Barra @ Awoonga

[SwampDog]

G'day fellow fisho's ... I'm a newbie here but like most of you i am a fishoholic and not interested in getting better ;D
I have just returned from Lake Awoonga up near Gladstone Qld where my wife and I had 12 fantastic days fishing and camping 8)
We landed plenty of barra the smallest being 6.2 kg and the best 12.6 kg. We landed 8 and lost many more and. had some great nights in camp chatting and drinking with other fisho's and I can tell yah I wouldn't be dead for quids :P
We fished the edges with shallow divers with good results. I also used a koolabung razorback and was exited with the results. green and red coulors were the go consistantly.
6 hour trip from Brisbane to get Barra is fantastic. If you are into Barra give the place a go ... you won't be disapointed. There is a lot of new water in the lake now so plenty of investergating is needed. The fish are in very good condition. The wife was happy with the place ... clean , friendly and affordable ... the result is she is happy to go there anytime ! ;D
See you on the water ;)
SwamDog

[Scott_Mitchell]

Swampdog:How did you get the majority of your fish - casting or trolling - Did you mainly fish of a day - or night ???

I was up there last month and also had a great trip with the family - can't wait to get back next year ;)

Regards Scotto

[caveman]

been to awonga twice and only caught 2 small ones but as far as the place goes i give it the thumbs up as you said its a great place for every one i will be going back soon as well with the misus

[SwampDog]

Hello Scott & Caveman,
I must be a lazy fisherman or it may have had something to do with the rum :-/ but we never got on the water till about 9 am any day. Many others were on the water early and went crook when we would turn up with fish about 1pm. We fished the first day 20 ft from a clear bank tossing toward the bank while bearly drifting on the wind and had several hook-ups ... 2 fish landed.
Another day, wind stronger, plan of attack was to fish same area but this time had to put the pick down ... toss lures for a while ... no joy ... pull pin and move down the bank 50 foot ... start all over again.
This worked well with one good fish landed. Many follows kept us in area.
Next time out tried trolling in deeper water but still using shallow divers.
Trolled with 30 hp johno at idle ?
others looking at us strange as our speed may have seemed too fast for their taste ... 4 hits later with 2 good fish on board they soon were trolling at same speed :D
Not one day did we fish after dark, others did with some fair results. I was running 30lb braid with one of Harro's snotted dogs, wife 16 lb mono direct tie too lure.What surprised me was cat fish being caught on the lures :o Me being new to lure fishing found the whole experience fantastic ... mind you the only reason we trolled was because my arms were buggered from tossing lures :P All I know is Awoonga is a good spot for a great toss ;D

SwampDog

[caveman]

know the feeling on the sore arms swampy did you catch your self a feed of red claw they taste great

[SwampDog]

Hi Caveman ... No mate I never got any red-claw due to all the new water in the lake ... need to wait for the crays to make new homes :'(
looks like I may do another trip up there in April and have another go.
I recon fish will be jumping in boats on the next full moon ;D
I may have to spend a couple of weeks there ... Oh Bugger ;)

SwampDog

[Bros]

I was interested in your trip to Awoonga Swampdog as I had written it off for this year due to the ratio of water to fish increasing dramatically.
Looks like I will have to check it out.

[SwampDog]

If you have the time and the line Bros I would hit Awoonga over the next couple of months ;D it's the best I have actually ever seen it fish.
For us Brisbane folk ... 6 hours travel to catch a Barra ... that's heaven :D
Might see you on the water 8) I'll be the one with the big grin on his face ;D
SwampDog

[pmartyna]

Hmmmm now you've gone and got me confused. We had been planning a trip to Awoonga from the 23 of March or so for a few days, but from the reports we had heard it was fishing terrible because of all the new water. Mind you maybe getting 1 or 2 barra a day IS terrible for someone used to more.

We had pretty much made up our minds to say screw it and head all the way to Hinchinbrook in hope of some better fishing.

You reckon Awoonga is worth the effort though eh?

The other bugger is I have been using the tackle budget to pick up some serious deep-divers hoping to get them down umongst the snags fast, but you reckon shallow.... A guy can't win! What kind/size of lures were working? Did you try plastics or fly at all?

Cheers,

Can't complain too much when lifes confusion is about where to spend a weeks fishing eh?
http://www.ausfish.com.au/chat/images/smilies/cwm20.gif
Paul

[SwampDog]

OOPs, sorry to confuse the issue on your next location there old mate :-X But the fact is that the new water never put the fish off, just the fishermen ... As always with Barra you have to put some thinking in to getting them ... that said Awwoonga is fishing very well and the fish are in very good condition. I am not a fly fisherman :-/ the bug has not hit me yet. The lures I had most joy with and got me great results were sure catch lures. long barrel type 6 inch shallow divers. best colour was green&orange. because of the new water I cast at the banks and close to timber and trees that were previously out of the water ;) most of the time I was pulling fish out of 6 - 7 ft of water. I also had good results with a Koolabung lure (ridge or rasorback) medium diver green yellow and orange colour. Had so much fun I am back there end of march to hit them again ;D
SwampDog

[caveman]

;) i know they are in there

[big_george]

Is that fitzy holing up a barra wiyh BOGO GRIPS.??? ;D

[big_george]

Is that fitzy holding up a barra with BOGO GRIPS.??? ;D

[SwampDog]

Yep ... well ... that fish in the picture has to be at least 5 kilo hahahahhahah ;D
What a great shot ... I live for days like that " God I love fishing"
I wonder what Paul is thinking looking at that shot :D

[caveman]

:'( :'( :'( the worst thing is that i didnt catch it some guy from tamworth got it, from memory i think it went 19.7kg