Fishing Cairns: Barra - Closes Season Blues!

I know that you know / that I know / that we all know that its "closed season" for the mighty barra. And that its darn hard to avoid them sometimes, BUT that's what the law states and that's what we must try to do.

On the East coast of Far North Queensland, there is an annual closed season for the targeting of barra, which runs from 1st November to 1st February each year. This closed season corresponds to the barra's breeding cycle and is designed to allow the species to propagate without the "interruption" of being harassed by anglers (amateur & pro alike). Most thinking anglers believe that this is a good thing.....to allow "old bucket mouth" the chance to spawn in peace on known aggregation grounds in an effort to enhance the stock of this much sought out, highly prized fish species.

The law literally states that the barra must be returned to the water unharmed, and if we follow the law to the letter, they are really not supposed to be taken from the water at all, but if possible, should be released without being removed.

In practice however, it is darn near impossible sometimes to do this safely....safely for yourself as well as for the fish. A hooked barra, trebles hanging from its jaw and connected to a submerged log for instance may need to be removed ever so gently, the lure removed and then put carefully back into the drink. I see no danger occurring here if a quick pic is taken prior to release.

Yours truly with a better than average jack!

Young Michael with his first ever barra...check out that grin!

Typical juvenile barra from the skinny fresh water.

Most of my fishing these days is occurring way upstream, away from any spawning aggregation and where I am likely to have success on the likes of mangrove jacks, sooty grunter, jungle perch and tarpon. Most barra accidentally caught in this environment are small juveniles with no intention to seek a horny mate for several seasons to come!

I'm opening a can of worms here but maybe, just consider, should Fisheries allow an angler to "catch" a barra in this environment, release it, and suffer no penalty. I know many will scream, but how do we police this practice. Simple............the taking of barra is still a No No. But we are not persecuted because we took a photo!

Food for thought!

PS - there is more harm done to the barra stock by the unsavoury practice of "set lines" hanging from the trees. This practice is absolutely disgusting and fisheries management must take more positive action to stamp out this unsavory practice.