Barra Bullsh!t

[nautilus]

Now, I know this will be controversial and I am not really trying to stir the pot, but I want to know why all the hype about barra fishing.

I have been lucky enough to be in a place to pursue barra twice in my life. A few years back I took a trip to Darwin and fished Corroboree Billabong. We trawled around from dawn until about lunchtime and caught a few cat fish, a few saratoga and one barra, about 40cm. Not huge I know.

The second time was late last year at Weipa. Two mates and I spent a day up in the river systems and caught at least 20 odd barra. My mate scored the magic 100cm specimen and my best was 82cm. I caught about 10 others, the smallest of which was about 70cm (yes, Weipa rocks).
Before I tell you about the barra fight, I want to tell you about the day before. We went out wide looking for queenfish and GT’s. We found both in abundance! When fishing for GT’s we dropped the soft plastic to the bottom, felt it bump a long a bit then BANG! The reel screamed, I nearly go over the front side, I feel like the rod, the reel and the line are all going to give up, then … snap like a tow rope breaking, I’m busted off on the reef. The line parts so suddenly, I nearly fall out the back side of the boat. Repeat this about three or four times before I get one up off the reef, fight him like crazy for about 5mins, and finally drag him up. This is with 80lb braid on a Saltiga Expedition rod and reel. When I finally get the GT in the boat, he is about 50cm long. We repeated this all morning and it was mind blowing.
Now back to the barra fight. We are slow trawling in some very shallow channels, not more than a metre or two at best. My lure is bumping along and I have been collecting quite a bit of weed. I am sitting there, and the rod gets a bit heavy. Bugger, more weed. Hmmm, feels like a lot of weed, maybe I have caught another stick. Winding it in is a bit tedious and takes about 10 seconds. I finally get the lure near the boat and what do you know, an 82cm barra. The guide gets the net, and the barra is in the boat, measured, photo and sent back on his way. 10 mins later, my mates reel gives a short wizzzz. He starts winding in and the barra launches with one or two spectacular jumps. A couple of laps around the boat and a 100cm barra is netted, photographed and sent on his way as well. Everyone is chuffed with the magic tonne barra. A real trophy.

The guide, great bloke, is beaming ear to ear saying how fantastic it is. My mate is thrilled. I am quietly thinking to myself. What a load of crap, give me 50cm GT’s over 70cm + barra any day. This bull sh!t. Lets get back out to the GT’s.
Later in the pub at the end of the trip, the three of us are recounting our favourite moments. Me, easy, GT’s and trolling for big 100cm+ queenfish. Mate number 1, the three meter shark he caught (because it was so big), Mate number 2, the 100cm barra. Why? I asked him. Because it was 100cm and that is a trophy fish. Yes, I agree with him. A 100cm barra is a trophy fish, but what about the fight. How was it compared to the GT’s, queenfish, tuna, coral trout, jew fish? Well, no he says, it was nowhere near as good as any of that, but it was a 100cm barra. I can’t argue, but I am still thinking, compared to many, many other saltwater species, barra suck. What must a 100cm GT be like!

Cheers, Al (and lets continue the search for real fish )

[Sevric]

It may come as a bit of a surprise to you Nautilus but I agree with you. I live about an hours drive from a stocked impoundment with some good Barra in it. For a fish of their size and weight I would have to say disappointing. I have not caught wild Barra which may be a different story but according to your post not so.
My largest Barra is 112cm and after an initial good run on 30LB line came to the boat like a Labrador to a BBQ; all over in less than 5 minutes. This fish had a weight of approximately 20-25KG. Recently I took a 26KG Cobia on 50LB line and it took me 30 minutes of hard slog to subdue the fish.
Barra fishing has been a marketing ploy by both NT, QLD and to a lesser extent WA to attract fisho tourists and their dollars. The result has been that Barra have turned into an Aussie Icon; a bit of an elitist thing if you will. Wild Barra eat OK but that is all; they do not rate up against some lesser known but infinitely better species some of which you have mentioned.
I may cop some flack also for my thoughts but it is the way I see it.

[tunaticer]

I'm not disagreeing either, the buildup some guys get about barras is almost legendary compared with the reality of barras. They are fun when you happen on them but pound for pound they aren't much chop. Giant herring perform to a higher level and a decent mangrove jack certainly hits a lot harder and more life and death thrown in as well.

Still with that being said, barras offer a good throw away weekend in the impoundments for the average Joe. I will still make the odd trip for them, but I don't get hyped about them.

[mattooty]

I've never caught a barra so won't comment on what I think of them. What I will say is it takes all types of passions to make our hobby what it is. I've got mates that are the most enthusiastic fishers yet don't care if they even catch a fish. They just want out of the house to enjoy being on the water.
Some people get off on throwing the smallest, minute lures at bream and spending hundreds of thousands on the fastest boat and claiming prestige in competitions, I would prefer an unweighted prawn from my $500 canoe for the same result.
Some people love catching mack tuna on spin gear, others scoff at it saying they're the worst offshore pest worthy only to be cut and thrown back overboard as bait.
Some people won't step foot in a boat and wonder what all the hype is about when the only few times they went to sea they got sea sick and didn't bag out on "deep sea fish".
I scoff at catfish when I catch them, yet ordinary Fork-tailed catfish pull very good prices at the fish markets in Brisbane and Sydney.
Some blokes like spending moon-lit nights on Awoonga dam throwing unweighted plastics at Barra just to get that BOOF on the hookup.
It's all about what tickles your fancy. Now you know that Barra aren't for you, if you ever get back up there then focus on the tropical blue water fishing.

[STUIE63]

There is nothing like the sound of a barra boofing at your feet at night. It gets the adrenalin flowing. As for GT's whats the point you can't eat them. If you want pulling power chase big reds in deep water

[BARRAkid]

Hard to please aye,I enjoy fishing be it bream or Giant trevally its more the situation of wind,tide,place why i go for different species. Barra are very sluggish and tire easily compared to most pelagic species but are still alot of fun around structure and the take specially on surface is good to watch.. Barra are everywhere in queensland you dont have to own a boat to catch a metre barra or have to use thousand dollar outfits i think barra fishing gets a good wrap because anyone can have a go at it and there is lakes,ponds,creeks,jettys etc and for the average person they are not easy to catch..

[STUIE63]

So what didn't you guys like with my post

[netmaker]

I've only caught a dozen wild barra. 1 was in my cast net and the rest in trawl nets. gotta say they didn't put up much of a fight at all

[Jarrah Jack]

Much of the mystic for me with barra fishing is where it takes you. I'm talking about the big rivers up the NT. Great places to spend time on and fish. You have to have your wits about you with barra fishing which is another challenge and something I like. Choose the same lure as your mate who has been getting them but the wrong depth and you're wasting your time.

There can be so many subtle things with barra fishing that I never tire of chasing them. Cast 30cm to either side or a little spot and nudda, cast in the exact spot and perhaps catch a dozen in a row. How good is that eh, I've seen it happen a few times.

Having a big box full of carefully selected lures and finding that none of them work, none! Then finding a lure floating past and getting over 30 barra on that lure for the day, magic. Reeling them in is easy compared to many other fish but getting them to take an artificial can be heaps of frustration and fun.

Reeling in hard running fish isn't much fun for me. Bloody hard work I reckon. I fought a 117 kg marlin for nearly 4 hours and I was thinking " this is supposed to be fun" f that I never want to do that again but do the same with a big mean barrel of a tuna I would die for and nearly have and still haven't got one in the boat....

.My mate has just found a very hard to get to creek thats full on barra and jack that have never been fished. Guess where I'll be heading, but he's also found some great reef fishing with unstoppable queenies and GT's, I might go there as well.

Whatever tickles your fancy mateys.

[MacDougall]

You know it's odd but I feel the same way about Australian Bass. Pound for pound I reckon bream fight way harder. I caught a 42cm bass for my very first and I pulled it in like it was nothing. Same gear and an undersize bream gives more curry. But the tactics involved in catching bass is what make them my favourite target species now.

[FisHard]

So what didn't you guys like with my post

Stuie, the term is disagree, and personally, I don't fish just to eat the proceeds. You may like to catch table fish and I like to catch (and usually release) sportfish.
Interesting thread this one, I haven't caught a Barra, but always wondered how they went.

[fairpractice]

HI. I like to draw attention to the shapes of different fishes' tail fins. The poor old barra. is stuck with the small paddle like tail which is good for a quick lurch and the boof of the mouth does the rest.
Look closely at the (caudal) tail fins of any fish you catch and you will quickly see if you have a "speedster". My best saltwater barra went 110cm. one jump and the most excitement was would it fit into the net. I know I could have "belly" lifted it into the boat...try a lift with a G.T.But geez the barra tasted good. cheeras john

[fisho_83]

Hey Nautilus, it sounds like your barra captures were a bit of a let down to you. I can't believe there would be anyone out there that wouldn't love catching barra, LOL, but I agree that GTs do go harder though. However, I have caught quite a few barra mate, and trust me they do go hard, and they are one of my favourite type of fish to catch. For me, I love to cast my lure up there tight into the snag, and to watch a barra smack the lure and then to try and get the fish out of the snag is a great fight and quite challenging. When you hook a barra (and they are quite challenging to hook) it is a great fight and very entertaining especially if you get the leaps and jumps as well. Whilst not the most important thing, they are also great eating as well which is an added bonus. Whether it is luring or live baiting, I reckon barra fishing is great fun. The sound of them boofing a bait is awesome. Hopefully when you head up north again, you give it another shot and your opinion changes. All the best mate :-)

[ifishcq1]

Barramundi are an iconic fish
on the wish list for joe average, barra is by far the most requested fish
it isn't all about the fight it is about the whole experience including the hunt the finding and getting them out of heavy timber
anyone can catch one when they are thick but when things are slow you make a thousand casts full of expectation and just when you are ready to pack it in you get nailed like a lawnmower hitting a house brick
that feeling is what makes you keep doing it and coming back day after day like an addiction
yes sure spaniards, trevally, queenies, tuna, sailfish, marlin etc etc etc fight better but they don't have the same draw that barras do, just look at dollars spent chasing them
barra are one fish that usually have to be targeted and fished for at the right time in the right spots not just plonk and hope with no real idea like the majority of fishers do for regular fish
though wild barras are the best, impoundment fish still take a skill to score them regularly
as for eating them it all depends on where they are caught just like any other fish
if you catch them in muddy water they are average but the fish that come out of crystal clear saltwater are as good as anything else
seriously everyone has different expectations as to what feelings they get out of fishing
as the grandfather said to his grandson if everyone had the same taste you and I would be fighting over your grandmother

[honda900]

Nautilus,

I agree with you, after catching reasonable wild barra, I simply skull dragged it in, barely any fight. Golden snapper on the other hand, great fighting fish.

regards
Honda