Krazi-kev Posted June 13, 2006 Share Posted June 13, 2006 Hi guys, Caught my first ever BARRA on saturday as the sun disappeared off rocks in Townsviile. What an adrenalin rush that was. I got some nice live herring and mullet out of Ross river and went to breakwater rocks. Put on a large mullet(18cm) and set the drag at almost free spool. After a while I noticed something happening on the end of my line so heaved the rod out of the rock crevaces and let the line go slack. It was then that OLD PINKEYE decided to swallow the bait. Line was peeling off at quite a rate and whilst tightening the drag I struck. Not much fighting as I reeled him in. As he got close to the rocks the tailwalking started. He was not happy. Got him to the edge and with the hook in the lip lifted him out onto a rock platform. I have a few Barra scars from slipping on the rocks and getting nicked by his gill rakers as he decided to jump around and spit the 3/0 hook. I am slowly coming down from a great afternoon fishing. It weighed around 5 kg and measured at 78cm. I am sure it will taste good seen as it was my first. It is also my biggest fish to date beating my old record of a 2.5kg Flathead. Had a few other lines out with strip baits on hooks of varying sizes. Not much happening elsewhere, not even on prawns. happy fishing guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevvie Posted June 13, 2006 Share Posted June 13, 2006 Hey Krazi... Kevvie here. Good to meet another Krazy Kev. Thats been my nickname for 12 years now. Good to see another holding the mantle. In another twist of fate... i caught my first Barra last month too on a trip to the Kimberlys. It measured... you guessed it... 78cms. Alot in common here. At first i thought this was a gee up from someone in knew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazi-kev Posted June 13, 2006 Author Share Posted June 13, 2006 Hey Krazi... Kevvie here. Good to meet another Krazy Kev. Thats been my nickname for 12 years now. Good to see another holding the mantle. In another twist of fate... i caught my first Barra last month too on a trip to the Kimberlys. It measured... you guessed it... 78cms. Alot in common here. At first i thought this was a gee up from someone in knew. Fate is on our side big-kev The next time you catch something worthwhile let me know. I will have to get out and do the same thing to keep the tradition strong. Happy catching mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishamagician Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 Hi guys, Caught my first ever BARRA on saturday as the sun disappeared off rocks in Townsviile. What an adrenalin rush that was. I got some nice live herring and mullet out of Ross river and went to breakwater rocks. Put on a large mullet(18cm) and set the drag at almost free spool. After a while I noticed something happening on the end of my line so heaved the rod out of the rock crevaces and let the line go slack. It was then that OLD PINKEYE decided to swallow the bait. Line was peeling off at quite a rate and whilst tightening the drag I struck. Not much fighting as I reeled him in. As he got close to the rocks the tailwalking started. He was not happy. Got him to the edge and with the hook in the lip lifted him out onto a rock platform. I have a few Barra scars from slipping on the rocks and getting nicked by his gill rakers as he decided to jump around and spit the 3/0 hook. I am slowly coming down from a great afternoon fishing. It weighed around 5 kg and measured at 78cm. I am sure it will taste good seen as it was my first. It is also my biggest fish to date beating my old record of a 2.5kg Flathead. Had a few other lines out with strip baits on hooks of varying sizes. Not much happening elsewhere, not even on prawns. happy fishing guys Hey Krazi-Kev, well done on your first Barra!! Sounds like a real buzz. I'm wondering if you'd mind sharing a bit of advice for someone who has never even been close to a Barra? I'm heading to Magnetic Island early Sept and while the wife does a few dive trips ... I'm hoping to kill some time hooking some good-uns. Trouble is, I'm heading up from NSW by plane so am fairly limited in how much gear I can bring. I am going to hire a tinny one day, but aside from that it will be land based. What weight gear should I be using and is it worth bringing my soft-plastics? I have read elsewhere the live baits like you used are the way to go, so how do I get them and how do I rig them? If you get a minute to give me a heads up, I'd greatly appreciate it. Any other www sites you know of that might have some info for the area would go down well as well. Thanks in advance and happy fishing !! - Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flea Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 Nice Barra Kev. Townsville holds some great fish. Live baiting the breakwall is a great way to spend a relaxing evening. Try also to flick some lures around the rock pool on the southern side on a king tide that coincides with evening. Some very big fish over the metre mark come in from here. Jacks and estuary cod to 50cm are always a nice consolation prize too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mondo Rock Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 78cm is a bloody good fish - great stuff kev! Dave - not sure about this but I would have thought that batrra weren't really an option at Magnetic Island. It's a bluewater destination - all macks and GTs and reef fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flea Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 Maggie is only around 8km from the mainland and as such Barra can be picked up from the mangroves on the mainland side, there are a couple of litle creeks that look very fishy and I have spotted Barra cruising the flats - even hooked and lost one from here. True plenty of trevally and other reefy critters also available - be careful where you fish though - some zoning restrictions apply on the seaward side which knock out some lovely reefs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mondo Rock Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 I stand corrected. In that case Dave get your @rse over to the mainland side of the island and flick some lures around amongst the mangroves and the drains!! If the water is shallow use a gold bomber, and if the water is deep then use nilsmaster stretch 10s or 20s. The only other advice I'd give is to forget fishing mangroves at high tide. When the water is up amongst the mangrove roots the fish will be up in there with it and will be near impossible to access. In all my barra fishing years the best results within mangrove systems have come from fishing the run in as the barra move up from deeper water towards the mangroves (using any nearby structure for cover on the way in), or the run out just as the water leaves the mangroves as the barra sit in the drains and wait for the baitfish as the low tide forces them out of the mangrove roots. If you want advice on gear send me a pm and I'd be happy to run through the basics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve07 Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 well done mate,that first barramundi is an awesome feeling especially a 5kg fish,very nice! a great feed of fresh barra; cheers buddy, steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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