2008 Australia Day Barra trip to Lake Awoonga
We have been busy so it’s taken a while to get our trip report posted. It was a great trip with lots of fun & Aussie Spirit so we just had to post it. We hope everyone has fun in the outdoors this Easter. If you don’t like long reports, feel free to read Wom –Mans No Idea!!!! instead.
Happy Easter.
Day 1 Friday: Kel got home from work and we left Brisbane around 5.30pm Friday on our way up to a friends place at Miriam vale which is around 50km’s from Lake Awoonga. Traffic was great on the inner city bypass and on Kingsford Smith Drive, however when we get going on the Gateway Motorway as usual it was horrendous and unable to cope with Brisbane’s north side traffic anymore. It took over 2 hours just to pass Morayfield – that’s slow as a good runner could have nearly beaten us there on foot! The north side of Brisbane is in dire need of a highway like the M1 which goes from Brisbane to the Gold Coast quickly. On Sundays if you dare to venture in to Brisbane after 4pm you are in first gear at Morafield (50km out) which is Crazy stuff – avoid these times like the plague.
Saturday – Australia Day: We went around to the local Miriam vale Aussie Day celebrations and presentations where everyone was in the spirit dressing up in Aussie gear. We saw a lady in her 60’s get an Australia Day Award for services to the local golf club which she was as proud as punch to receive. Her fellow golfing partners entered her for the Aussie Day awards without her knowing. How good is that!!!! We moseyed down the road and set up camp at the Awoonga Caravan Park. On a side note, it was great to see Aussie flags on cars all the way up to Awoonga & kids & adults running around in Aussie gear.
The Fishing: Missed Barra 1: We got out for a short session on Sat arvo with one big strike and run however the hook on the squidgy straightened – damn!!! & the Barra won that battle. No other fish for the session and we motored home on sunset enjoying the outdoors and had our feet up back at camp with a cold drink watching the sun set on Awoonga – how good is that? We never get sick of a sunset in the great outdoors. We didn’t want to fish all night for the sake of saying “we got one”. We had a great night catching up with friends around the Traditional Aussie Campfire and wouldn’t trade those nights with friends for any amount of fish.
Sunday: We slept in and had a relaxing breakfast in paradise; however we had to keep a close eye on the very smart and agile local kookaburras as they also liked what was on the menu which was a hot brekkie. The birds had 2 main strategies: 1. Just do a kamakazi dive bomb on to the hot plate and start eating anything in site. 2. Then there was the hit and run approach where they would get a runup & try and grab a peace of bacon off the plate while on the wing – talk about persistent!!!
It was a hot day already and we thought we might look like cooked rock lobsters by the end of this stinker, especially if we didn’t crack out a double coat of sun cream!
We had a slow Sunday BBQ Breakfast and put our feet up for a couple of hours relaxing as we see enough people rushing about for no reason in the city, we just wanted to take things easy on our trip and enjoy the serenity. We took to the water after 10am and set up on a spot we thought just had to hold fish. Soon after we had a good bite but the hooks didn’t set after the Barra went through some weed.
We had to move spots because of idiots: This section was much longer but we shortened it because we don’t believe the idiots on the water even take the time to read much – especially about boating respect on the water and to your fellow Aussie in general. Nearly everyone on Ausfish knows the rules and respects others so all we can do is try and get the message out when all of us travel to dams or have a social chat to tackle shops etc.
Anyway this one guy who was drifting for about 2km with his electric etc kept motoring back to us within a casts distance. As many of you know the Awoonga main basin is a pretty large expanse – so he could have kept well away as we were under anchor & had made a decision to work this spot.
But no – every 30 mins he was back getting closer and closer because several times kel managed to catch a Barra just as he was motoring back, much to his frustration. It was the only time we are on the dam praying not to catch fish so he didn’t see it ha. This guy didn’t get a wave – only when he finally left for the day. This same guy was seen following a guide on the water the day before which is also way out of line. He was getting way too close there as well.
Another trend on the wknd was interesting. Many boaties motored right from the ramp and came way to close to a few anchored/boats under electric power – just to check out what was going on – then they proceeded to motor over everyone’s fishing grounds & hammer off to the other end of the dam..
This is Crazy stuff. We call this One Boat – 2 Boat = then there were 5 etc.
Last but not least we had a couple that kept doing circles around us and our fishing grounds with a noisy old motor. They 2 couldn’t read body language – a trend that can get you in trouble.
Serenity Now!!!!!!! Try and stay 1000m away from anyone on the water if you can. If you said stay 100m away the mob listed above would stay about 10m away from you – so the rule for the less considerate might have to be 1000m+ to get the message across. We will be telling people to stay a K away in future. If it’s a narrow area – fair enough but be quiet etc or be kind to people and electric past if you can – say “Gday mate” and maybe have a yarn about fishing etc. Sorry to print the less than positive stuff, but it just had to be told. Happy fishing.
Back to the Fishing: After all this we finally got a bit of serenity with only one boat coming up to fish the same spot as us every 30 mins. We were running blind today as I forgot the sounder, (pushups) even after a relaxing breakfast. We worked the edges of an island with plastics/hard bodies and every 30 mins or so we had a nudge/bite or hook up. Missed Barra 2: The first bite came after 30-40 minutes and after we rotated the strike so to speak e.g. swapping sides after working one area with one lure/plastic then swapping sides on the boat to put another presentation in front of the Fishies.
A Great Aussie Sunday
The weather was calm and the lake looked amazing – the water was like glass.
Barra 1: First Kel got a hit and bang she was on after a quick strike. Short work was made of the nice 70cm Barra with measuring Mats splashed with water, the Barra measured – quick photo’s taken & it was released as quickly as possible & powered off on release. One up for team girl power.
Missed Barra 3:Settling in to a nice days casting I was retrieving a plastic while dreaming about nothing in particular – then tap – strike – too slow – damn. Lesson learnt – wake up and sharpen those reflexes you idiot!! Checked the leader – yep chafe marks were present – immediately cranked out the penalty of 50 pushups for being too slow.
Barra 2: Next it was the boys turn with Lyndon getting his plastic hit with a BANG. This Barra was a little bigger and ran a lot more as it was in prime condition and came in at 90cm. It was caught on a Kokoda plastic bought on sale and was hooked in the corner of the lip. The score was now 1 All.
Missed Barra 4: In the middle of a slow wind back to the boat– tap – strike – damn missed Barra – checked the leader & there were no marks so we might have been a little unlucky on this one.
Barra 3: The day was stinking hot around mid arvo and without a bimini it felt like we were standing on a giant BBQ Hotplate. We had to jump in the water for the first time to cool off from what was now “angry heat”. After a refreshing swim we had no touches for 30 mins and we swapped casting sides then Bang Kel was on again – the fight was longer and after a few runs and rod bending antics a nice 80cm Barra was on the boat and released in quick time. Girl power leading 2-1
Barra 4: Another 30mins passed and Kel was on again with a massive stike smashing a 90lb snap in half and took the whole rig of plastic and jig head. While I was looking at the remains of the snap Kel picked up my rod for a cast and bang she was on (lady luck). This fish did a couple of laps around the boat and decided to go a bit close to the prop….. We thought it was going to snap the line but kel just managed to get the rod deep enough in the water to manoeuvre the Barra away to safer water. This feisty Barra was landed on a Bozo soft plastic and again caught in the corner of the lip.
Girl Power leading 3-1. Back to loop knots for the arvo session.
Missed Barra 5&6: The fish that took the whole rig with it, and we had another little tap on a plastic leaving no chaffing.
Barra 5: It was late afternoon and the sky looked fantastic with high cirrus cloud above a storm front coming through from the west pushing mountains of Cumulus that were building in the afternoon heat. It’s a pleasure to be on the water anywhere when a typical stinking hot Aussie day ends in a shower. Colours in the late afternoon are usually awesome for those who love photography or just watching a sunset. We soaked it all in – you could call it Aussie meditation!!!
We didn’t’ get any bites for awhile so we had a snack & cuppa or as we call it, Afternoon High Tea & Coffee. We put the feet up and enjoyed our surroundings – especially the storms passing to the north and south. After High Tea we put in a couple of casts then bang I was on to a good Barra. It took off and the fight was enjoyable as we already had enough fish to be very happy campers. This nice 95cm barra was caught on a Bozo in the corner of the lip & we were lucky to catch this barra as the new squidgy hook had straightened as well. Girl power leading 3-2.
Awoonga Mangrove Jack: It was getting late in the arvo with sunset painting the storm clouds pink – it was awesome being on the water at this time and made for some great photo’s. Kel even managed to have rainbows appear in perfect timing with a Barra capture which made for a great photo. I was casting a plastic my brother gave me – I wouldn’t have a clue what it was but it had a nice paddle tail action and looked the goods. Still in the same spot we anchored on all day, we were finishing up for the day when I was on – BANG it was like a shotgun blast – a real big hit and it felt just like one of those 90+ cm Barra I had caught earlier. A couple of good solid runs and I was able to get more control of what I thought was a nice barra. Then I started to see RED – In the water that is and as the fish got closer I said “bloody hell, it’s a Mangrove Jack”. To say we were over the moon would be an understatement. We couldn’t believe it wow what a magnificent site. Its eyes were watching us as we carefully handled the rare impoundment jack. Compared to the Barra we caught that day the Mangrove Jack seemed to be much more alert to us on the boat and its eyes were massive and always seemed to be focused on us. We love freshwater fishing and it was a special moment for us as we both joined the rare impoundment 50cm+ Mangrove Jack & 100cm+ Barra double club. As we got back to camp we were greeted with an amazing lightening show off in the distant ranges so we sat back around the campfire & enjoyed watching natures amazing show.
Monday: It rained in the middle of the night & we had to batten down the hatches, ahhh the joys of camping. We aired everything out in the morning for a few hours so tents didn’t go mouldy etc so we had a couple of hours to kill – what better to do than go out fishing again!!!! After an hour Kel had a nice 80’s class Barra in the boat & it was released in quick time. We decided to call it a day then and there, What a trip - we ended on a high and soaked up every minute of out weekend – it’s so relaxing just being on the water and we think a lot of stressed people in the city could learn from taking a few friends on a trip and getting away from the rat race. Don’t wait for the mythical super payout where you are supposed to have the ability to go and do whatever you want – life seldom works out like this & most people won’t have their physical or mental health in later life so grab a friend or take the family fishing. Head north to one of Qlds great Barra Dams & explore different parts of the region while you are up there. Maybe teach the kids some fire safety, the names of birds on the dam and go bushwalking and teach kids about nature, away from the major cities.
Caravan Park Fishing Report: As usual there were still lots of people who hadn’t caught a barra & everyone in the camp who was catching fish joined in the spirit of the weekend by helping out with some usefull info to get more Aussies on to a Barra or 2. This was great to see & good fun to help out.
Guides Fishing Report: From what we heard around the camp the local guides (Rod Harrison & Johnny Mitchell) were putting people on to fish with one 6 hour Johnny Mitchell session resulting in clients getting 14 hits with 10 fish landed by a bunch of teachers new to barra fishing. Well done guys that’s great going & I’m sure they will remember this fun filled Australia Day Weekend. We didn’t get time to find out how Harro’s clients tally but they always had smiles on their faces after catching Barra as well.
Camp Stories: We camped next to a bunch of guys that had 2 boats for their barra trip with mates. We heard one of them had trouble hooking fish all day and as it turns out his eye sight was not the best. Anyway he was copping one hell of a ribbing from all his mates in camp so we just had to go over and see what was going on. His mates gleefully and willingly explained that he had been fishing with a soft plastic, had strikes but they never hooked up. Apparantly he forgot to take the plastic hook protector off the soft plastic he was using, so every time he cast his soft plastic his colleagues were in stitches and he couldn’t for the life of him work out why they were laughing. Ahh we all think it can’t happen to us – but I’m guessing in our Nomad years it might just happen to more of us than would own up!!! The boys did well trolling and caught 11 fish between 70 & 106cms between 2 boats over a few days, which kept the camp spirits high with many a yarn shared over a cold drink.
The Final Tally: Girlpower won the Barra Section 4-2 but yours truly thinks the Rare Impoundment Mangrove Jack evens up the score – it might even make me the overall winner – even if only by a smidgen!!!! I’m sure there will be plenty of debate on this subject in years to come!!! Who do you think won?
We wish everyone all the best on future trips & hope to see you on a Barra Dam One Day.
HAPPY EASTER
Cheers Kel & Lyndon
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Re: Rare Awoonga 52cm Mangrove Jack & 6 Daytime Barra - Aust Day Wknd!!
