A Good Choice Keith!

As I sat back watching the Footy....AFL to me, I was channel surfing during the half time break and stumbled across the Cowboys NRL game. It was a significant moment and not just for the scores, it was a close game at that stage. The game was being played under lights in Townsville and it was raining!

Anyone living up here knows that at this time of the year, all of our rainfall comes from the SE trades, our prevailing weather patterns that feed of the huge high pressure systems that cross the continent from West to East.

If its raining in Townsville on Saturday night, it will probably be raining along the coast and ranges further north come Sunday.

Keith and I had already made plans to fish one of the southern rivers this day, exactly which one was still being decided as we motored down the Bruce Highway towards Gordonvale and beyond. The Mulgrave was as clear as crystal and so too was the Russell. But as we closed in on the ranges so too did the weather. It wasn't that bad, just that steady drizzle we get up here at this time of year...occasionally!

As we neared the township of Innisfail, and looked further south into that big black, heavy sky....our decision was made. Were going to fish the Johnstone today mate.

Tides - high at approx. 7:30am of 2.6M > Low approx. 12:30 of 1.2m!

OK Keith, were fishing downstream first, see how we go and then if we need a fresh water fix, we should still have enough water to get a fair way upstream.

I clipped on my "favourite" Flat Jak in neutral brown and cast under the overhanging mangroves, second cast and I was on to a plump little silver barra or around 55cm. A quick photo and it was gently released. That was a very pleasant surprise and a couple of casts later and I was on again.
These weren't big fish, but very healthy looking and fought spiritedly, using the ebbing tide to aid their fight for freedom.

1st Barra - 2 minutes from the ramp!

 

There is something that my good mate Terry Holman, fishing guide extraordinaire, has taught me this past couple of years. And that is the fact that barra are a social critter. If there is one, there probably is others nearby. So I plonked down my lead blob to position us in the current, nicely within casting distance to the structure and Keith and I worked the area. We were rewarded handsomely with a double hook up on feisty little juvenile barra. A quick pic and they were gently released.

Double hook up mate...what a start!

And again....WOW!

This was a great start to the day!

We pulled the "anchor" and drifted steadily down stream on the falling tide. I was on again and quickly dropped the blob to the bottom to stop our progress. Keith fired his XRap into the slot and he too was rewarded with a nice little barra - how cool was this. Two double headers in about 15 minute fishing.....we were very happy chappies indeed.

 

OK Keith, lets head over the other side now and work that mangrove bank, there are a couple of snags on the bend that just might hold a fish or two. Guess what, it did hold a nice little barra and I was stoked. All of  my decisions had paid off to this point and I was very pleased with myself. Unfortunately Keith's next cast was a hook up to the structure so reluctantly we had to motor over to it on the electric and any chance of catching another fish vanished with the disturbance.

 

We drifted down and around the next bend where I knew another snag was in about a metre of water, plonked the lead and told Keith "where to fish" so to speak. And right on cue he was on again...."I'll play this one out Les and you see if you can hook up", three double hook ups in one day....come on, get real!

3rd Double....this is fantastic!

 

Well get real we did and the photo is here abouts to prove it....well done, pats on the back, high fives all round. Were we happy! Read it again....THREE DOUBLE HOOK UPS ON BARRA and it wasn't even morning tea time.

Bla Bla Bla...Palm Cove xxxxxxxx......come on Keith!

 

After the pic & release the phone rang, it was The Cairns Post seeking our comment on the article that appeared in Saturday's edition. The one about the much needed infrastructure development at Palm Cove. This has been one of Keith's passions for years (I won't bore you here, this is a fishing story) but I politely told Nick that unfortunately he would have to wait for Keith's response as he was hooked up to another barra. I don't think Nick believed me for a while but here it is, picture proof...Keith can almost talk under water and a little barra was not going to stop him from having his qualified say on the matter.

 

It was now time to have a cuppa and reflect on what had been an amazing little session. We sat down and pondered over what has just transpired - 10 barra, three double hook ups and the photos to prove it. This was so rewarding and we almost forgot about the drizzle. One thing I should also mention was that the water temperature was an acceptable 23.8C...just on the lower end of the tolerance level for barra and that the 1.4m drop was also ideal!

Now, for all you barra fisherman and new entries to the sport of catching barra on lures, go back and read the above again. There are several points to ponder and note for future reference. I can't physically take you all fishing and show you exactly what, where, how and why....but if you observe a few things, the art will open up to you and your catch rates will improve dramatically...hopefully!

After our coffee we decided to head upstream, Keith was determined to catch a quality sooty so off we went. I was a little disappointed with the catch rates "in the fresh" and for reasons unknown, it was very slow going. Sure we landed a few fish, but nothing like previous trips. We tried SR 5's and roosta poppers, Zerek prawns and hard bodied super shads but we did have long period where we had no action at all. Even some of our most reliable spots failed to produce the goods.

Silver Grunter

Maybe the conditions were just not to their liking, maybe the previous weeks "minor flood" had put them down - who knows. But we did manage the following:

• 12 barra
•  8 sooties
•  9 JP's,
• 6 jacks,
• 1 silver grunter,
• 1 archer fish

Barra on popper....a great sight!

There was one memorable moment on a deep water bend. Keith was using a bright green popper and cast to the snag nestled up against the cliff face. Bloop....bloop....BOOF! One of the best barra of the day was landed here, they are sure spectacular to catch on a popper.

 

While heading downstream at the end of the day we ran into another fellow angler. He had been working way upstream that day and noted that he too had a fairly slow day. But that was after trevelling all the way to the Tully River and after finding it absolutely Pixxxxg down and the river up about 3 metres, decided to back track to the Johnstone.

We were happy, conditions that day weren't too bad and that early morning session on the barra will be a cherished memory for a while..........at least until the next cast, the next barra, my next trip to Aurukun!

Catch you on the water
Regards, Les
www.fishingcairns.com.au