Cooloolabin Dam.

[Fitzy]

Barra and Jack! C'mon Fitzy...You know you wanna.

Of course I would like to, but we have to go through the correct channels for the long term benefit of a managed fishery.

The Barra south of Lenthalls is as much a politcal issue as it is for any real ethical or conservation purposes.
I big part is the Mary River Cod, they dont want (&I partly agree on this) another arex predator in that river to compete with the endangered MRCs.

BUT, IMHO there were, still are & always have been barra & MRCs in the Mary River, often side by side. Barra arent the problem with MRCs it the piss poor farming practices, clearing of riparian vegetation, desnagging, regulation of the waterways & the resulting caving in of bankside habitat from the above + domestic animals being permitted to cave in the banks while drinking that are the biggest hurdles to saving the MRCs.

However, south of the Mary I cannot see why the Barra empass exists. They were & still are well south of the Sandy Straights (aka the Barramundi DMZ). A REstocking (note emphasis on the RE) program should be done to re-establish the barra populations that once were present in the Maroochy(s), Noosa, Mooloola, Caboolture, Pummictone etc down to the bottom on Moreton Bay where they are still caught on an irregular basis.


Off my box now.

Cheers,

fitzy..

[gidget]

I feel like I want to throw up again. These councils work for the people yet even after we form a public group and get a 5 year stocking program organised in conjunction with the dpi who give us a permit to stock each year, we still have to be subject to the particular councillors whims who presides over the catchment area. Has FFSAQ ever pointed out the unfairness of this subservient system to anyone? I grew up in the pine shire and used to row on lake kurwongbah. My first freshwater fish were caught there in 1972 . What a shame it was not stocked and a boat ramp included then. Cooloolabin dam and ewen maddock don't run into the Mary so MRC can't be used as an excuse for these dams wrt barra stocking. As far as the MRC being endangered..... that was just an excuse for certain people in the dpi to receive funds to do the studies that were needed at the time. Dont get me wrong about MRC. They are agreat fish but are put too easily on a pedestal by those that liked bignoting themselves back then and still use MRC as a means to an end today. The unfortunate thing is that piles of greenies that think that it is cruel to hook any fish have also jumped onto the MRC bandwagon because of the self righteous DPI conservation machine.

[oztrav]

South of the mary could happen but couldnt the barra immigrate north to join up their local population (if they are stocked in a open river)Seq water or the relevant authority prob dont want barra cause every fisherman and his dog would strain the waterquality etc etc. Of the dam but who knows how government works somebody needs to coax the local members out on a fishing charter and give them the bug

[shayned]

Popped into a PRFMA meeting last wednesday night and Fitzy is right they are a good bunch of blokes who have achieved some amazing things so far, just take a look at some of hardb8's nth pine photos to check out the fruits of their labour. That said getting Kurwongbah sorted will take even more work, if you are community minded and love the idea of a top notch fresh water fishery on our door step why not chuck your hat into the ring and give the blokes some support.

[tiges]

Was out near Cooloolabin today and popped in and had a peek. What a great looking bit of water, I was instantly mind fishing it. That place has got the potential to be anything, shame to see it go to waste. Some reasonable looking shore based spots easily accessible. So I think I'm gonna have to go and have a flick there one day, just to sate my curiosity.

[Barraless]

If I get a chance I will let you know how it fishes in a couple of weeks

[tunaticer]

I have fished Coololabin for the past 20 yrs on and off. Truly amazing the size of the fish encountered there. Yellowbelly to 20ish pounds roughly, silver perch to about 3 lbs but have hooked and lost one about 5 lbs. I have caught only two bass in there and that was nearly a dozen yrs ago. Saratoga were there early in the piece buty I have not seen or heard of one for about 15 yrs. Eel tail catfish are in abundance there also.
I belive it is now open to boating with paddle or electric power only, I havent fished there for about 4 yrs.

Jack.

[tazzydevil]

caught 2 bass there 3 weeks ago

[cranic]

we actually live next to the dam wall now, and in recent floods, and the water going over the wall, there were heaps of fish going over, and most were very reasonable in size. your not meant to fish it using lead or live baits, but heaps do.

[tunaticer]

You been catching much from the dam Cranic??

I've been meaning to get back up there sometime again for a canoodle around.

I guess most of the flooded timber is falling over these days?

I normally fish the northern end launching from the old loggers track.

Biggest Yellowbelly I have ever seen was in Cooloolabin, almost beyond description.

Jack.

[cranic]

na, not into freshwater fishing, only salt, But i chat to heaps of locals and visitors, and they are catching huge fish, wouldnt say huge numbers, but great quality. The council has recently started putting up new steel gates etc, and started clearing trees from the dam wall itself. Have got to say it has got to be one of the best loooking dams around, probably because it is so rarely visited

[cranic]

so what are peoples thoughts on redclaw in this area. If it was to be accidently stocked with redclaw, would they survive? The dam is a fair bit higher than most in altitude, so maybe the cooler water could be detrimental? Anyones opinions would be great

[tunaticer]

Cranic, I would not dare introduce any redclaw into this dam, the whole area is very sensitive. If there was one crustacean I would release there it would be the blue spiny crayfish found in two creeks in the Pomona area. It would be good to give them a chance to establish elsewhere just in case the Pomona area suffers a problem like the two headed fish water poisoning that is close by. BTW, these crays are fully protected for very good reason.