Ray R

Good onya mate, teach the kids and get a good feed too as well as enjoying the great weather...

Hi Raiders, I finally got a few shots from the Barra Nationals Committee, had a few camera dramas up there but I did manage a few shots on their memory card. Tough fishing , only 690 fish caught over the 5 day comp by 61 teams of 3.. These fish were caught trolling large lures approx. 170-180mm.. Anyway here they are, nice barra shots.. Steve's Barra day 5, 94cm's My Barra day 5, 76cms

Swam the big girl after some shots, she sulked for a while then I put her in a deeper pool and she responded to a massage and then she swam off with the next wave, a great sight..

about 5 minutes away, finished work early today so had the arvo to fish..

G'day Raiders, what a sensational arvo for a fish, light winds, gentle swell, perfect for a fish. Took the bottom bashing gear a couple of light spin rods and headed around the rocks. Armed with some pilchards I sank a few baits on the bottom and while they were soaking I had a few spins for a squid. On my third cast I scored a nice squid but that was it for day as I had no more touches on the jig. I concentrated on the bottom gear and had plenty of hits on the pilly tails. First up was a stingaree which is usual for the bottom gear but after him I started getting some better quality fish being a nice flattie of 55cm's and a bonnie. Had a few more touch ups which I think were small reddies or maybe a bream. I have had a couple of nice flatties from here lately, one I got last month just before I went to Darwin went 82cm's, she was a real nice fish, very large around the head and shoulders, so I have included a pic of her too as well as todays effort. Easy to see why I love fishing with this kind of day... Flattie from last month(mid April) Todays effort

Fully agree with Hotbite, mate it is a hard place to fish as the place is like nothing down this way. I am fortunate to have family up there and have been for 30 years or so, without them I wouldn't have had a chance. Anyway enjoy your trip and go see the locals first, listen to all they say...

congrats mate, great effort...

A couple of better shots of Steve's boat, brand new before she hit the water..

Hi Raiders, well another Barra Nats done and dusted, bloody hot and high humidity made for some very sweaty fishing. The tournament was again run to perfection, it is a great event. 61 teams, 183 anglers took part in the event this year, our team led by my bro-in-law Steve Compain, Hutcho and myself. The fish were hard to get this year as the first 3 days saw them feeding on tiny rainbow fish and archer fish so it was hard to get them to munch on our much larger plastics but if you annyed them enough with constant casting they would occasionally attack. The next 2 days saw them finally starting to have a go at trolled hard bodies and we scored a couple of nice fish and lost a couple of monsters, I finally hooked up to my metery but after a few jumps he stared me in the eye and seemed to say 'not today Ray', dissapointed yes indeed but I will remember this battle with a monster. So anyway our team managed 14 scoring fish (over 40cms) and we finished the comp in 15th place out of 61 teams so wasn't too bad an effort from us. We were out in Steve's new boat which is a 22 foot Scout, 250hp tournanent E-TEC and mate this thing is very quick, lovely boat and great to fish from. We travel up to 70k's along the river, looking for the well known spots as well as the odd little drain and snags. All up it was a great trip away again, this our third Nats. I am still waiting on some pics from the organisers, they have the SD card with the good big barra shots on it.. Anyway I have a few pics for you to check out, mainly of the tournament in general, our boat, boats in general, river shots and the night life, in which we made a large dent in the Wild Turkey population hahaha.. the big hall 183 anglers about 30 event staff, camera crews bar staff and food preppers. Steve, Hutcho and Ray Hutcho releasing one of his little barra's Our mighty barra cruiser Clear Creek, looked great but only one barra from here

G'day Raiders, off to Darwin again with my mate Hutcho to compete in the Barra Nationals 2013. On the Daly river to get into some nice Barra and enjoy the event. Will put up a report when I get back in 10 days.....

WOW!!!!, congrats mate she is a lovely fish....

Hey Stewy you forgot one, coke bottle with 50lb mono haha, Seriously though, an Alvey is good once you get used to them mainly because you can easily wash them out if sand finds it way into the reel. I personally use a threadline (egg beater) but I do make sure that is always in a rod holder and my hands are always free of sand and give it a light rinse off when I am finished with it. I would go for a Daiwa Saltist 4500, 20-30lb braid for your jewie chasing..

haha, hey Hodgey that would have been quite 'Emusing'.....

Thankyou Donna, another St Pats day another year older, hahaha..

So the swell is well and truly here, grabbed a few shots around midday. She is pumpin''... Click the pic to see it at a larger size..

Can't say that I do, might be down there around Davo on the weekend though seeing as this swell is gonna push me away from edge..

Friday arvo 15-3-2013 Hi Raiders, I just went for a look around the rocks at Avoca and the seas are quite large, the platform has waves coming over it and is dangerous. This is only Avoca but I'm sure conditions will be similar at all locations that are open to swells. Take care and have a plan B if you do come for a look at the rocks cause I reckon you will need one..

A real horse of a horsie, well done....

Congrats mate on reaching the 1000 mark...

Mate I have one of those flat oval shaped Berkley containers and it is fine, dosen't leak and all that juice keeps them soft and juicy. I have really filled it too with all sorts of shapes and colours..

hey nice shots Geoff, mate she certainly is angry...

Wednesday evening and the swell is starting to rise, went for a quick flick for more bonnies this arvo and I reckon it will be my last for a few days, still a lot of fun though, plastic smashing little speedsters..hehehe.. Tomorrrow should see a rise of .5 - 1.0 meter swell increase which will just about knock Avoca out for a fish, make sure you have a plan B if you venture up this way..

Hi Raiders, just a quick note to all your rock hoppers, check the swell reports very carefully this weekend as she is gonna be big and nasty. The swell should start to rise Thursday morning according to the forecasts, and being from the ENE she will be pounding the rocks especially Avoca (my home turf.) Will be watching it closely.. Check wave and wind websites..... DON'T TAKE RISKS, HAVE A PLAN B..

Message sent to you mate..

Z-Man 5"streakz....