Hook-a-Barra...the closed season alternative!

Many fisho's have considered the temptation to catch a few fish at a farm / hatchery etc. and many of you have shied away thinking that "its not cool" to fish in a pond. Come on be honest, many of you have also thought about giving it a go...it might be fun...at least I might catch one etc etc...RIGHT!

Main Pond - Hook-a-Barra

Processing sheds

Well, last weekend, after spending a glorious couple of days at Thala Beach Lodge, my partner Debbie & I, decided to do just that.

We had very legitimate reasons for being in the vicinity and after spending quite a bit of time with the manager, Mark, we decided to give the "pond fishing" a go. Was it the young guy standing near us who pulled in quality barra every dozen casts or so, or was it the sight of all those feeding fish scoffing offerings from the surface - who knows. Maybe it was the sight of huge albino barra in the display tank that got me all excited - WE JUST HAD TO DO IT!

Reception / Tackle Room

Display pool - check out those albino barra

So we paid our entry fee, collected our gear and selected our chosen lure from a range of soft plastics / paddle tails / poppers and hard bodied diving minnows. Did you know that you can even bring along your own favourite outfit and fish using your very own lures - how cool is that!
Hell I could have brought my whole tackle box with its 400+ lures and field tested the lot. Apparently the guy catching all the fish is a regular and he does just that.

That's him....the other guy catching fish

Not wanting to crowd this guy, even though he seemed to have THE hot spot, we ventured around the other side of the main pond and started to cast our offerings (soft plastic grey ghost with silver fleck!) I called this the main pond but really it was just the closest to the main entry area and I just wanted to get stuck into them; or was it the fact that the lovely lady at reception told us that this pond was chock full of a few hundred barra all about 70-90cm mark. Whatever!

Deb & I cast out our lures, let it sink a little and then started our retrieve.
But what retrieve do you do in a pond, full of fish, with artificial feeding habits?
A slow sink, jerk, jerk, pause......no that did not work.
How about a longer sink, twitch, twitch, twitch....not that one either.
What about a twitch, pause, sink, twitch, pause sink, twitch....hmmm, not that one today either.
We had a keen look at the other guy as he landed another one right in front of us...he seemed to be just winding. But alas, he was now packing up and before we could even walk around to the other side of the pond and seek his advice, he was gone.

Come on Les, your suppose to be a gun fisherman....think about it.

I took his spot, cast out to the middle and began my "experimental retrieve" process all over again. After about my 50th fruitless cast (apart from a couple of subtle knocks) the lovely assistant, Narda, came up and said "would you like me to toss in a bit of berley in the form of  some fish pellets - it might get them going again". OK I thought, it couldn't do any harm. So in she tossed a handful of brown pea shaped pellets - all hell broke loose. There were barra boofing all over the place..big bastards too! Man, I just had to catch one of these brutes - was Les Marsh going to be the only ex fishing guide in history not to catch a barra in a pond. No way mate!

Now lets think about this...I knew there were quality barra in there. I had seen them, the other guy had caught about 6 while we watched on. I'm just going to toss my plastic out there and wind it back in  a steady but relatively fast retrieve. BOOF, I was on. I had cracked the code - this day anyway!

Deb's on - can't remember who hooked the first

The lovely Narda landing Deb's barra

Now that's a quality barra babe

Les is also hooked up

Yeah...that'll do

She jumped out of the water (just like a wild barra does)........she screamed line off my little spin reel (just like a wild barra does)....she lunged for the cover of the only bit of structure nearby, the aerator (just like a wild barra would do)....she fought doggedly all the way to the bank (just like a wild barra does) and man, I was a happy little chappy I can assure you. I can't even remember whether Debbie had caught a fish before me, all I can remember is the excitement of hooking, fighting, landing a quality barra in this great location with all the senses alive.

We took photos....photos of Debbie's barra, pics of mine, pics of the double hook up and pics of my biggest and last fish. And after about an hour of solid fishing we decided that we had better get moving and continue our journey back to our lodge. It really was a fabulous time and I will certainly be coming back. But next time I'll take my own gear and try a few different things.

Just another good sized barra

Double hook up babe

My best (and last) of the day

The staff did tell us that the barra bite differently all the time....it just depends on their mood, the water temperature, the cloud cover, the salinity level, the moon phase and whether they have been fed lately or even how you hold your mouth. See....just like wild barra.

Mark, the manager & Les discussing tactics

Lovely Narda "helping" Les choose his tackle

I know that pond fishing is not for everyone, hell I don't even like fishing Tinaroo (and its only a bigger pond)....we are all different critters and have different needs / desires / time frames / moods and demands on our fishing time. But what if you are a dad and have little kids or don't own a boat etc. Following is what a few others have said about this place, it makes interesting reading.

Debbie wrote: "Had a blast there guys! What beautiful quality fish! For those of you who don't have the time, the boat, access to the rivers; have little kids that can't be in the sun for hours on end, or a cranky missus who gets bored...this is a ton of fun for all and a great way to practice your fishing techniques with either their gear or your own. Isn't Lake Tinaroo just a big pond too? Top day Mark and thanks to the lovely Narda, who is clearly passionate about fishing and her job!

David wrote: "Hook a Barra is well worth the trip, fishing in their main pond are some very strong fish with 80cm and around 8kg you will not have it all your own way as one might think when fishing in a pond, I have only fished their main pond and over a number of months my tally is 217 with 9 albinos, my best for an hour is 11 and 20 in 2hrs, and at an average fish size around the 70cm mark its a real workout. The staff are friendly and help full and as a Barra fisherman with more than 40y practice I still find it challenging and can't recommend the place enough."

So there you go. If you haven't tried it, don't knock it -  just do it ONCE -you just might learn something. Even if its that you too can enjoy the simple things in life, have a blast, and laugh with your mates or loved ones.

Hook - a - Barra is located near Wonga Beach, just south of the Daintree River, and approx. 35 minutes north of Port Douglas. Their facilities are growing all the time to cater to the visiting angler. As well as being a fully functioning barra farm, Mark and his team welcome all visitors and will happily put you onto a big one. The quality of their location, the water, the soil and feed, means that Hook-a-Barra produce first class fish. They have won multiple Gold Medals at the Sydney Fine Food Show, so can guarantee that the fish you catch will have all those qualities that make barramundi such a superb dining experience - yes, you can purchase some of your catch if you wish.

Note - the quality of the waters here is so good that last October, the barra actually spawned - in the ponds - all by themselves, and without any chemical inducement. Mark has a little fingerling on display that was salvaged from the marauding hoards of big hungry barra (they are cannibalistic in nature) - amazing stuff!

So if you're up that way and are at a loose end as to what to do to entertain the kids, the wife or even just want to test the swimming action of your new lure (yeah right)....drop in. Mark, Narda, Jo and the team would love to see you....Tell them Les & Debbie sent you, they do have a locals Loyalty Programme too.

HAPPY NEW YEAR....catch you on the water (or at the ponds)
Regards, Les
www.fishingcairns.com.au

And Then It Gets Even Tougher!

Last week I penned a little article about my recent trip to the Johnstone River with Keith Graham. Well, last Sunday I had an even tougher day on the Mulgrave River with my partner, Debbie.

We certainly headed off in high spirits....why not, we live in paradise!


Boat Ramp - busy but orderly

The short trip south to the Bellenden Kerr boat ramp passed without incident - even finding the car park chock full was no deterrent as most trailers were of the "reef boat" size....readers will know that I'm primarily an "upstream man". With a high tide of 2.7m at approx. 7:00am it was just perfect for a zoom as far upstream as my little punt would carry us.
 

Allomba Bridge - even at high tide quite shallow

Thankfully the tide was high and still rising as we passed under the Aloomba road bridge - man the river was shallow though, and we badly need some decent rain to flush our river systems. This was as far as I dared venture as with the falling tide, we would have a slow trip back down over some pretty shallow areas I can assure you - not a trip for the unfamiliar!

What a picture...awesome!

Great to just be there!

We found a steep undercut bank with plenty of overhanging trees....their sweet blossom filled the air and birds sang above. What a pretty scene this was!

We tried small poppers / small divers / blades and chrome slices - all manner of things to little effect. We did manage a couple of small jacks & a sootie and Deb also had a sizable tarpon on for a while. It gyrated all over the place, as they do on light tackle, and just as she reached down to gently lift the silver beauty in for a quick pick, the leader broke right at the snap and fish and lure were gone.

By now the tide had just turned, maybe this would be the signal for the fish to start biting but alas...no such luck. Heading back downstream we tied all my favourite spots - weed banks here / undercut banks there / fast runs between sand bars and swaying ribbon grass.

At one stage we counted half a dozen fish scattering away from the shallow weed beds, but they were not the least bit interested in our offerings (and we tried many).



How small do jacks get?

Nice tarpon Deb

We pulled the pin early....the fishing was, er well crap!
But the river scenery was just magnificent, the weather superb and the drift down just a delight.

Back at the boat ramp there was a bit of a line up but ramp etiquette soon sorted it out and we were away in no time.

Jabiru....what a beautiful bird and Australia's only true native stork!

Boat ramp @ 4:00pm

I made a promise to myself - I WILL NOT FISH THE MULGRAVE AGAIN UNTIL WE HAVE SOME DECENT RAIN....or I get bored need a quick fix close to home Ha Ha!
Fisherman - we are a funny lot!

HAPPY NEW YEAR to family / friends / associates......where are we going on Sunday Keith?

Les Marsh
www.fishingcairns.com.au

We did have to wait and cool the tyres down....Fisheries Falls Pub!

Its tough sometimes!

I know that a lot of my readers think that fishing up here might be easy, or that it appears that way.....yes, I seem to catch a few fish and have the pics to prove it!



Now that's a nice river trevor!....it slammed a popper right at the boat...it was exciting stuff!

But have you ever thought that I just don't write about the bad days!
The ones where we really struggle to find fish due to bad tides / high tides / low tides / strong winds / too much rain / not enough rain / water too cold or even too hot for that matter.....YES, up here the water can get too hot for fish to be actively feeding.

Well, yesterday on the Johnstone River, was one of those days.

Keith Graham and I set off with high expectations....it was a beautiful morning, still conditions and fair, clearing skies. The region had seen a couple of inches of rain during the week but certainly the river was very fishable. The water temp was a bit low for this time of year at just over 26c but it should warm up during the day I thought.

And now for that other all important factor - the tides!

Today was going to be a strange one....with a 1m run in till about midday, peaking with a high of some 2.3m (now that's OK) but with a low of approx. 1.2m at approx. 4:00am the next morning. Hell that means only a very slow trickle out at best. Maybe this was the reason, maybe the water was a bit cold and the fish were still in a bit of shock from a sudden cooling from a warm 30c on Wednesday....who knows....but man....IT WAS TOUGH!

Keith a JP

Using the making tide, Keith and I headed up stream. We were a little surprised to find the river so shallow and was even more so when a sudden "clunk" indicated an impact with a substantial river rock. But the auto thing kicked in and the motor jumped up as it should, avoiding any serious damage....just a few little dings on the prop and a bit of a scrape to my pride and river navigation skills. This is as far as we will travel today mate, lets have a cuppa before we start to head back downstream.

Jack....and that reel!

I was still testing the new Quantum EXO 25 spin reel so pinned on a little orange Rapala Scatter Rap. Keith clipped an a Bushy "Stiffy" popper just for variety and off we went....drifting down slowly using the river flow. We cast to likely looking grass verges, to fallen timber and back eddies....and we landed a couple of JP's and a sooty. But it was decidedly S...L...O...W!

We soon drifted down to the zone where the making tide met the river....the water was still with no real flow either way. Time to find some shade and have an early lunch.

Now KG just loves his food and as is the norm on these trips, Keith supplies the food and I supply the boat....great organisation I recon! It wasn't long before we hand down a beautiful fresh roll, Hungarian salami, King Island cheese and mild English relish....yum! The coffee wasn't half bad either. But we had come to fish and not to eat.

Sooty of the Scatter Rap

JP's love em too!

KG and a good solid sooty!

The weather was great, the backdrop magnificent, the river and its surrounds looked a picture....but the fish were just not that interested. Like two old codgers in a pub, Keith & I drifted downstream. We chatted about the Cricket, the footy, the economy, a fishing tournament, our work, our family and loved ones....and every now and again we hooked a fish....a JP here, a Jack there, and archer fish under a tree. We changed lures, tried poppers and deep divers, soft plastics and Zerek prawns....it was just one of those days.

Did this Archer fish want that Zerek?

Well.....this jack sure did!

And do you know what?.....the lack of fish activity didn't really matter....we were two old mates enjoying each others company. Drifting along on a river paradise....and every now and again our conversations were interrupted by that crimson flash of a jack or silver of a JP!

We pulled the pin at 4:45pm, retrieved the boat, washed off the river slime and headed home. The sun was beaming through the building cloud hugging the ranges. Man it was great to be alive!

Take care my friend, have a lovely Christmas and share it with family and loved ones and I will do likewise. I'll catch you on the river in a day or so....or a week...or a month....the fish will still be there and next time, we'll nail em!

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR

Regards, Les
www.fishingcairns.com.au

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Dear readers, friends  & fellow anglers,

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and wonderful New Year!

Can't wait for the barra season to open ha ha!

My Little Babies!

I love my fishing!
I love my barra fishing!

But I never thought I'd be so excited when my new "babies" arrived this morning.

Keith Graham (from Bransfords Tackle Shop) has been helping me with a little project and it all came together this morning when the guys from Barramundi Gardens delivered my new little barra.

My New fish tank - its a beauty - 240cm x 44cm x 60cm

I'm a grown man right?
But these little 20cm barra really are cute.
They have only been in my tank for about half an hour and they are already playing in the bubble jets.

This should be a lot of fun watching them grow.
I have read numerous article on how people can become quite attached to their fish.

If you look carefully you can see two!

I'll keep you posted with their progress.

Regards, Les.

Now stop being silly and get back to work - its almost Christmas.

Field Test - Quantum EXO 25PTi

Readers will know that I have been using the Quantum baitcaster for several months now. Its a fantastic reel and I just love it. It even looks "sexy" don't you recon?

Well, KG from Bransfords gave me this exciting new spin reel to try out as well - not that I asked for it, much! Its also one of those fancy reels with all the holes in it, space age metals and all that. But will it perform....only one way to find out!

Here it is - The EX25PT1 by Quantum

Last Sunday I headed south to the Johnstone River. Tides were a bit off with a low around 7:00 am. I usually like to fish the tide down but with this timing, I'd have to be in the river about 4:00am and that's too bloody early for my liking.

I launched the punt under the Jubilee bridge at around 8:00 am, putted under the structure for some shade while I applied sunscreen, pulled out a few lures and headed downstream. I'll just toss a few lures around the salt while waiting for the tide to start pushing back in. I found a few jacks and barra working a mangrove corner, landed a couple, and decided that it was time to head upstream.

As this was specifically a field test for this new beaut reel, I'd better head off to where I could put its quality to work (or more to the point - see if its insides were as good as it looked! ). Now this article is not about where to go, what lure to use, how to retrieve it to make it more attractive for my targets....you all know that right. You have read my previous articles about my favourite lures etc.

Coming off the plane I eased my punt towards the grassy bank and set the electric. I clipped on my new best friend, one of those Rapala Scatter Raps in bright orange colour and tossed it far up the grassy edge. Fair dinkum, I had only turned the handle twice before this beautiful bruiser of a sooty smashed my offering.

Now that's a quality sooty!

Now, any spinning reel can cast a mile; all you have to do is flick the bail arm over, right!
As long as its;

• Spooled correctly, just to the brim but not over it
• The right quality braid line is used
• The rod is matched to the reel / line size
• The lure weight is also matched to your outfit
• You can cast a country mile (light lures do not like windy conditions however)

Quantum spin & Green Arrow 6ks rod

But its what happens after you hook a fish that is the all important factor determining the quality of a spinning reel.

1. Does it "feel right", sit comfortably on the rod
2. Does the handle just fall into place
3. Is the winding smooth and without any vibration
4. Does the drag offer smooth release of line under load

Does the EXO 25PTi tick all the boxes - well on this first outing, sure as hell did.

Actually, at first I thought there was a little vibration coming from the reel; a little bit discerning until I worked it out. In fact these new Scatter Raps are so darn enticing with their in-built action (hence the name) that their erratic vibration was transferred right up the line, down the graphite rod and ended up in my hand - I could feel every little wobble - and this made every strike that much more enjoyable too!

J.P.'s smashed my lures too

I had an absolute ball and at the end of the day (I did stay a bit late) had caught;
3 mangrove jacks
3 J.P.'s
1 archer fish
4 juvenile barra &
15 sooties - some real horses to boot

A nice 40cm jack!

Now that's sooty fishing!

I can't wait to give the reel a decent work out on GT's, queenies, tarpon etc. but my guess is that it will perform admirably. I'll let you know.

Catch you on the water,

Regards, Les
www.fishingcairns.com.au

Just a lazy Sunday arvo!

Lovely, Little, Liverpool!

Was it a field test?
Was it a sooty trip?
Was it a day out?

Well..........all of the above!

And so Debbie and I headed down the Bruce Highway, took the Cowley Beach turnoff and arrived at the gravel ramp right on high tide. It was a big one of over 2.7m so an easy launch was had.

Liverpool Creek Boat Ramp - a dream at high tide

Its still not the "wet season" as yet (hope I don't bring it on with these ramblings) so we needed the high tide to enable us to travel upstream. The Liverpool is not a big river and without fresh coming down or a high tide, its darn near impossible to travel far upstream. We were in luck....we zoomed along, crossing shallow sand bars, drowned timber and a few rocks and powered down. Lets have a few casts around here babe, there was a bit of bait flicking about, and on Deb's very first cast to the shallow bank a nice flathead engulfed her lure.

Debbie's flathead - the fish I mean (sorry babe)

Its always a dilemma for Debbie as to which lure to use....hell I just pull out my "current" favourite....which happens to be the new Super Shad, Shallow design! Clip it on and away I go. But Debbie is more competitive than that. If she sees me catch a fish, she has to change her lure because hers is not working. Some days I have to wash and put away about 20 lures for her; while I have used 2 (maybe 3 max.) - a deep / shallow diving shad, a flat jack and a SR5. (read that again!)

We headed off again. This time travelling as far up as I dared in the skinny water. At times I held my breath as we crossed drowned logs but I have a fairly good sense of where the channel is so without incident I backed off and headed for a shady tree for a coffee.

How cool is this coffee stop!

Now at this time of year I do a lot of fishing way upstream in our beautiful tropical streams. The rec. fishing laws are pretty specific in that you are not supposed to deliberately target old bucket mouth...that's why we try to catch Sooties, JP's, Jacks, tarpon and the like and up in the fresh is the best place to be. Surrounded by rainforest, whistling birds, swaying palms, lovely fresh waters, swaying ribbon grass....ahhhh, I love it.

Shallows upstream - Liverpool Creek

But you can't stop a little juvenile barra from being competitive for tucker and we do catch a few of them. They are too small to be in breeding mode anyway so no harm done with a quick pic and release.

Typical juvenile barra!

 

 

My efforts were rewarded however, with a magnificent fresh water jack...it hit like a freight train and turned, trying to bury me in the log jam. With locked up drag on my baitcaster, and deft use of the electric, we managed to back it out of there. It was a keeper....and it actually became my meal last night. Thanks Deb, it was delicious.

Now that's a nice fresh water jack!

Back to the Field Test!
Readers will know that I have field tested a lot of lures for Mr Graham of Bransfords Tackle Shop over the years. And I can honestly say that this new shallow running Super Shad has fast become one of my favourites. Not all lures work in all situations so you must be a thinking angler to have consistent success. Use a shallow running lure in relatively shallow water situations - simples! (as the meerkat would say)

And as for colour choices, I am absolutely hooked on the new grey ghost colour (Ghost Flecto they call it). Debbie played with a gold one for about 5 minutes and after hooking up a small barra decided to change it.....again!!!! Why!!!!

Super Shad.....shallow running version!

These lures have basically the same body shape, cast ability and hooks as the deep diving version, but a much smaller bib and hence, the shallow running ability. I love em!

Was it a sooty trip!
We actually didn't see one sooty all day....I did hook up to a couple of JP's but they pulled the hooks straight away.

Was it a day out!
You bet! And what a wonderful day it was. The river is magic as the picks hereabouts show. I was in great company, Deb had prepared fantastic food (that Kiwi thing) and we caught some lovely little fish. I can't wait for some more rain, the rivers flood and then I can really get up to some rarely fished country.

Bring it on!

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

Oh by the way.....we finished up back at the ramp on low tide. Debbie had a couple of casts to some mangrove snags and pulled out this little silver barra....darn, its supposed to be a jack or queenie or trevally or salmon or fingermark or cuda or something. Anything but bloody barra!

What you smiling at babe!