Yesterday was my birthday and Bob took me to the mangrove fringed flats of Cleveland Bay with the desired target being barra. The morning started off slow as we had arrived to early and the tide wasn't full enough to get us close to the mangroves, but as we cruised in slowly in the shallow water we spotted a number of mud crabs. We managed to scoop up a good half a dozen with two nice bucks to take home. Probably the easiest and most fun crabbing I have ever done.
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
Bohle River Barra - late arvo season opener
I left work at 430 this afternoon (1/2), home by 440 and launching at the Bohle ramp at 5pm. This was only the third time I had fished the Bohle but was keen to catch a barra, any barra on opening day as I had never fished the first day of the season before. I made my way upstream to a snag that produced 4 hook ups on the weekend and within a few casts my junior B52 was smashed. Unfortunately for me the barra got me into the sticks and made his getaway. I can't be sure of size but the glimpse I got suggested he was maybe just legal.
I moved on further to new ground and found some more nice snags. One in particular was in a small creek and very tight to the bank. I peppered it and was rewarded with three hook ups with the little guy pictured being the only one I landed.
By now it was about 630pm so I headed back to the first snag where I hooked up again. This fish similar in size to the other one caught.
I was back at the ramp soon after 7pm and home shortly after. I can't believe that I have lived in Townsville for nearly five years, and have only started fishing the Bohle last week. What an awesome little system it is. I love being able to squeeze a quick post work session in. Best way to de-stress; boat, couple of beers and a fish if lucky!
One from a few days earlier, 62cm
Bohle Barra; 22/23rd of March
Bob and I hit he Bohle about 5pm the last two afternoons. Thursday saw Bob land about 5 on a B52, while I dropped two and Bob lost the battle with a horse that was well over a meter.
Last night we returned and I landed 7 and Bob 6. Best fish was a cracker at 81cm to Bob, with the rest in the rat class. Still Great fun though. Bob used the B52 again, which also accounted for one of my fish, but I also got 3 on a 3" paddle tail and 3 on a trans-am.
Love the Bohle!
Saturday 24th March
Another seven barra boated. Four to me and three to Bob. Lures were B52, Threadybuster, Trans-am and a small white Squidgy Slick Rig. Another awesome 2 hour session!
Terrible Tide, but had to try!
Another quick post work trip. Tried the old faithful B52 to no avail, plus the trans-am. The successful lure was a small white paddle tail slick rig and was caught in a snag, in a river, in NQ... This fish was just 58cm but released to fight another day.
Muddy Finger
After doing jobs of all sorts on the boat and trailer over the past few days, I decided to make the most of the great weather we've been having lately and went of searching for a few muddies this afternoon.
Nic and I launched the tinnie at Morriseys creek and had the pots in by 2pm. We then went off for a troll and when that produced nil, we soaked a bait for a while. Well, that didn't work either, so after two hours of soaking I decided to go check the pots.
What a surprise. Every pot had between one and five crabs! None were huge and a few had to go back, but we ended up with five keepers which all felt very full. The pots went straight back in with some fresh bait.
Off for another troll, and Nic managed a small cod. Then on the next pass she hooked into something a little better. A fingermark around 42cm. Both of Nic's fish fell to a Classic Lures, F18. We trolled again, but to no further avail. So at 6pm we went back to pull the pots. This time only two had a lone crab each, and both were undersize. Surprising thing today was that all crabs were bucks.
Anyway, we were very happy with the feed we had gathered for a short session and managed to taste one of the crabs tonight.
Haughton Barra - 8.8.09
One of the guys from work, Tim, told me that he and a mate got 8 barra last weekend in the fresh reach of the Haughton. So at 530am this morning Tim arrived at my place and we set off. Things started off reasonably well in that Tim got smashed by a big barra that took his lure and leader, then next cast nailed a nice 73cm model.
We moved on to the next snag where Tim got another, but around 50cm and I hooked up too but my fish jumped and threw the lure. Barbless tebles are good when the lure is stuck in your hand, but otherwise..... oh yeah, they're good for the fish which were all released. At this snag I had another roll on my lure and another bump it. Tim was getting similar attention.
From here things went quiet. We cast a thousand casts, tried different lures but to no avail. One of the highlights was spotting a little freshie croc on the bank. Think he may have had saltie cousins close by too, as we saw a slide not far away with the foot and claw marks.
About 11am we tried a couple of snags close to the launch point, and hear Tim got a little guy and I got my only boated barra for the day. I guess he was around 50 - 55cm? From here we loaded the boat and had a quick beer at the Giru pub on our way home. Great morning out and I'll definitely return. The only other fish was a small sooty to me. Lots of bait in the water, including some big gar. Also lots of archer fish.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Saturday 24th March
Another seven barra boated. Four to me and three to Bob. Lures were B52, Threadybuster, Trans-am and a small white Squidgy Slick Rig. Another awesome 2 hour session!
Terrible Tide, but had to try!
Another quick post work trip. Tried the old faithful B52 to no avail, plus the trans-am. The successful lure was a small white paddle tail slick rig and was caught in a snag, in a river, in NQ... This fish was just 58cm but released to fight another day.
Muddy Finger
After doing jobs of all sorts on the boat and trailer over the past few days, I decided to make the most of the great weather we've been having lately and went of searching for a few muddies this afternoon.
Nic and I launched the tinnie at Morriseys creek and had the pots in by 2pm. We then went off for a troll and when that produced nil, we soaked a bait for a while. Well, that didn't work either, so after two hours of soaking I decided to go check the pots.
What a surprise. Every pot had between one and five crabs! None were huge and a few had to go back, but we ended up with five keepers which all felt very full. The pots went straight back in with some fresh bait.
Off for another troll, and Nic managed a small cod. Then on the next pass she hooked into something a little better. A fingermark around 42cm. Both of Nic's fish fell to a Classic Lures, F18. We trolled again, but to no further avail. So at 6pm we went back to pull the pots. This time only two had a lone crab each, and both were undersize. Surprising thing today was that all crabs were bucks.
Anyway, we were very happy with the feed we had gathered for a short session and managed to taste one of the crabs tonight.
Haughton Barra - 8.8.09
One of the guys from work, Tim, told me that he and a mate got 8 barra last weekend in the fresh reach of the Haughton. So at 530am this morning Tim arrived at my place and we set off. Things started off reasonably well in that Tim got smashed by a big barra that took his lure and leader, then next cast nailed a nice 73cm model.
We moved on to the next snag where Tim got another, but around 50cm and I hooked up too but my fish jumped and threw the lure. Barbless tebles are good when the lure is stuck in your hand, but otherwise..... oh yeah, they're good for the fish which were all released. At this snag I had another roll on my lure and another bump it. Tim was getting similar attention.
From here things went quiet. We cast a thousand casts, tried different lures but to no avail. One of the highlights was spotting a little freshie croc on the bank. Think he may have had saltie cousins close by too, as we saw a slide not far away with the foot and claw marks.
About 11am we tried a couple of snags close to the launch point, and hear Tim got a little guy and I got my only boated barra for the day. I guess he was around 50 - 55cm? From here we loaded the boat and had a quick beer at the Giru pub on our way home. Great morning out and I'll definitely return. The only other fish was a small sooty to me. Lots of bait in the water, including some big gar. Also lots of archer fish.
