Taking On Lake Awoonga & Cyclone Hamish

[Steve07]

Hi raiders,just returned to sydney this morning after a long 19 hour drive home from lake Awoonga up near

gladstone QLD,chasing those metre long barra the place is famous for.

Two of us decided to do this trip with our own gear to see if we could crack that magic metre mark barra

without the use of any local guide's.

The 8 day trip involved the long 18 hour drive each way,6 days fishing which included both lure casting by

day & a couple of lure trolling sessions by night among the full moon period.

The awoonga park cabin lodge is a top place to stay which is pretty much booked out over the full moon period all year round,the boat which we used i must say is more suited to fishing both botany bay & offshore

for snapper,kings,yellowfin & mahi mahi,than lure tossing for impoundment barra but we chose to take it

up there anyway & give it a go.

Our gear was both quality threadline tackle,which include 4000 size reels, graphite 15 to 20lb flick sticks with

30lb braid & also 50lb baitcast outfits with good graphite rods,using 200curado & 400calcutta reels.

Lures for casting where both shad style plastics like 105mm slick rigs & storm suspending shads,plus an

assortment of quality & proven hardbody lures mainly classics,B52's & Manns.

We probably chose one of the worst weeks of the year to fish the lake as it was in the middle of cyclone

hamish,so it was pretty tough conditions to fish in plus it put the barra off the bite as well with many locals

& experienced fisho's saying it was the quietest they have seen it.This proved to be exactly that for us too

as we continued to cast & work all area's of the lake for just the odd bite in the first 3 days.It was very

frustrating to say the least as we tried snags,shallow weed banks,deep weed beds,drop offs & colour changes

around the edge's using all lures & colours for no reward.

Slowly over the week though as we became familiar with the area & picking the brains of everyone that caught big barra or looked like they know how to catch them,we started to concentrate on some sort

of pattern that would give us the best chance to get one.

On the 4th day out i finally came up solid with my first hookup after a suspending & slow sinking storm

shad in clear colour was nailed off the edge of a weed bank the dropped off to 4m or 5m depth,the shimano

reel was absolutely stopped in its tracks when a huge barra monstered the lure & then raised its massive

head clear form the water,i was speechless,knees shakin badly & sweaty palms,the fish went hard & the

50lb braid just screamed

from the reel as if a big kingy had powered off.The fight just took me by suprise big time,i watched video's & read up on all the articles but nothing was like this.The fight was just simply awesome power on the fishes

behalf & it eventually done me over when it went into thick weeds,snagging me up & breaking the line.I just

sat down quietly & took some time to get over it all,before calling it a day as the sun went down.

Next day out while slow rolling a squidgy slick rig in evil colour on a deeper weed bed at the mouth of a

creek i had the unmistakable sharp tap & again stike hard for another solid hookup.It was game on again as

the 50lb braid exploded form the reel & off went another big barra on a scorching run,this time i let her just

go & take the line,as i was heaps confident that this fish was in more open water without too many places to

get snagged up.20 minutes later i had colour under the boat as the fish tired & rose towards the surface. My

mate reached out to the fish & i pulled its big head towards the net,it was mine i thought then & yelled out

with excitement,as loud as i could but then heartbreak as the fish was being lifted up over the side of the boat its heavy weight just broke straight through the net,the fish dropped back down with a massive splash

& the barra was gone with the lure still attatched.Mate i just cried,even though it was pretty much captured

& it was being released anyway,it hurt i couldnt get some photo's & meaure its length.

Then about 20minuted later,around 5.30pm we decided to start a trolling session with hardbody lures in the

area we lost that fish.Out went 2 barra cassics 10ft plus depth & off we went very slowly.Right on 6.30pm & in 10m of water my lure was absolutely smashed & line just moked off again,the fight was on but this time

& finally after another unbeliveable fight on 50lb spin gear,i had this awesome & beautiful big barramundi

at my feet,on the deck of my boat.It measured 102cm & around 13kg in weight,then released & swam away slowly into the darkness of the night.A moment i will never forget.

Unfortunately though as the barra ended up being landed into the night after the hookup we never ended up

getting any photo's of my personnal best barra,my friends camera that was on the boat at the time has

some sort of problem with the flash so nothing came out,that's a bit how luck on this trip went for me.

So the memory of this fish & admiring it for about 30 seconds before a rex hunt kiss & release will have

to do,but that will stay with me for good.

That was it,as it was our final night on the lake & it was packup for home next morning.It took until the

last session on the last day to get that dream fish i came for,but for the experience & enjoyment of this

whole trip it was definately worth it.

Getting a bit tired now from the long drive home and need some good sleep,but i will later write a few facts that might help anyone

thinking of this trip.

cheers

Steve

Edited March 20, 2009 by nexus

[Blackfish]

Great read there Nexus, I felt for you dropping those 2 big fish after all the effort.

Bad luck about the weather, still there's always next time.

Edited March 17, 2009 by Blackfish

[Hodgey]

That's a fantastic report Steve! Mate, I felt like I was there with you. I recognise the gamut of emotions you went through from my own experiences up north. Awoonga is definitely on my 'to do' list

What a superb effort for a couple of blokes who didn't use a guide, in the worst conditions, chasing a wiley old fish. You should be bloody pleased with your efforts mate. Great stuff! Any pics?

Cheers

Hodgey

[dogtooth]

Well done on the barra there nexus . Its good to see you only went for a small drive ( 19 hrs ) . I used to fish gladstone yearly and always wanted to fish awonga , maybe one year.

Cheers John...... Dogtooth.....

[tide'n'knots]

awesome report.

awesome fish!

unlucky about the first fish at least you ended up witha real stonker to compensate.

any photos?

pete.

[Steve07]

Sorry guys got no photo's of this awesome fish as luck would have it on this trip for me it was captured &

landed after dark,but unfortunately my friends camera on the boat that day has a problem with the flash &

nothing comes out with night photo's.So the memories of its capture & the 30 seconds to admire it will have

to do but it will last for good.Got other photo's of the trip but at the moment only have access to a computer

at work so i cant download photo's for now.

Anyway for some facts that might interest or help anyone thinking of this trip to Awoonga here they are.

The aluminium boat that we used for the trip along with the 4 stroke outboard which its powered by

cost us only $70 fuel for the whole week which included morning,afteroon,all day & night sessions,

with the odd session missed because of either very strong winds or very heavy rain from cyclone hamish.

We towed it up in a nissan patrol 4wd,taking around 18 hours each way plus the odd 20km trip to gladstone

during the week for a break or to the big tackle store there,fuel for the prado cost us $680 for the trip.

Accomodation at the Awoonga park cabin lodge cost us $85 a night,over the 5 nights $425.00.They are very

new & super clean cabins,with nice kitchens,bathroom,big double bedroom & double bunks,there is a pool

in the park which is well maintained by the owner's which are nice people & i can tell you very happy for

me to finally land that big fish on the last night out.

The lake is pretty big area to cover,there are many places with standing timber & very shallow weed banks

that can get very dangerous for people new to the area or out there at night.We in fact had a very scary

night out there when we ended up going way down to the long Boyne river where some friends we made in

the park Lodge caught 2 nice fish the day before.We planned to fish it late afteroon & then do some trolling

when the sun went down but once it got dark the place just goes pitch black with no lights anywhere to help

you see.The moon was behind thick cloud which we were relying on to help,so it was a case of cruising

very,very slowly along watching the sounder & trying to watch for the land,standing timber & weedbanks

that are in the middle of the lake in many area's.I can honestly say we were lost out there as tree's appeared suddenly then turn away left or right into just 2 or 3mt of water up onto a weed bank.It took us

2 hours just to get back to the main basin of the lake which is only a 15 minute run in daylight hours.

They say it takes 1000 casts for every big barra & they are bloody right there,you do need to make many,

many casts to get fish.Water temps were as high as 29 degree's but you need to find cooler spots to fish

were the temp might be say 26degrees.In winter or cooler months its the opposite thing look for warmer

water.

From experience now & picking up tips from many more fisho's who hepled me with vital info,going out all

day is too long & gets very hot as we found later in our week as the weather got better.Get out about 2pm

in the arvo & flick lures around till 5pm then start trolling with hardbody lures that dive to 10ft plus until

10pm if you want.The full moon period is best for trolling,with suprising many more fish getting caught in

my opinion this way than casting over our stay.

Good plastics for the barra are either 110mm slick rigs,also the 130mm size,plus both tsunami,storm &

hollowbelly shads.Casting plastics frogs in the shallow weed area's is good,but the hookup rate is not the

best as the weedless hooks are buried deep in the zoom or squdgie frogs.

You must use either 30lb or 50lb braid,i prefer 50lb but 30lb casts better on threadline gear & trust me only

80lb leader like black magic or jinkaii is a must or you will lose most fish.These fish fight so hard its just

unbelievable,the first run is just like hooking a 5 to 8kg kingie,you will take a good 15 to 20minutes to

subdue most fish,with quality hooks & rings needed on all lures.Dont worry about flurocarbon leader here.

I tied my 30 & 50lb braid to the 80lb leader with the albright knot using 12 turns down & another 12 turns

back up,then lubricate well before tightening up.It held all my 3 hookups to big barra without fail,i always

use the knot in all my fishing with braid & its never failed me.

You need quality spin gear for casting long distance's with the plastic's,so you can reach the barra in both

the shallow weed banks or colour changes where they hang.Baitcaster's are good for flicking hardbodies

near snags,deeper weed beds or trolling lures during arvo/night sessions.

Most barra i saw either caught or heard of being caught were 85cm & up,they are mostly big fish,the one i

lost that broke straight through the big snapper net i use was at least 110 to 115cm,much bigger than the

102cm fish i caught.

My friends that we made next door to us have fished the place 6 or 7 times,the day we fished next to them

the girl on board hooked & played the biggest barra i have seen,its head that came out of the water was

like a big bucket,a monster fish that was easily 130cm,or 25 to 30kg,but it got caught up in the shallow weed where it was hooked & broke off after a very brutal fight on 30lb gear.We were only 40m away & saw the

whole thing,just awesome stuff.That was on one of the storm suspending shads in a clear colour with the

treble below & single hook on top.

I can tell you now that just about every full moon period in most months this year are already booked out,

i am looking to go back october/november with both times already full at the lodge.

So there it is guys,you can watch video's,read articles or get told about big barra at lake awoong,but nothing

prepare's you for when that big fish is finally hooked up.its very addictive but at the same time gets you

very nervous when that huge barra come up to the surface with your lure in its mouth & trying to scoop

that big head into that net,with half of the fish only fitting inside it.

It is hard work,many casts for nothing & things wont go your way,also fish will jump off the hooks & even

snag you up somewhere breaking the line,but when it all comes together & that big barra is captured,just

like me you will be looking to go back again for more.

All fuel & accomodation for the trip was $1175,just throw in your food & some tackle,a trip like this will

only cost 3 people around $450each.A pretty good value trip i reckon or

like some other mate's i have who have been up there on a 4day trip with a guide paying $1500 each plus airfares to gladstone.But there is no guarantee you will catch a fish,as one charter He done while we were there failed to

produce a single fish for the 3 fisho's.

Most fisho's had trouble getting fish,with many saying its the toughest that they have seen it for a long time,

i think the tough condtions of cyclone hamish maybe put the fish off the bight,so i think we done ok considering it being a first time & in bad weather.

I think its a good trip & well worth doing it.

cheers

Steve

Edited March 21, 2009 by nexus

[arpie]

Well done Steve! Great Awoonga Visit! Attention to detail worked for you! Shame about the 'no pics'! Good excuse to go back & do it again!

Cheerio

Roberta