Handling and Releasing Large Barra

[A_DIFF_PERSPECTIVE]

Just a quick note on handling large barra that are destined for release. This story originates from a weekend finding. On Saturday I discovered the body of a large barra floating upside down in Awoonga. This was a big barra that had been dead for roughly 48hrs. It was 125-126cm long and had a few distinguishing marks that allowed me to presume that it had been hooked. No lure was evident inside the mouth. I was thinking the fish had been captured by an angler and unfortunately not survived the ordeal. A photo was taken as I dragged the body up the bank and out of the water!
Barra only have a relatively short shelf life once pulled from the water. Time out of water is detrimental to the survival of fish, and usually the bigger the fish, the shorter the time before death occurs, simply because smaller fish can be muscled to the boat a lot quicker and much easier than big fish. Smaller fish usually have more reserved energy and larger fish have pushed themselves to the limit in their bid to escape, making them a very exhausted item once boated. Photographs are always great, and we all like to have quality photographs of our catches. It pays to have camera gear handy and ready to go at all times when fishing for big fish. Hooks need to be removed asap and a super fast tape measurement minimises time out of water. Quick photos are great. Barra should be cradled at all times, their total body weight supported and evenly distributed between hands/arms, etc. Have a good game plan and do everything quickly, remembering that time is critical. 2 minutes out of water is a long time. Stress can kill barra, and sometimes regardless of what we do, a barra can die from being caught. This is not common, but it can happen. If a fish of a lifetime is captured and self timing equipment needs to be utlisied to capture a good photo, maybe the option of a photograph could be canned. If a photo is really needed, maybe the fish should be left to swim in the water on the hooks, or a fine cord tied attached to the fish via the mouth so it can freely swim and recover and continue to draw oxygen into its system until the time the fish is ready to be photographed. Wet decks and wet hands and arms help minimise stress to a barra's slime coating.
Unfortunately some fish die and we all feel sad and helpless if this happens. Barra that swim off can often float back to the surface in a short time where they float helplessly on the surface and get blown with the wind quite considerable distances for days until they either recover or in most cases die. With conversation with a fellow Awoonga fisherman and Ausfisher, it was finalised that the same barra found on saturday, 2 miles down wind from its capture point was the whopper, 125 cm caught by Brad (Wotknot, i think) one week earlier. Certain distinguishing marks and features found on the head, face of the barra matched with Brad's description of his big fish!
Unfortunate as these losses are, we still can do our best to maximise a barra's chances of survival.
Check out the scales off Brad's whopper 125cm.
Regards,
Johnny M

[Awoonga]

John...l cant add anything more. :-[ :-[ :-[... At the M&G one of the topics that will be discussed will be releasing your fish...l found too many fish last season dead.... :'( :'(

[warrior]

you hit the nail on the head diff perspective,i think wih the excitement of catching that fish of a life time goes with too many shots with the camera,trying to get it out of the net ,stumbling around for the right place to take the shot,it all adds up to a lot of time for the fish to be out of the water.we leave the fish in the net in the water only handling them for a short time if pictures are taken,hoping this gives them a better chance of survival.we too found a few floating in peter faust last chrissy.

[SULLY73]

JOHNNY,THANKS FOR REPLY..CHECKED TIMES ON PHOTOS & I HAD THAT FISH OUT OF THE WATER FOR NEARLY 5 MINS WHICH WAS OBVIOUSLY TO LONG ESPECIALLY ON A FISH THAT WAS ALREADY EXHAUSTED.WOULDN'T HAVE THOUGHT IT WAS THAT LONG BUT IT GOES PRETTY FAST.JUST HAVE TO MAKE A POINT OF PUTTING MY EXCITEMENT ASIDE & BEING AS QUICK AS POSSIBLE TO GET EM BACK IN.
SPOKE TO AWOONGA THE OTHER DAY AFTER U CONTACTED ME & HE BASICALLY MENTIONED THE EXACT SAME POINTS AS U OUTLINED ABOVE.IT IS EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTING WHEN A FISH DOESN'T SURVIVE BUT HOPEFULLY BY TAKING THESE POINTS ON BOARD IT CAN BE A ABSOLUTE RARITY IN FUTURE.
THANKS AGAIN,
BRAD.

ATTACHED PHOTO OF THAT TEAR RH CHEEK.

[PG]

I didn't see mention of how to lift a Barra that big into a boat. I have heard in the past of how lifting a big fish like that by the jaw or gills, could quite easily dislocate or even damage the vertebrae of the neck, essentially paralising the fish. I remember a while ago a lot of hooha in the local paper after a picture was in the newspaper of someone holding a 120cm + barra by the head to get a pic taken.
I have only seen people holding fish in their photographs on this site, and it's always been supporting the fish well, but getting the suckers into the boat must be one hell of an effort.
Any good tips on getting a fish that size into the boat safely, so that I know how to do it WHEN I get one ;)

[SULLY73]

I USE THE LARGE ENVIRONET & I THINK THEY HAVE JUST RELEASED A EVEN LARGER ONE.PROTECTS FISH & ANGLER.

CHEERS,
BRAD.

[A_DIFF_PERSPECTIVE]

Mesh net landing nets are great, enviro nets even better. Always net a barra if you can, or simply remove the hooks in the water if practicle. I don't use a net, but I will in the future with further guided trips. When bigger barra come to within netting distance, they are usually exhausted and spent. Equally quick and effective is a form of the comfort lift. Low sided boats allow this method to be performed much easier than high sided boats as 15-20 kg is an awkward weight to shift considering the angles involved from our own bodies and the movements of select muscle groups. A quick wrap of the leader around one hand controls your fish while your other hand or arm slides under the centre of the barra while it lays on its side. The weight of the fish is balanced on your hand or forearm while the other hand with the leader is used to help hold the fish central via a gentle forward pulling action. Two hands could be used to balance and lift the fish in(without holding the leader), but the points of balance on a barra will see the most foward hand in a dangerous position near the barramundi's sharp gill cutters and gill and cheek spikes. Blood will be drawn if the fish kicks. Never should a fish be held only by the mouth and it should never have much body weight suspending from the head/mouth area. Boaga Grips don't excite me much, but in educated hands they are fine tools. I have heard stories of barra/cod/yellowbelly/queenfish/trevally/jew etc that swim off with boaga grips still attached!! A Most certain Death. I've also seen pictures in mags of boaga grips on fish and the severe positions and stresses on the neck and mouth are evident. One kick from a fish and i'm certain damage would be more likely as when compared to the soft and supple hands/fingers and flexibility of human joints to absorb a lot of the shock/impact. The weight of a fish needs to be distributed on as large a surface area as possible with minimal weight( if any) on the front end of a fish. The front hand that holds a barra simply offers a safety hold that is also used as an aid in supporting and the centralisation of the barra for a photo etc.
Water movement in a lake is minimal as compared to a river or ocean scene. Once barra are placed back in the lake, they need a slight and gentle forward motion to force water through their gills so they can again begin to absorb oxygen from the water. Quite often barra won't bite and kick like their fit and athletic salt water cousins, so they need to be pushed in a forward direction and released ASAP. They are very unfit animals. The quicker they are back in the water, the better off they are. Auto pilot electrics(for single operators) help produce a steady stream of running water to help with water circulation and therefore oxygen flow.
I'll post a pic when i find one of a comfort lift without a landing net to further my description.
Johnny M
Lake Awoonga
Feedback and comments welcome.

[PG]

WOW, that was almost a two rum read ! Thanks Johnny.
Can anyone post a picture of an enviro net please?
I had thought of making myself a sling to lift fish into the boat because I would only have need for it a few times per year IF at all.
If I make the sling I'll post a pic up for you all to see. My thought was to make it from a hessian bag with broom handle side rails and a hole cut out of the front corner to let the fish's head poke through thus not having the lure rest up against it's eye/head while being restrained.

[Needmorerum]

The way I'm going at the dam, I'd need the sling to lift me back in the boat.

Very good descriptions there Johnny, both posts. Against my better judgement, I am going to persevere with this bloody dam and catch me something that will need the use of my environet.
Paul, if a piccy isn't up tomorrow, I'll take one of mine and put it up, but they are just a landing net made of a combination of vinyl and mesh, they're in every tackle shop, good excuse to go and have a look. You need to bring the fish to the net, as they are difficult to move in the water and you cannot scoop with them, so I've been told, he he.

Corry