Headed out to the natural reefs off Lee Point this morning via the Nightcliffe Ramp at about 8.00am and shortly before high tide. With not a single other trailer at the ramp, and being the first time launching outside the harbour I was wondering if there was something I didn't know. But we launched smoothly and within a few minutes were motoring to our destination across the rather placid waters. Upon the GPS notifying me of our arrival, I noticed birds working and heaps of tuna busting up about 100 yds away. So my mate hurriedly put on a chrome lure as I motored as near to them as I could without spooking them but alas they disappeared as I got close. With a few schools around tho, I turned the engine off and it wasn't long before a school came within casting range. A few hits and a follow from a mackerel in successive casts and he was on to what we can only assume was a sushi train that was stopping at no station - he didn't come close to turing it before he utters "uh-oh" as the last of the line is stripped from his reel and goes "ping". Righto, so we'll need some heavier tackle. Afer a few more attempts at chasing schools, they stop surfacing so we anchor at the reef to soak some baits. Before we can get a bait in the water we have fish jumping around us so I have a few casts with my rod and I'm onto a nice mac, it does a lap of the boat and I bring it in to his side for netting but it's a big balls up and all he manages to net is my lure. Damn. A few minutes later he's onto a similar one, and after he plays it out I calmly slip the net under it. Relief and smiles, first fish on board.

Bottom bashing just produced a few miniscule parrots and perch, and a pretty little coral trout.

Started chucking some pilchard bits overboard as berly and along came some gars, so I dug out the smallest hook I could find and soon enough had a couple of livebaits in the bucket. The first of these regained its freedom on the reef below, so I snooded two hooks and dropped the remaining fish below the boat and sat down for a drink. Before you know it the rod is bouncing up and down, buckles over and as I pick it up the reel is screaming. I tighten up the drag and I am clearly onto a much bigger fish than I have ever landed. It swims a full 360 degrees around the boat and its not until it is at the rear of the boat that it comes close enough to the surface for me to see that I'm onto a mackerel of at least 1.2m! Now this is one fish I don't want to let get away. As it comes alongside the boat we think that it could be too big for my barramundi net and may need gaffing, but decide it's best to play it out first anyway. But I was given no choice in the matter, it caught sight of me and and immediately decided it was gonna fight. It took off on a major run at terrying speed beyond the stern of the boat then slowed I regained a fair bit of line. But that only spurred it on more, and again it took off at breakneck speed and refused to turn. My mate does his "uh-oh" thing again and I see that I am about to be spooled, so I put more pressure on the fish and halt it with just a few feet of line left. Phew! I believe the battle is won, and I begin the process of retrieving line and bringing the fish in. I get it about half way back to the boat and then suddenly its gone. I scream in fustration and reel in my tackle to find 1 hook left on. The mac had chewed through the 60lb trace between the snooded hooks and set itself free. We call it a morning, not wanting to let the tide get too far out for us to retrieve easily at the ramp, and with a promise to return with more appropriate tackle for these large and toothy creatures that had taught us a lesson.

Nice one mate, I lost a few out there myself. same thing with the gar's but my gang hooks broke, twice!

That's what I get for trying to catch em with gang hooks that have been in the tackle box since chasing taylor down south.

Yeah, it's fustrating, especially when its a PB. We were discussing other rigs that might hold up better, including ganged hooks, but out concern was that ganged hooks probably wouldn't do a livebait any favours - how do you find them in that regard?

We used ganged hooks, and just pin the livey with the first hook closest to the leaderlet the other 2 dangle out the back, seems to work fine and have landed some good macks with this.

Sounds like you had fun, good to hear the bigger macks are about there!

I usually live bait there with a single, or 2 snooded 6/0 plus on thin 60-80lb single strand wire, have done well.

less weight in the bait as well to pull it down to the bottom when the tide slows a bit. If the tide is strong just slip a little ball or bean sinker on the wire to keep it just under the surface.

Good luck with the next attempt!!

Thanks chaps I'll have an experiment with some of those rigs before my next sortie.

Rig them as Doley said but I don't think they care if they are dead or not they will still smack it. Livies just do a better job of attracting them but if they are around a pilly will be fine.

So are barra the only fish up here that won't touch a dead bait?

We where trolling around Lee point one day using a rigged mullet. When the tide got down a bit we went over to the rock in SB.
My bro deceided to throw out the mullet as it was & let it sit on the bottom. It was rigged with a chin sinker & sank to the bottom upright.
It only took about 10mins before a 12kg barra ate it. We caught 2 more the same way that day so even barra eat dead bait when they are in the mood.

_________________

Hi Queasy
I,ve caught plenty of barra on dead mullet,we use 5/0 ocky circle hooks 50lb leader suspended under a piece foam, just wrap the braid around the foam 3or 4 times have the bait about meter under the float and drop it close to bank. Good luck

Cheers Jeffish

_________________

If the bait is fresh, it will still work dead or alive. Dead baits will work like Jeffish and Buckaneer2 said but also consider removing the backbone by filleting up each side of it until you are just behind the head. Snap the backbone out and away you go. If you can float the bait to just off the bottom the fillets will flap in the current

Cheers

Thanks for the advice chaps. I had been under the impression that barra only take items they think are alive, having once raised one in an aquarium that would eat only live food once it had a taste of killing. Cost me about $200 in goldfish all up. But I could sometimes convince it to eat fish fillets if I flapped them around in the water in a life like manner. Guess I'll try the techniques mentioned next time my live bait carks it!

Saw a bloke catch a meter+ barra off the pontoon at Cullen Bay on a piece of old squid a few years back.

You some times hear of the odd decent barra caught on squid, and it always seems to be in the dry season.

_________________

I saw this Canadian fella catch a 70cm Barra on a small square piece of steak once. It was off a jetty in Broome. Unbelievable - mae me dislike him even more!!