Unbelievable!

[vinny78]

The missus and I decided to take the girls down to the river for a fish this afternoon after school. As is usually the case when the kids are on board we just trolled ( the youngest hasn't mastered cast and retrieve yet ) which was the easiest option.

Our eldest had me tie on her newest lure which she was itching to try out while the youngest had 'Old Faithful' on the end of her line.

As we expected, it wasn't long before the usual suspects started coming aboard. Archer fish were nailing the girls' lures regularly. Surprisingly no Spangled Perch fell to their cheap little lures today, however we made a dent in the local Tilapia population when 'Old Faithful' fooled a 31cm specimen which was quickly dispatched.

It was just after this when 'Old Faithful' had just been returned to the water for another run when things really turned on.

Now 'Old Faithful' has caught Barra before, but nothing like this beast. No sooner had the little lure kicked into life when BANG! The youngest daughter's rod ( an Ugly Stick "Tackleratz"- about 1m long ) bucked to life and with her being too scared to fight whatever was on the other end, Mum had to take over.

There were tense moments as the Barra found refuge in the lillies but Mum stayed calm and coaxed her out - until we seen her jump... THEN it was panic stations. This fish was nothing the likes of which 'Old Faithful' had ever seen!

I motored the boat into open water to give Mum a slim hope of landing the beast. With a wee little rod, 4lb braid, 20lb leader, a wee little lure armed with VMC #8 2xtra strong trebles you wouldn't pay 20c for and not a landing net to speak of, we were surely screwed.

Minutes passed until, unbelievably, the beast tired to the point where Mum could swing her alongside for a once only chance of a lipgrip from yours truly and YAHOO we did it. High five's all round!

She went 82cm. I've included a pic of 'Old Faithful' in case you can't see it hanging from the Barra's mouth on the mat. Me, Mum and the girls were stoked. And another notch on 'Old Faithful's' belt.

Cheers, Andrew

[bugman]

Awesome story.
It's always the way - biggest fish hits the smallest rod. It really is a great capture that you can see on the faces of the kids - and yourself.

Brett

[blackrat1]

Pure gold ... good effort

[PaulMark]

The smiles tell all,Well done you guys,especially Mum,theres a lot of Dads would have stuffed that up for sure. And,get a look at the front treble.Well done indeed.
Paulo

[Big_Ren]

Yee ha. Great story Andrew and the smiles tell the story. Congrats to the family. What a team effort!

Cheers
Paul

[Richo1]

Well done. Dare I ask which river you were on? What is it with kids and fishing? When ever i take my little girl out we get good fish!

Cheers Richo

[Angla]

That's a golden story.

Thanks for sharing.

Cheers
Chris

[Peter4]

How good is that?

Great read. It is always rewarding when you land a fish well above the class of the gear you are using. Heart in the mouth stuff!

Loved it!

Regs

Pete

[vinny78]

Richo, we were on the Ross River, Townsville.

Sarah is still recovering from shoulder surgery so the whole time I was like- "How's your shoulder? Do you want me to take over?!" but she wasn't giving that rod up for anything. She had welt marks on her abs after the effort.

Thanks for the replies. Andrew

[hairypunt]

Great read and nice fish congrats.

[rooboy98]

It's the fish you catch when you don't expect to, when the odds are really stacked against you, that you will never forget.

My little bloke still talks about the day he caught his first legal barra on his little rod.

Great read and great fish!

Cheers,
Roo.

[Bad_Bubby]

Well done mate!, definitely an above average fish for that area.

[Alchemy]

Fantastic stuff Andrew. Congratulations to you all

[kickback]

Everyone looks so damn happy

btw, is that a berkley minnow?

[vinny78]

kickback, not sure what make it is, but I think it could be a 'Smilin Jack's' lure. Whatever it is, it's a killer.