Barra - R We missing something

[NAGG]

Hi IBD Sufferers

I've always liked reading every-ones barra reports ...... be it doughnuts or Homers .... Its all good & adds to my knowledge

However ....... I do notice that many do not start till late & finish early ...... I call them office hours (9am-5pm)

Now while I know that Mr & Mrs Mundi can & does show himself at any hour of the day ( so don't lambaste me on it ) ....... Why are you all not fishing what I call the witching hours .... Sunrise & Sunset These are known piscatorial feeding periods ..... where you will find fish in a lower level of alertness & usually actively feeding!
This is just an observation ...... but one that perplexes me when it refers to a travelling angler ........ where time is precious ! Ignore the locals that can fish anytime they wish ... if conditions are perfect! ........ Lucky buggers

I'm curious to hear your thoughts

Cheers

Nagg

[Barraboss]

Chris,

Let's get honest straight up. I am a voyuer at heart and like to watch There is nothing better than seeing the lure land, twitch and then get smashed right in front of you.......

In all honesty, for me I can read the water better during the day. I am, slowly over the last 12 months, starting to pick up in a few "tell tale" signs that only daylight hours, or prior knowledge can produce. By no ways am I a gun angler that can pick it everyday, so I have to learn from each trip, success or donut, whatever it may be, as long as I learn from that trip and put it in the memory banks for another time to hopefully increase my chances "next time".

This will be a test during our ABT on-slaught, but I promise to memorize likely looking spots (hehe) for the evening and night time comps

But when living only an hour from Tinaroo a sleep in is quite nice during the "cold" winter Tinaroo is not known for

Cheers
Matt

[Dick Pasfield]

Data from 140 captures over the past 15 months

73 captures of a night, or 2.1 fish average/trip

22 of a day, or .7 fish average/trip

45 at dusk/dawn or .8 fish average/trip.

Interestingly when you pull the metre plus fish out for examination the figures skew a bit. Having said that the sample pool of 44 is a lot less than the overall amount

18 captures of a night, or .6 fish average/trip

16 of a day, or .4 fish average/trip

10 at dusk/dawn or .2 fish average/trip.


No tidal influence as all the fish were caught in the freshwater section of the Ord.
Other factors that stick out like dogs balls is the influence of the moon. i.e the stats on big barra go up to 1.2 fish average/trip of a night from full moon to last quarter compared to none caught during the night or the dusk dawn period of the last quarter to new moon, the only large fish to come from this period were during the day at .3 fish average/trip.

It appears to me that large fish do keep somewhat different timetables to smaller fish but overall night time and moonlight are a good combination for barra fishing.

Further to this (not checked the stats yet but this'd be a good guess). Comparing the days Friday Saturday and Sunday (my regular fishing days/nights) I bet Friday comes out the best day of all.

So Friday night on a full moon you know where I'll be

[TonyM]

Hi Chris,

In the warmer months surface fishing for Barra around dawn/dusk would have to be my favourite. And on a moonlit night - it's a bit tricky on a new moon but very exciting casting towards the boofs you hear coming from out of the pitch black, sucks when you figure out you've cast onto the bank though


When it gets colder I don't normally fish until later in the day - gentlemans hours from 10ish to mid/late afternoon.

This is for 2 reasons
1. It's cold and I don't want to get out of bed

2. It's cold and the water has generally had a chance to warm up in certain areas (windward bays etc) a little by then and seems to be more productive.


My 2c worth

Cheers
Tony

edit: p.s. You mentioned sunup/down as piscatorial feeding hours - don't forget moon times - my absolute favourite is when moon o/head or underfoot coincides with sun rise/set

[A_DIFF_PERSPECTIVE]

Here is a quick point.
The main key variable- weather conditions during any day is the strong governing key. It dictates whether or not fish will feed on dawn/dusk/ moon up/ down, lunch time etc etc. The most consistent and predictable fishing comes during gentleman hours of the day. eg, daylight, why- because it offers more varying natural triggers to activate fish. (Here is where you have to think- it's the whole basis of my idea to get anglers in thought mode.) Barra will feed best at different times each day, governed by the main generator of weather and its follow on effect into a lake. Peaks and troughs occur all day- good times and hard times. The next day they may be similar if weather is similar but they become altered as soon as the conditions stray. To head out for a dusk session may see you on the tail end of a great day's fishing. The best may be over- this is why it is extremely difficult to say anything simple about impoundments. Complex, yes, cryptic, extremely.

As Barraboss says, the water is more readable by day, its clarity, the current flows and wind lanes are more vivid. Dawn and Dusk Hot bite periods happen far less than many hope for. Quite often the best angling doesn't start until dawn is over and the best is well and truely over before the sun gets too low. Exceptions yes, (less pressured lakes and fish)-but on a 365 day scale, the hot dawn/dusk bite is far from even being close to true.
In the dead of night, another chapter begins. A whole new world opens an reasons why explode once again.
JM

[NAGG]

Chris,

Let's get honest straight up. I am a voyuer at heart and like to watch There is nothing better than seeing the lure land, twitch and then get smashed right in front of you.......

In all honesty, for me I can read the water better during the day. I am, slowly over the last 12 months, starting to pick up in a few "tell tale" signs that only daylight hours, or prior knowledge can produce. By no ways am I a gun angler that can pick it everyday, so I have to learn from each trip, success or donut, whatever it may be, as long as I learn from that trip and put it in the memory banks for another time to hopefully increase my chances "next time".

This will be a test during our ABT on-slaught, but I promise to memorize likely looking spots (hehe) for the evening and night time comps

But when living only an hour from Tinaroo a sleep in is quite nice during the "cold" winter Tinaroo is not known for

Cheers
Matt

Hey Matt
Typical locals response
Like when I go breamin local ...... Monday I was on the water at 11am
My question is really about those that travel great distances ...... & miss a period that to my way of thinking ..... & limited experience has lead to good fish.

On the ABT front ...... That tour will really make us all get out of our comfort zones...... Its going to be exhaustive to say the least ........ but it should be a cracker

Cheers

Chris

[NAGG]

Data from 140 captures over the past 15 months

73 captures of a night, or 2.1 fish average/trip

22 of a day, or .7 fish average/trip

45 at dusk/dawn or .8 fish average/trip.

Interestingly when you pull the metre plus fish out for examination the figures skew a bit. Having said that the sample pool of 44 is a lot less than the overall amount

18 captures of a night, or .6 fish average/trip

16 of a day, or .4 fish average/trip

10 at dusk/dawn or .2 fish average/trip.


No tidal influence as all the fish were caught in the freshwater section of the Ord.
Other factors that stick out like dogs balls is the influence of the moon. i.e the stats on big barra go up to 1.2 fish average/trip of a night from full moon to last quarter compared to none caught during the night or the dusk dawn period of the last quarter to new moon, the only large fish to come from this period were during the day at .3 fish average/trip.

It appears to me that large fish do keep somewhat different timetables to smaller fish but overall night time and moonlight are a good combination for barra fishing.

Further to this (not checked the stats yet but this'd be a good guess). Comparing the days Friday Saturday and Sunday (my regular fishing days/nights) I bet Friday comes out the best day of all.

So Friday night on a full moon you know where I'll be

Thanks Dick

Interesting stats there

Nagg

[BR65]

dont look at me, I luuuuurve fishing by headlamp pre dawn, big boofs in the dark, gettin crunched out of no where, and of course not to mention plenty of space to park at the ramp,yee ha

[NAGG]

dont look at me, I luuuuurve fishing by headlamp pre dawn, big boofs in the dark, gettin crunched out of no where, and of course not to mention plenty of space to park at the ramp,yee ha

Brian ... The finger will never be pointed at you You're the guy that goes out & wakes the barra up
You fish .... How I like to fish ( the lunatics way!)

cheers

Chris

GO THE BLUES !

[BARRAkid]

never fished a common barra dam in the dark but will be when i take my boat up.
I have never caught a monduran,awonga,tinaroo or any other well know dam barra
But i have fished local secretly stocked dams and have caught quite alot of barra day and night.
I don't like getting out of bed when its cold but i have no trouble to when i have travelled and i know there is a heap of barra to be caught.
I like both day and night barra fishing but surface fishing at night land based would be my favourite when you see a big v ripple following your lure in the moon light and the fish hits your lure off the surface at your feet its great have had to check my jocks quite a few times when that happins

[eotbmg]

Hey Nagg
I always fish the hours you are talking about. 3-11am then out later 3-10pm or so during the summer months. The more hours the more chances. I always chuckle at the blokes who are retrieving their boats just before dark, prime time-maybe they are allergic to the night?????? I have just done the winter trip mind you and fished completeely different hours to those above and was out of sorts fishing the gentlemens hours. Bring back summer!!!!
Cheers
Ben

[A_DIFF_PERSPECTIVE]

I always chuckle at the blokes who are retrieving their boats just before dark, prime time-maybe they are allergic to the night??????

The main key variable- weather conditions during any day is the strong governing key. It dictates whether or not fish will feed on dawn/dusk/ moon up/ down, lunch time etc etc. The most consistent and predictable fishing comes during gentleman hours of the day. eg, daylight, why- because it offers more varying natural triggers to activate fish. (Here is where you have to think- it's the whole basis of my idea to get anglers in thought mode.) Barra will feed best at different times each day, governed by the main generator of weather and its follow on effect into a lake. Peaks and troughs occur all day- good times and hard times. The next day they may be similar if weather is similar but they become altered as soon as the conditions stray. To head out for a dusk session may see you on the tail end of a great day's fishing. The best may be over- this is why it is extremely difficult to say anything simple about impoundments. Complex, yes, cryptic, extremely.
Ben,
The reasoning of me sticking my head on the chopping block is to try to expand the world of barra anglers. The above post needs to be absorbed,,,and accepted if anglers want to expand their world. If these things go unnoticed it's a total waste of ink and a waste of a total of my 33 yrs worth of salt and freshwater barra angling. I've kept quiet on here for almost two years, but I'd really like to see a big advancement in barra angling knowledge and thought processes for interested anglers from here on in. We can all advance years ahead. I'm willing if anglers are keen to grow. Australia needs a boost.
Catch up one day.
Johnny

[Roo]

clearly I am not the sharpest tool in the shed. Would someone please translate for me.Speak slowly and loudly(like my High school Physics teacher) if it helps.
thankyou.
Roo.

[TonyM]

clearly I am not the sharpest tool in the shed. Would someone please translate for me.Speak slowly and loudly(like my High school Physics teacher) if it helps.
thankyou.
Roo.

hehe

Roo, I think what Johnny is saying is that we need to thimk more Either that or we need to fish more - the latter sounds less painfull so I'll give that a go

[STUIE63]

Chris the barra in my dam I never hear them boofing during the day they only boof from 1 hour before dusk into the night . I don't live there yet so don't know too much about early in the morning or late at night . just my thoughts I too laugh as I come home at 10 in the morning at all the boats heading out at bankers hours or coming home when I am heading out at 5 in the evening
Stuie