Jewhunter Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 G'day Raiders. Great to to read that the social was such a great day. A couple of good mates of mine headed up from Sydney to fish Awoonga for a week & then Monduran for the 2nd week. I was supposed to head to Awoonga with them but work conspired to end that plan. After moving the many mountains that were thrown at me last week I took off at 3 a.m last Sunday & headed up to Monduran to catch up with them & try to connect to the ledgendary Barra that live there. I arrived at 9 a.m & the boys helped me pitch the tent & we hit the lake. This place is just massive. There were a few reports of barra being caught but by all accounts the fishing was slow due to the cool water temps. We cast our arms off all day for not even a bump. One of the other boats with our group got a couple so a new action plan was made over a few too many beers. There was no point in hitting it early as we had to wait for the water temp to rise as the day got hotter. We headed out again & after a couple of hours the temp finally nudged 25c. Mick got a cattie & the washing up duties for his trouble. We were still hanging it on him when he yells " yep! BARRA!!! His line was just over a tree stump but luckily it did everything right & after a great fight I slipped the net under a Monduran monster. I was gobsmacked. I could barely lift the thing & had to dead lift it by the net frame. A top fish at 103cm's. We were rapt for Mick. He had fished hard for no result in Awoonga & now, after a week of casting, he had his reward. Micks beast taken on a 5" hollowbelly. After seeing the prize we again cast our arms off for not another bite. Bugger. This is hard work! Tuesday was my last day & the boys were busting for me to get a fish. Dan "Bubba" Frost had cracked a 115cm fish at Awoonga the week before. They wanted me in the meter club. We hit all the likely spots & worked our bums off for not a bump again. It looked like it was just not to be. We had a bus booked for 6 p.m to take the 7 of us into town for a night out. We were in a spot were we saw another boat get a fish at the same time the evening before. I was a bit down by 3 p.m so cracked a beer. We made the call to leave at 5.15 p.m. That time comes around & Mick says we'll give it till 20 past. I've just downed my 4th beer at 20 past, gave the "ahh well, last cast ay" call & fired it off. I bounced over a snag, lifted once & felt a bite. I hit it hard straight away in hope & the water erupted as a big barra came out shaking it's head madly. I couldn't believe it! 10 mins later it went into the net with me shaking my head in disbelief. It couldn't have been scripted better. At 105cms it was an awesome fish & I was now in the club! The plastic that did the damage. A customised hollowbelly. So a great result. Alot of casts between fish but every single one of them was worth it. A big thanks to my great mates Mick & Bubba for helping me join the meter club. Cheers, Grant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinksy Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 WOAH NOW THATS A BARRA nice fish and good job that would of given u a hard time! vinksy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young Gun Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 They are some MASSIVE barra!! well done. That would have been great fun. Cheers YG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcel haber Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 Congratulations Grant , You are one very special Raider who deserves the very best. What a great capture ,the grin will be hard to wipe off your face. Bet the went down alot easier that night. Twin 1 Marcel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tide'n'knots Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 my eyes are greener than a calamari at the moment!!! awesome fish grant. - so I gather your not planning to leave gods country and live in sydney again any time soon, you lucky bugger! on a serious note, it couldnt happen to a nicer person. fish of a lifetime! top stuff! pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blood Knot Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 Fantastic fish Grant allways worth that last cast John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray R Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 Congrats Grant on a milestone fish, it looked a beauty. Great read and pics.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rednet Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 WOW thats inspiration for you right there! One day ill go after those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squid hunter Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 thats some serious fish there JH regards Squid Hunter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 (edited) WOW Edited September 16, 2009 by Red Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 Congrats Grant. What a great feeling it must be to nail such a fish on your last cast Cheers Red Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 Now thats what I call a horse,GIDDY UP Well done fellas and I might just have to make a trip up there with the 4 inch bassminnows Cheers Stewy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mondo Rock Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 Great result Grant and congrats on joining the metre + club. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnno Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 Yeah Baby Nothing like a last cast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregL Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 Well done mate crackers! Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Iceman Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 Nice barra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hodgey Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 Fantastic effort, Grant. Congrats on a crackin' fish, and a bloody good trip allround! Cheers Skip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 AWSOME fish, congrats are in order Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewgaffer Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 Well done getting your personal best Barramundi in the last few minutes, Grant... Having a chance of catching top fish like that certainly made the trip up there well worthwhile for your Sydney friends. Cheers jewgaffer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robust Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 Talk about a monster barra.... Mate well done on an awesome catch there. When I used to work in seafood and used buy in barra like that we all would want to carry them and imagined what it would be like to catch. Cheers Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fisherman1994 Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 wow mate they are some amazing barra! would have been briliant fun to catch and all those casts would have certainly been worth it. cheers, JB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewhunter Posted September 22, 2009 Author Share Posted September 22, 2009 Thanks for the kind & warm hearted replies all. Very much appreciated! I've wanted to catch a 1mtr barra for as long as I can remember. I can hardly believe the way it came together. Here's a couple of more pics. Cheers, Grant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mako1 Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 Those barra are huge Congrats Grant on joining the meter club Some great pics too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boban Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 Cracker fish Grant. Are you bending your knees to make the fish look bigger mate. I know someone who does that with lightweight tuna.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
achilles Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 go you eels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now