Stockyard barra - Lake Kinchant

[NAGG]

After a hectic past 12 months of setting up a new business & buying / renovating a house - I along with my old time fishing partner "Whitey" finally managed to get away for what is normally our annual NQ barra trip ...... This one was particularly anticipated as it was 20 months since our last .
The plan was to tow my 5m Seajay from Sydney to Cardwell - camp on Hinchinbrook Island for a week & then wing it on the way home.
The trip north was uneventful arriving at Cardwell via the inland highways (Roma / Emerald / Charters towers) but Hinchinbrook gave us very little via inspiration - fish (a few undersized barra) & a feed of crab ...... the weather kept us in the creeks & it wasn't looking better for the rest of our week ...... so we pulled the pin & at the constant sounds of Kinchant in my ears from old mate - off we went.
The sight of a rapidly receding water level / muddy banks & a full caravan park hardly was what we had become accustomed too ...... but we were here.
The first few sessions had us following past preferences of fishing plastics off a point or bay & catching fish ...... now I have to say - I had no intention of fishing Kinchant & was hardly prepared ..... let alone motivated. Eventually when fishing slowed to a trickle ..... I pushed through into new grounds & a shallow , muddy but warm watered bay had me thinking (come back here if conditions deteriorated) The Stockyards.jpg
Conditions deteriorated & armed with a small selection of topwater & shallow running lures we made our way into this weeded (3ft deep) stockyard & over the past few days had a ball playing with fairly decent barra that were limited to blistering runs to the weed creating bow waves as they tried their best to escape to freedom. MW Stockyard barra.jpg
Daytime sessions sight casting to cruising barra Stockyard lure of choice.jpg..... setting up an ambush with a well placed lure left to sit as a barra approached - then the trap sprung saw a good dozen fish landed & many more lost on jump offs , worn leaders , popped line , opened hooks . Most of the fish ranged in the 85-99cm markStockyard barra 1.jpgStockyard barra 2.jpgStockyard barra 3.jpg ...... I managed a 107 & a 105 and Whitey a 102 Stockyard 107cm.jpg ........ lets hope the next couple of days see's a few more

[STUIE63]

Nice report Chris good to hear you are getting a barra fix

[NAGG]

Nice report Chris good to hear you are getting a barra fix

Finally Stuie ..... finally

[bluefin59]

Nice to see you get a couple of nice fish mate congratulations ....Matt

[NAGG]

What a cracker of a session this afternoon - 8 landed ...... including this 117 which looked like a submarine blasting through the shallows 117cm stockyard barra.jpg

Some of the other fish landed were all of good quality & did their best .... some (more than some) succeeding to free themselves incognito.jpgGetting bigger.jpgAfternoon delight.jpg

This shallow water fishing was a blast & it certainly took its toll on tackle ..... Going hard stockyard barra.jpgIn the wars.jpg

What a session ....

[NAGG]

Nice to see you get a couple of nice fish mate congratulations ....Matt

Thanks Matt .....

Got even better this afternoon - certainly great therapy

Chris

[Goodoo haven]

Some very nice looking Barra there Chris. Well done mate.

[Feral]

Gotta love it when you find a spot in a dam that is going off.!

[angler1]

Great work on the barra fellas👍, would someone be able to explain why so many split rings on the lure in the photo?

[chris69]

You get more movement in the trebbles so a bit harder to throw the hooks when they shack there heads as i see it.

[NAGG]

You get more movement in the trebbles so a bit harder to throw the hooks when they shack there heads as i see it.

That's one advantage ...... but the bigger benefit is less ability to twist open the split ring (180 deg Vs 45 ish) or rip the wire out of the lure .
I'm also using the splits as weighting - suspending / slow rise

Chris