DerekD Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 (edited) While fishing this weekend with two friends one of them made a comment that the Kingfish he was on didn't fight near as well some of the Barra that he'd hooked up to while fishing at lake Awoonga a few months back. It was only a 67cm Kingfish but it got me thinking. I have hooked a 104cm Jewfish on 20lb braid and although there were a few very strong runs at no time did I think I was in serious danger of losing the fish. I think I have had more fight from smaller kingfish. I figured that the barra (I haven't caught one yet) has a similar body shape to the Jewfish and apart from being more acrobatic would probably put up the same fight as a jewfish (length for length). My question to those who have been lucky to catch all three is what do you think puts up the best fight in a length for length comparison. For example, do you rate a 1m kingfish over a 1m barra over a 1m jewfish or would you put them in another order? Edited October 21, 2008 by DerekD 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forliano Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Kingie for sure... Then i would say Barra followed by Jewie... Hook up to a Milkie (milfish) it can be 50cm... and tell me what you think goes harder Milkfish I personally believe if they got as big as marlin they would be extremely hard if possible to land... Cheers Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Kingfish hands down, followed by barra and jew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mondo Rock Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Really depends on your preference - "best" is a subjective word. For me it's barra, hands down, due to their acrobatics and the sheer violence with which they hit a lure and then battle the angler. However barra tend to put 100% of their energy into the fight right from the start, meaning that they quickly tire, regardless of their size. If you can stop a barra in the first 30 seconds you've pretty much got him, gear failure aside. Kingies, on the other hand, put up a bit more of an endurance fight. They don't go as hard initially, but they'll still be slugging it out with you down deep when a barra would already be in the net. Overall they probably put up a harder fight than a barra, pound for pound. Don't know about Jews - haven't caught a big one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightstalker Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Kingies, being the only true pelagic of the bunch have a lot more stamina for chasing down bait fish in the open ocean, whereas both barra and jew sneak up on their prey and boof them down. I think then for sure - Kings - Barra - Jew and have to say whilst not catching a lot of barra think they are a little overrated in terms of fighting ability. A snapper of the same size goes much harder. Barra - overrated - now that should draw some comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinkymalinky Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Kingfish, but it's like trying to compare apples, oranges and mangoes. Cheers, Slinky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matrix Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Kingfish hands down, followed by barra and jew. I second that.....kings have that afterburner level turn of speed, barra have the sheer oomph/power and cm for cm, will carry more kgs than jews. (impoundment barra that is) But when all is said and done, all three will give u a bit of curry when hooked so its a moot point Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh88 Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Can't offer a realistic comparison as i've never caught a Barra and my biggest jewie is 35cm but i'd still have to say kingfish due to their streamline build and sheer power they display when fighting. I know its a bit off topic but i have to say that to me fighting a big GT is the hardest, they go like theres no tomorrow. Josh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew399 Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 I have caught barra and kings and i can easily say that a king smashes a barra of the same size. In fact i would say that a 65cm king would pull harder than an 85cm barra. I have never caught a jew but from what i heard they dont go that hard. Josh88- How big was your GT, about 20kg? Imagine trying to pull a 20kg king out of the reefy environment that you get GT's in. I would say that it would be impossible! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh88 Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 (edited) I have caught barra and kings and i can easily say that a king smashes a barra of the same size. In fact i would say that a 65cm king would pull harder than an 85cm barra. I have never caught a jew but from what i heard they dont go that hard. Josh88- How big was your GT, about 20kg? Imagine trying to pull a 20kg king out of the reefy environment that you get GT's in. I would say that it would be impossible! Dicko we estimated it to be a solid 50lb, it was a bloody fat fish, just sheer muscle. I would agree with you in that a king in that environment is probably a bit smarter and will find a way of getting you stuck in it, I was more implying that i think GT's have that sheer power that from what i've experienced seems unsurpassable but i'm sure others will disagree, just what i think. Josh Edited October 21, 2008 by Josh88 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew399 Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Dicko we estimated it to be a solid 50lb, it was a bloody fat fish, just sheer muscle. I would agree with you in that a king in that environment is probably a bit smarter and will find a way of getting you stuck in it, I was more implying that i think GT's have that sheer power that from what i've experienced seems unsurpassable but i'm sure others will disagree, just what i think. Josh Fair call i guess, i havnt caught a GT so cant really make a fair comparison... 50lbs is freakin massive! would have been fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netic Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Havent caught a Barra but Between a Jewie or a king there is no comparison....king any day of the week Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olitay Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 havent caught a jew, but between a barra and a king there is no comparison.... King by far! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreamtime Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 It all depends on the method of catch, however I agree with others in that we are NOT comparing apples for apples. Having a barra hit a lure when cast or trolled cannot be compared to jigging depths for kings or baiting for jews. When a barra hits a lure on the surface, or just below, there is a great deal of skill required to land that fish. A great percentage of hits from a barra are never landed. Their acrobatic skills are second to none, their ability to shake their head and cut mono with their gill rakers, or throw the lure, or take you into a snag cannot be compared in my opinion. The skills of landing a barra, compared to other fish, comes down to the first few minutes of hook up. The skill with a barra is actually hooking one - it can be compared to getting a strike from a marlin. Some people fish all their lives and never get a marlin strike - barra are held in the same esteem. Kings hit like a freight train and continue to fight in the same vein. Jigging at the peak one would expect to land most every fish that was hooked - line class permitting. When their on - you expect multiple hook ups - with barra - one good hook up will last you a life time. Jews on the other hand are a thinking mans fish - you almost have to become a jewfish to land a good one. Again, as with barra, a good jew capture will stay with you for a life time, however multiple captures of school jews are not uncommon. Multiple captures of juvenile barra are not as common. Don't get me wrong, they are all prize fishes and warrant that status. That's my 2 bobs worth anyway. Cheers Mariner 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew399 Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 The skill with a barra is actually hooking one - it can be compared to getting a strike from a marlin. Some people fish all their lives and never get a marlin strike - barra are held in the same esteem. I agree with most of what you say Mariner, however i dont believe this is true. I have only been up north once in search of barra and had the time of my life. Day in and day out i found it (and so did my dad, who had never lure fished before) very easy to draw strikes from barra, with probably only 10-20% of strikes missed. I have never fished for Marlin before, but I had always thought it was pretty difficult to raise and hook a Marlin. I guess what I am getting at is this, you often hear about 20+ fish days on the barra, but that sort of tally on Marlin is unheard by a single angler on a day is it not? I love these topics by the way, they have come up a few times and although there is no real right or wrong answer, a healthy debate is great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tide'n'knots Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 mate I have never caught a Barra so I cant comment on them, however I have caught jew to 25pound and kings to 80cm and kings win hands down in the sheer power department- also when a jew is ready to be gaffed it rolls on its side exhusted - I have never seen a kingy do that! they never give up! Having said that i would still rather catch a jew - I guess its personal taste. Pete(t'n'k) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekD Posted October 23, 2008 Author Share Posted October 23, 2008 Talked to the friend who made the comment about the Kingfish not fighting as well as the Barra and he explained it a bit further. He said that as a group of fishermen they hooked onto a lot of Barra at Lake Awoonga but each person only managed to land one Barra. He said the initial strike, followed by the surge and the head shakes and having the lines cut by the gill rakes left the strike of a kingfish for dead. He agreed with the comments above in that once you had stopped the initial runs then you had a very good chance of landing it. Still looking forward to getting him on to a metre plus Kingfish and seeing if that changes his opinion. For that matter I want to get on to a metre plus kingfish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nova Posted October 23, 2008 Share Posted October 23, 2008 kingfish any day have hooked up 1 barra few years back and have murdered plenty of jews,by far kings fight harder,hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davemmm Posted October 23, 2008 Share Posted October 23, 2008 Never having caught a Barra (they aren't real prevalent in the Hacking) I probably shouldnt be responding but I agree with Marina It all depends on the method of catch, however I agree with others in that we are NOT comparing apples for apples. The biggest fish I have caught is a 110cm Jew and it gave up real easy after the initial blue but smaller kings have been a thousand times better to catch. But if we are talking apples, oranges and pineapples then my vote goes to 45cm plus trevs on 6lb. But to get the real hit from them you have to catch them on the flats in under 1.5m, they have nowhere to go and fight like all buggery. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abiasin Posted October 23, 2008 Share Posted October 23, 2008 Never having caught a Barra (they aren't real prevalent in the Hacking) I probably shouldnt be responding but I agree with Marina The biggest fish I have caught is a 110cm Jew and it gave up real easy after the initial blue but smaller kings have been a thousand times better to catch. But if we are talking apples, oranges and pineapples then my vote goes to 45cm plus trevs on 6lb. But to get the real hit from them you have to catch them on the flats in under 1.5m, they have nowhere to go and fight like all buggery. Dave agree mate, trevs go hard on the light stuff. i recently hooked a stripie on the shelf on 4lb fishing a plastic in the bait school and boy did the stradic sing. other than that i havent got a barra but king beats jew hands down and they are easier to catch too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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