The Other side of Awoonga

[vet]

G'day Nagg, Why is an impoundment barra not a wild fish. I fish the dam most days and I haven't seen anyone feeding these tame barra. As far as I can see they are bred in a hatchery, released into the dam where they have to fend for themselves. A fair proportion of the "wild" barra around here are bred in the same hatchery, released into freshwater billabongs and creeks then when it floods they get washed down to the salt, I don't see how this makes them any more wild than his brother or sister that has been released into a dam instead. Can anyone point out what I am missing here? cheers scott

[Peter4]

I've been there 5 times........... and I haven't caught these catfish you speak of.

let alone Barra.

Josh

Looks suspiciously like a barra you are holding in your avatar!

Pete

[A_DIFF_PERSPECTIVE]

Scott,
The dam barra are released and yes they have to fend for themselves in a locality that is quite ‘softly padded’ when compared to the ‘wild unlocked standards’ such as the salt reaches where things can and do bite barra in half.
The new arrival of a barra washed down from a freshwater pond/lake enters a totally new environment with a strong tidal influence that forces the new barra to become elite, super alert, extremely motivated and the word ‘fitness’ takes on a whole new meaning with that word ‘survival’ taking over. A lake barra is wrapped in cotton wool when compared to the elite hyper fish of the salt.
An extremely small portion of the salt barra in our region are bred in captivity, the rest are from years of breeding dating back well before my grand parents time. Fish in our salt regions date well back and beyond any time I ever picked up a rod and a lure. Hundreds of years have helped form a superior fish. The barra from the sea become a volatile creature capable of packing a mean punch equal to that of any street fighting environment. Barra adjust to the situation and from just a small change from fresh to salt they become a totally different animal capable of so much more than any lake barra would dream of………but only if an angler applies firm pressure as an opposing force! It’s like a direct injection of steroids on entry into the sea! Take a look at the barra’s natural body design of heavy scales, gill spikes, cutting serrations, fin spikes, strong body and heavy set tail. It is not designed for a soft lake environment lake; it is purposefully designed for mature fish in a nomadic lifestyle to operate if and when required as individuals in a ‘do or die’ harsh, ruggered open water environment. Lake barramundi are a restricted fish, held back because of human intervention. Chalk and cheese in pulling power! The salt is a superior fish in fight and overall growth size with salt fish outgrowing lake fish by a country mile. Lake barra may destroy a bit of terminal gear but you will get a rude shock when you tangle with large numbers of metre plus salt barra. Mike Tyson’s name could be added as the salty’s Barra tag.
Scott,
This is the reason many people favour salt ‘wild’ barra fisheries. Both land locked and open salt environments offer degrees of variance in fishery operation. With less barra per hectare in a massive linked ocean, the game of sourcing metre plus salt barra brings on a whole new perception to landlocked fish.
Let it flood and let barra become barra.
Regards,
Johnny Mitchell

[Steve B]

Yeah, True words Trevor and well said. As are all the replys. I have been in foxies shop when tourists have said "my local tackle shop in sydney or bris reckons they are slaying them on purple 6inch bionic geckos etc ect" , got to laugh at some of the crap they are fed and SOLD!

Local knowledge goes a long way.....apparently

In saying that....
last 3 trips to monduran ZERO!!! for 1000 casts


Foxie, did you nearly have a fire sale the other day?? lucky lucky lucky from what I hear! If so, save me some purple 6 inch bionic geckos.


steve

[the_matrix]

Chalk and cheese in pulling power! The salt is a superior fish in fight and overall growth size with salt fish outgrowing lake fish by a country mile. Lake barra may destroy a bit of terminal gear but you will get a rude shock when you tangle with large numbers of metre plus salt barra. Mike Tyson’s name could be added as the salty’s Barra tag.

Not a truer word spoken JM, saltwater metreys are DEMONS.
Take your dam gear in the salt (50lb braid, Curado and Barra stick),and you will come home with your tail between your legs and your ego bruised.
Its why I now use a Shimano trinidad 16dc loaded with 80lb braid and a millerod designed for black bass, cause I was sick of getting my butt kicked!
Salt Barra are wicked wicked fish with attitude to match, and honestly dam barra are no match for them.
Cheers
Jas

[gladbream]

i have only had the opportunity to tangle with a few little chick's out at the dam, but i witnessed and grown fish in the salt environment and they completely flog the freshwater grown animals in the wild in growth rates. i have fished many freshwater (wildies) along northern queensland and i still maintain that a barra caught in slat is much more stubborn (well my bream gear is little under gunned), and toey. heaps in the harbour in few spots at the moment but havent targeted. one ate a whole bream the other arvo.

cheers
kh

[flairj]

Looks suspiciously like a barra you are holding in your avatar!

Pete

That Barra was a salty out of the Fitzroy river in Rockhampton. I have no worries catching saltwater fish of any sort. Put me in any estuary system, let me loose and I will find some good fish but put me in ant freshwater and I'll choke like toy dog with a chicken bone.

I don't know what it is but I'm hoping to shirk it when I move close to Monduran next week.

Josh

[gladbream]

gotta love those awoonga catties. i might start a guiding business chasin catties in there. johny, jas an other regulars have this joint pretty well down pat. i will just keep putting them in there for them to enjoy, leaving more catties for me (sounds like i need a violin).

cheers
krutch

[vet]

It's good to hear from you Johnny, My point is simply about using wild in it's right context. I don't think a salt water barra is any more wild than a fresh water barra. Yes, saltwater barra fight harder, live a harder more dangerous life and are perfectly adapted for this lifestyle, but is this the definition of wild. I think these are the differences between saltwater and freshwater fish but I don't think it defines one as wild and the other as domesticated. A wild animal doesn't recieve any help or input from mankind. By this definition a dam barra and a salt water barra are both wild.

I agree with you totally that they are two totally different animals, I just think "salt" is a better adjective to use instead of "wild" when referring to barra.

I don't understand why you think I would get a rude shock if I tangled with large numbers of metre plus saltwater barra. I was raised in Mackay and my whole family have almost exclusively fished for saltwater barra for generations, every weekend while I grew up was spent fishing for saltwater barra, then I went over and fished in the pilbara and kimberlies for saltwater barra for 5 years before I moved back here. I have caught thousands of saltwater barra. Just because I choose not to do it around Gladstone doesn't mean I haven't experienced it.
Kind Regards, Scott.

[Barraboy7]

Vet
Without wanting to split hairs, I would definitely class salty barra as "wild" in comparison to dam barra. Whereas dam fish don't come up to be fed like a trout in a farm, they are in many ways a "hybrid" by function, range and breeding restriction. It cannot fulfil the ebb and flow of a wild barras life of breeding, migration between salt and fresh and even being landlocked for some time in a lagoon, waiting for the next wet season.
That takes nothing away from them of course, they are truly magnificent fish and thats why we all love to catch them.

To me wild also speaks mainly of where salty fish live, and where we get to fish for them. I can never quite feel I'm "in the wild" when on a man made dam, a huge concrete wall, with very little green tree lined edges/shores. Boats flying in all directions, trying to chase a fish which is except for some extreme circumstance, a captive, unable to breed.

But walk along on a paperbark lined Wenlock River, fresh water stream up north, or sneak along a mangrove lined bank in a tinny, then your in the wild!
Like a lot of contributors thats where we cut our teeth on barra, and to get one of those streamlined yellow finned babies is just awesome.

To me they are truly wild fish, but hey, I am happy to get into the dam barra, its an awesome fishery, just a shame the natural populations have been so decimated by over fishing with nets, pros and the like. Lets hope the breather afforded to the wild barra will see them greatly increase in numbers again.
Cheers
Barraboy7