Awoonga filming

[BigChiefBarra]

Mate saw Jason Wilhelm & tag along film crew up the dam yesterday.

Looked like Jas only had fly gear by the report.

Jas, whats up, who's filming, do you hook-up, where can we see it ??????

Cheers

[the_matrix]

Yeh mate, filmed a segment for the Fishing DVD by Offshore productions, probably wont be released until early new year. (FDVD#10 I think.)
Had Peter Morse up, well known and respected fly angler.
In difficult clear conditions with many dead metre plus fish in the shallows, we nailed a swag of fish (8 fish all up) to 92cm on 10kg tippet.
Unf the metreys didnt want to play ball on fly, sort of expected in such clear water. We had a few chances, one fish about 115cm swam up and sat the fly on its nose then swam off.
Them the breaks.
Had fun, the segment should help anyone wishing to have a crack at impoundment Barra on fly.
Cheers
JW

[barkers creek]

i was talkigt o my neigboure and he said sumthingh bout being int that ....matt branthwait??
sounds like alot of fun

[Plastic_Magic]

Sounds like fun alright. Thats a good sesh alright. Was out the dam on wedneday and the barra did not want to play the game. The fish were everywere around the boat and hitting our lures but they did not seem to want to take the lure. Tried all different techniques but they were only interesed in the soft plastics. By the end of the sesh we got 20 hits but they did not want to take the lures. Yeh i am interested in starting fly fishing in the inpoundments for barra and just wodering if anyone could point me in the right direction for what is good enough equipment for this.

Cheers Plastic_Magic

[the_matrix]

i was talkigt o my neigboure and he said sumthingh bout being int that ....matt branthwait??
sounds like alot of fun
Nope, dont know anything about that.
Jas

[black_sheep]

Jas,

Hope all is well?

I heard a report from over the weekend that Awoonga has now been affected by the cold and large numbers of barra floating around the edges.

You mentioned dead barra in your post but is it as bad as other impoundments or are the numbers pretty low still i.e. are we talkin a few, dozens, hundreds???

Cheers,
Navi

[the_matrix]

G'Day Navi,
Unfortunatley the cold snap that hit us back in late June speared the core water temp of Awoonga. At its worst the water temp was down to 16.1 degree's.
It still has not recovered, and seems very lazy to do so, even with good ambient air temps we are getting right now. The temp has come up a few degrees since but still hovering around 18.5 to 19.5.
A sensational high pressure system has been sitting over us has been great, however night temps are still falling below 14 degree's.
Ive seen a very slight rise in water temps over the past two weeks, but not enough to start getting excited.
We are talking in the hundreds, many over 120cm, some floating, some on the bottom.
Ive been to every corner of the dam in the past week, from the top of the Boyne, to the top of Iveragh. There are dead Barra in all of these parts, and worse still there are MANY thousands on the VERY edge.
One more cold snap and Awoonga will be devastated.
Most are metre plus fish, the smaller fish seem to be coping ok.
The fish are utilising the shallow edges as a sort of hospital. They are uncatchable, and are very sick. Some very sunburned.
Heartbreaking to see, but fish kills occur in the natural environment, and are caused by weather variables so we are just going to have to live with it.
I see no reason to change any aspect of any stocking groups efforts, in fact, I reckon ramp it up. The more the better everywhere.
Fingers crossed, the water temps come up real soon and the fish can get on and recover.
Fishing is very tough, as you would expect, and the water clarity has to be seen to be believed.
Cheers
Jas

[black_sheep]

Thanks for the update Jas, even though it's a grim one. Unfortunately, I won't be up there until late October so won't get to see the devastation first hand but fingers crossed, we seen the worst of it!

I guess when the dam has been strocked with millions, it should handle a few hundred dying without too much impact on the fishery but as you say 'bring on the stocking'.

Why do you think they moving into the shallows???

Is it purely because of the warmer water?? Unless waves are crashing the banks, wouldn't the shallows be less oxygenated?? and therefore bigger fish would struggle more in the shallows??

Also Jas, what's the go with the ramp??? If we don't get much rain, will it still be usable in October???

Cheers mate and take care.

[Fitzy]

Hi Folks,
Have just got back from Awoonga, posted a few pics & quick report here

http://sweetwaterfishing.com.au/Chat/YaBB.pl?num=1186993064 (http://sweetwaterfishing.com.au/Chat/YaBB.pl?num=1186993064)


Agree with much of Jasons comments....


Cheers,

Fitzy..

[Mudguard 92]

Thanks for the update Jas, even though it's a grim one. Unfortunately, I won't be up there until late October so won't get to see the devastation first hand but fingers crossed, we seen the worst of it!

I guess when the dam has been strocked with millions, it should handle a few hundred dying without too much impact on the fishery but as you say 'bring on the stocking'.

Why do you think they moving into the shallows???

Is it purely because of the warmer water?? Unless waves are crashing the banks, wouldn't the shallows be less oxygenated?? and therefore bigger fish would struggle more in the shallows??

Also Jas, what's the go with the ramp??? If we don't get much rain, will it still be usable in October???

Cheers mate and take care.
Hmm i dont know if the ramp will be still usable in October. The water is lapping on the last of the concrete ramp, right on the end of it. There has been some gravel dumped at the end of it which made things a bit more easier, but there is still a drop from the ramp to the gravel, not much i would say 200mm at the most... It is pretty shallow out from the ramp for a fair distance, so if the water drops, the distance of the gap between the ramp and water will increase pretty fast i think. But no doubt they will do something to fix her up, wether it be lay more ramp or put down more gravel.

James

[the_matrix]

Navi,
The old ramp will probably come into play by then, its still underwater.
No use putting gravel at the end of the current ramp, have a look where it ended up after ONE day.

The fish are moving into the shallows for warmth, however, I have noticed over the past 3 weeks there is nowhere near the numbers that were there initially. There were thousands a few weeks back.
Probably being spooked by boats etc, some just cant help themselves though and wont move. It really is a sad sight to see such big fish in a predicament like that.
Those big fish have reserves to carry them through tough times like this, food is not a consideration.
That is why most of the fish we have been encountering have been under a metre in length. Smaller guys need food, therefore are able to be caught.
How the fish recover from large patches of sunburn and sores is anyones guess.......time will tell.
Without a D.O probe I cant tell exactly what the dissolved oxygen levels are like, but with weed and life on the fringes, I'd expect it to be the least of those big Barra's problems.
Its been supporting many fish for a sustained period, I believe the cold is still the devil at play for now.
Cheers
JW

[aaron_gilmour]

Sorry to hear Awoonga is losing fish in the way it is:'( Seeing those pics posted on Fitzy's site is a real eye opener and the water seems super clear compared to Monduran and prossy that i have fished in the last 3 weeks.

On a brighter note Jas , the footage you shot with peter will be great veiwing with that awesome water clarity. i hope to see some great strikes on the fly;D

Cheers

Aaron

lets all pray for warm weather espeacially at night and not see cold weather for another 10 months!

[the_matrix]

Aaron, should be some great stuff, esp the underwater stuff.

As Fitzy stated the dam has had millions stocked, so a few hundred is a drop in the ocean.
Its certainly not all doom and gloom, and has not been hit as hard as some of the other impoundments.
The good thing to come out of all this is that a few of us got to get a real gauge of whats in the fishery. A few weeks ago it was completley nuts in the shallows.
All I can say is WOW:o :o

Anyone who reckons there are no metreys left in Awoonga needs their head examined.:P ;D
Jas

[black_sheep]

Thanks for the update Jas and James.

Weather seems to be getting warmer everyday so hopefully we've seen the worst of it. All we need now is a bit of rain!!

I look forward to seeing the dvd - will keep an eye out for it and will also PM you Jas in Oct to see if have time to catch up. Big Ren (Paul) will be joining me on this trip and I believe you have had a few discussions with him lately, so would be nice to catch up and thank you personally if you have time.

Good to hear that we will have somewhere to launch in Oct although if we don't get rain, I can probably walk the banks;D ;D

Jas - looking at a dedicated SP barra rod. Would you still recommend the High Roller???? or are there other rods that you a trialing?

[the_matrix]

Navi,
Yeh spoke to Paul via email recently, October will be a bit crazy due to commitments but hopefully at the very least be able to catch up for a beer. Send me a PM with the dates when you get a chance eh?

Rod for plastics eh? Sheesh you know Im a sucker for the good stuff when it comes to rods, and you guys have already got the best you can get when it comes to impoundment Barra rods.
Well.......I do have a rod that is specifically designed for plastics and Barra, and I think Barra (Ian) will add it to the camoufish range but its way more customised and labour intensive than say, the high roller. Similar price I think though.
Its basically a cut down bream blank, and its known as a camoufish Blademaster XXH.
Specs are, 7 feet long, 6-12kg, spiral wrap, titanium SIC guides.
Wicked rod, soft tip, gutsy butt..............you get the drift typical Millerod.
It is purpose built for plastics, so it really has no cross over applications.
More than happy to show you guys when you come up in October, I have the only one.
If your super keen that would be the one, but it also depends on your budget.
Plenty of other great rods on the market that do a bloody good job also, for less than half the price.
Cheers
Jas

[on holidays]

Well that was an effort to log on. I'm up from brissy chilling out with no work for two weeks. It feels great. Staying in Gladstone with friends. Went out with the mates mates to Awoonga most days in the last week. What a place. We saw the fly fishin mob 3 or 4 days in a row filmin the dvd. Was that 8 fish in one session or for the many days spent filming. I think we saw them maybe for 3 or4 days in a row with cameras rolling. How long does it take to make a dvd. It would be fun. We never caught any barra but had fun trying to. We also saw many big fast barra in the shallows. Looked like dozens in some places. They look big swimming. My mates also have an awesome barra dvd at their home. They don't stop watching it since they bought it at Awoonga. Its unreal. Apparantly it was made by a local fisherman who fishes their all the time. Johnny?? Its a wicked movie. best I've ever seen. Anyway, its a magic place you have here. We'll try again tomorrow. Love those barra photos of the barra in the weeds. This place rocks. Home next week to my own pc. Might have photographs if I'm lucky.
Bruce

[the_matrix]

What a place. We saw the fly fishin mob 3 or 4 days in a row filmin the dvd. Was that 8 fish in one session or for the many days spent filming. I think we saw them maybe for 3 or4 days in a row with cameras rolling. How long does it take to make a dvd.
Sounds like you enjoy taking the piss too eh Bruce?
Ask Johnny M how long it takes to make a DVD, maybe a year plus?
Yes we filmed for 3 and a half days. 5 of those 8 fish came in the first couple of hours of day one, where it was just fishing. Next day was boat shots running shots etc, and a 92cm Barra, 3rd day talking, boat to boat etc etc half day was wrap up.
You may notice that in a dvd its not just fishing. There are voice overs, scenic shots, boat shots, running shots, boat to boat, interviews explaining whats happening etc etc etc.
In 3 "days" of filming there is probably 6-8 hours of just fishing. It all depends on the light, where the sun is, cloud cover etc.
Does that answer your questions Bruce on holidays?
JW

[Big_Ren]

Navi,
Well.......I do have a rod that is specifically designed for plastics and Barra, and I think Barra (Ian) will add it to the camoufish range but its way more customised and labour intensive than say, the high roller. Similar price I think though.
Its basically a cut down bream blank, and its known as a camoufish Blademaster XXH.

More than happy to show you guys when you come up in October, I have the only one.
If your super keen that would be the one, but it also depends on your budget.
Cheers
Jas

Bloody hell Jas, now I gotta get myself another stick;D Running out of secret garage spots to hide them from the wife:-X Maybe you need the extra space too with the twins coming along so, generous as I am, I'm only too happy to swap you a few beers for your Blademaster Jas....it's second hand now right;)

Look forward to hopefully catching up in October for that beer. Good luck with the twins mate.

Navi.....no more tackle talk mate...you're driving me broke:o

Cheers
Paul

[black_sheep]

Thanks Jas,

Will probably hold off until late this year or early next before I look at one so if we get to catch up in Oct, I would love to check out your rod - Blademaster that is::)

or I will just check it out when Paul recieves it :-X

Dates for Oct are 20-30/10/07 and we will be staying at Greenacres - was too late to get accom at Gateway:'(

ANyway - definitely look forward to that coldie if you can spare time. All the best with the twins too mate.

[Big_Ren]

Thanks Jas,



Dates for Oct are 20-30/10/07 and we will be staying at Greenacres - was too late to get accom at Gateway:'(




Willowgrove mate:-[

[cy_taylor1]

Thanks for the great report on Awoonga Fitzy.

The ES Drive looks like an awesome barra lure. Got to get some!

It's slowly warming up at Faust (21 - 22 degrees) so Awoonga should warm up soon.

Bruce, are you talking about Johnny's Fish Awoonga DVD? We also have it and it is awesome!

We watch it all of the time and we still learn new stuff each time we watch it!

Cy and Kerrin Taylor
Whitsundays QLD

[the_matrix]

G'Day Paul,
Lucky my wife does not read any of this otherwise the full range of Camoufish would be in ya garage.....................Ive got crap everywhere!;D ;D
Yep see you guys in a few months, ya might time it just right to wet the babys heads;D
Catch ya's both soon.
Jas

[SeekingBarradise]

Hi guys isn't it great to have excellent local barra fisho's based in Qld putting out DVD's so we can all learn! Even better it's given the opportunity for more people to have careers involved in fishing - how good is that.

Can't wait for the new one jas.

Have watched Johnny's Fish Awoonga 7 times this week (breakfast) and we loved it - awesome dvd -having barra fishing withdrawls already. Atleast now we can learn more sitting on the sofa!!!

The more different styles of dvd's/writing on barra the better we say.
Well done to both of you = keep the DVD's coming guys as they help everyone.

Cheers Lyndon & Kel

[black_sheep]

Jas,

I reckon a barra will wet your bubs heads before any priest!!! Surprised you haven't worked out how to strap baby seats into the Skeeter!;D ;D or have you:o

Tight Lines mate.