year. Wear and tear I guess.

Some good points have been made already, leaving them in the water whilst you get the camera gear ready and they calm down, releasing next to some cover, or close to shore to reduce crocs eating your hand and arm and shoulder. I think NBN's policy of getting them in quick is a good one and one I always practice, though it can have some issues because you can bury hooks a long way at times making much harder and longer time to get them out.

Most of my big fish don't even come into the boat. Maybe one every now and then to photo, the rest get released boat side. A knotless net, no picking them up by the gills, spread some water around where they are going to be placed (on the mat) are good habits to get into. One thing I have found with fish from 6 metres plus is one every now and then floating and not able to go down. For those I use a release weight (see pic). Not sure how effective it is on survival but they don't pop up again. Resisting the urge to pull the hook out a a fish gut hooked is a good policy, and turn down your barbs on your lures.

wally gator wrote:Was it one of those clear silicon ones fish tank ??

The big girl we got at Shady did this to me with a silicon net. Kicked as I netted her, half of her head went through the net, then kicked again as we lifted her into the boat, went straight through the net and dislodged the lure. Maybe it's a common problem with the silicon nets?

As for releasing fish, I've started just spearing any fish under 95cms straight into the drink head first, tuna style. No danger from crocs and I've never seen one float back up. This may not be the best practice in the big rivers where the bullsharks are thick though.

Great work Seano starting this conversation which hopefully will help everyone experienced or not in releasing big girls to breed and play another day


cheers Craig