Just back from a few days at Lake Awoonga central Queensland to check out what I could about impoundment barra and see what all the fuss is about. The trip was tacked onto the back end of a quick work related trip to Brisbane justifying the expense. For those who are keeping tabs on the fishing across that way it’s not been good for a few months now so there was no expectations.
By Kimberley standards the fishing could only be described as slow with five fish hooked and three landed over four days, two of them were full, the other two part days. Non the less the trip was hugely beneficial, giving me see and learn just a few of the skills they’ve developed to try and outsmart fish wise in the ways of anglers to an extent I’ve never seen before. To give some example on how the fish have learnt about humans, outboards within a couple of hundred metres of where you are going to fish are a no-no, even electrics have been known to spook fish. Anchoring and casting 40 to 50 metres into the zone is a popular method of fishing.
The fish hit much quicker and there’s only one chance at them. Most just follow a lure without hitting it.
Here are a few comments and observations that came to me whilst there and on reflection later.
It’s been said of impoundment barra that they are well educated fish, educated differently I’d suggest. On the lakes man would be the apex predator whilst in the rivers and estuaries crocs and sharks would sit on the top. Lake barra bolt at a pin drop if it’s something they associate with anglers. Park a croc at a creek mouth in an estuary and you get the same result.
“Impoundment barra are fat and lazy”: For the record I couldn’t see or feel a difference between them and a fish in my patch. That statement is about as accurate as the flat earth theory. All fish we encountered went pretty hard and new all the old tricks. One fish that spat a lure back at as it sailed past me in the air boat side had the knack of jumping into the pull of the line to gain some slack. That seems to be a standard ploy they’ve learnt.
Habitat: Lots of vertical timber to lose a fish and surprisingly a fair bit of lay down stuff as well, courtesy of a decision to cut down trees prior to the dam filling. Plenty of angling challenges mixed in with the easy stuff.
Educated anglers: Plenty of tactical changes between the way I normally fish and what you need to do to catch a super boat shy impoundment fish. Having said that, no tides and no strong flows most of the year means for a different focus and knowledge requirements.
What’s a metre barra worth? For the local economy it’s got to be between $1,000 and $10,000 a fish. Beats a lot of other tourism industries hands down.
Skeeters: 80kph plus on the water between fishing spots was worth the trip alone, especially when the keel losses its bite in a sharp turn.
For the record I got two of the five fish to the boat but lost both of them there due to them being only lightly hooked.
A few pics of the trip.
Dam QLD barra
- Dick
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Cheers for the report dick. Some nice barra and fotos thrown in!!!
Actually just talking to meter seeker the other day about dam fishing. something i wanna do one day. i'd be keen to tow/hire a boat down there, but go out with a guide for a day or 2, then fish his spots for the rest of the week
anyway cheers. good to see a qld barra post
Actually just talking to meter seeker the other day about dam fishing. something i wanna do one day. i'd be keen to tow/hire a boat down there, but go out with a guide for a day or 2, then fish his spots for the rest of the week
anyway cheers. good to see a qld barra post
- COOPS
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Hi Dick it was great to have you over our way for a spot of fishing and sharing if info. After spending more time in North Queensland as usual then the Northern Territory where i got to catchup with many in the Barra scene it was the perfect icing on the cake to get the W.A. perspective on Barra fishing.
Recording Barra history is a passion and documenting the current scene in 3 different states has been great fun. I too have noticed little pockets where fisho's are evolving in their own way. Some good, some complacent from being exposed to fishing that is fairly easy. In all scenes i've found smart operators and real thinkers/observers. These guys would fish well in any scene after a recky of the environment.
I noticed good info made it's way very, very slowly north from the Central Qld area with some info taking years to get north and when it did only 1% of it made it which led to confusion.
Awoonga Fishing
Yes Dick you are dead right with the tough fishing of the last 8-9 months. Harro has been quoted as saying " There is no harder barra fishing in the entire country compared to what we are going through at Lake Awoonga".
This from a guy that has fished more countries than most have had hot dinners, not counting his fishing exploits in the N.T. over a lifetime. He didn't say this to have a go at anyone, he was just calling it how it is. The fish down here have evolved in to being super wary.
I met a few blokes on my last trip to the N.T. that fish the impoundments in Qld and some went fishless for 5 days. He eventually got on to fish and had a good trip by thinking hard about fishing strategies & techniques.
Others noticed easier catches years ago and every year since they have reduced their catch totals by 80%. And this guy is a smart operator who placed in comps up north, a top bloke who understands just how fickle the fishing can be and how plan 1-10 at times can be thrown out the barra door, with plan 100 at times not being good enough to land fish in a 3 day period.
Lots more info to print here but i will try and keep the posts shorter so concentration doesn't wane.
All in all Dick it was a pleasure to have a smart, switched on angler over our way to swap Barra info with. You are one of the smartest operators i've seen and i look forward to spending many more Barra chasing sessions with you mate.
I'm just getting the photo's sent to me so on the next post i'll add them for everyone to get a look at Awoonga.
Cheers Lyndon.
Recording Barra history is a passion and documenting the current scene in 3 different states has been great fun. I too have noticed little pockets where fisho's are evolving in their own way. Some good, some complacent from being exposed to fishing that is fairly easy. In all scenes i've found smart operators and real thinkers/observers. These guys would fish well in any scene after a recky of the environment.
I noticed good info made it's way very, very slowly north from the Central Qld area with some info taking years to get north and when it did only 1% of it made it which led to confusion.
Awoonga Fishing
Yes Dick you are dead right with the tough fishing of the last 8-9 months. Harro has been quoted as saying " There is no harder barra fishing in the entire country compared to what we are going through at Lake Awoonga".
This from a guy that has fished more countries than most have had hot dinners, not counting his fishing exploits in the N.T. over a lifetime. He didn't say this to have a go at anyone, he was just calling it how it is. The fish down here have evolved in to being super wary.
I met a few blokes on my last trip to the N.T. that fish the impoundments in Qld and some went fishless for 5 days. He eventually got on to fish and had a good trip by thinking hard about fishing strategies & techniques.
Others noticed easier catches years ago and every year since they have reduced their catch totals by 80%. And this guy is a smart operator who placed in comps up north, a top bloke who understands just how fickle the fishing can be and how plan 1-10 at times can be thrown out the barra door, with plan 100 at times not being good enough to land fish in a 3 day period.
Lots more info to print here but i will try and keep the posts shorter so concentration doesn't wane.
All in all Dick it was a pleasure to have a smart, switched on angler over our way to swap Barra info with. You are one of the smartest operators i've seen and i look forward to spending many more Barra chasing sessions with you mate.
I'm just getting the photo's sent to me so on the next post i'll add them for everyone to get a look at Awoonga.
Cheers Lyndon.
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Last edited by SeekingBarradise on Fri Aug 07, 2009 7:44 am, edited 2 times in total.
- Mud
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yeah ......he's a legend up here too Lyndon....
We didnt realise Dick was in Qld so when we didnt get a post from him for a couple of weeks (showing us yet another monster dry season horse he just caught) .........we assumed he was dead. We will need to advise the few remaining barra in the river he fishes that the party is off......
Cheers
Mud
We didnt realise Dick was in Qld so when we didnt get a post from him for a couple of weeks (showing us yet another monster dry season horse he just caught) .........we assumed he was dead. We will need to advise the few remaining barra in the river he fishes that the party is off......
Cheers
Mud
Its not a crisis unless there is blood around.
If there is blood around......well its a police matter...
If there is blood around......well its a police matter...
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Some Awoonga photo's for everyone to check out.
It's not a small pond. That one is a myth from way back made up by someone called Old Mate who has never been there...
To swim across the main basin would result in 99% of all adults drowning as it's a lot wider than a creek. Then add the short choppy swell you get there on bad days with 40 knot SE winds and you will often see tinnies take waves over the front. A few boats have had to be rescued out in the middle over the years.
I hope a bit more info about Lake Awoonga helps those of you out that haven't been there.
Cheers Lyndon.
It's not a small pond. That one is a myth from way back made up by someone called Old Mate who has never been there...
To swim across the main basin would result in 99% of all adults drowning as it's a lot wider than a creek. Then add the short choppy swell you get there on bad days with 40 knot SE winds and you will often see tinnies take waves over the front. A few boats have had to be rescued out in the middle over the years.
I hope a bit more info about Lake Awoonga helps those of you out that haven't been there.
Cheers Lyndon.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
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