Ticking on barra time
a decent sort of run,” Mead added. He told how deep-diving lures might have turned the attention of a Bohle River barra but explained that a fair stretch of water was usually needed before lures could be trailed or trolled behind a boat to fool a fish.
“Finding fish-holding water in that river that isn’t already punctuated with anglers soaking baits might be a bit like winning the lottery,” Mead said.
“So, do as the masses do and set a live bait for a barra — that’s my tip,” Mead said with authority.
The Queensland East Coast Barramundi Season 2020 closes at midnight Saturday. The wild stocks of the species are off limits until February 1 next year. The Gulf of Carpentaria barra season already closed on October 7.
BOYS HOOK BEAUTIES
Bluewater and foreshore anglers will be delighted to learn that grey or broad-barred mackerel have finally infiltrated local waters, and in reasonable numbers, just this week.
That’s after showing promising early-season signs throughout the past fortnight, in spite of anglers largely going home empty-handed.
My second-eldest boy, Rhys Riddle, 13, was happy to fool his first grey mackerel of the season on Tuesday when he dropped a Halco Twisty lure among a school of fish in waters wide of Magnetic Island’s Nelly Bay.
A high-speed retrieve ensured the lure was finding its way back to the boat in quick time before a fat mackerel broke from the school to eat the artificial bait.
The hook-up was solid and the fight a good one on light braid line and my boy as happy as could be when I tailed a nice 95cm fish.
Doggie mackerel and queenfish added variety to the catch for Rhys and his mate Cooper Alexander, also 13, yet it was a cobia caught by Cooper that he relished most — a plucky 95cm model that proved the young man’s first ever fish!
It is expected that the grey mackerel might remain a probable catch throughout the coming weeks when anglers troll minnow-style lures, cast and retrieve metal jigs, or drift pilchard baits in waters flanking Magnetic Island, the adjacent shipping channel, and close to Halifax Bay’s Paluma shoals.
BIG RAY TESTS YOUNGSTER
There’s every chance that young Harrison Mccloskey will be chancing his casts in an attempt to fool a barramundi on Saturday.
Harrison, 12, is described by his grandfather Dennis Mccloskey, of Cungulla, as a fishing fanatic.
Just recently, Harrison experienced both barramundi-disappointment and joy when a sizeable fish hooked by the young angler was bitten in half by a shark. However a short time later he beat the shark to land a barra.
Harrison followed up that trip with a more recent land-based trip near Salmon Creek.
Granddad Mccloskey showed me a photograph of a whopping shovel nose ray or guitarfish that Harrison hooked, fought and wrestled to the beach.
“Harrison is just 12 and it took a fair while for him to land the fish,” the proud grandfather said.
“It was duly released of course,” he said, loosely referring to the fine 82cm Haughton River
ABOVE: Cooper Alexander was thrilled catching his first ever fish early this week — this cobia measuring 95cm 150cm maximum size for the species – and possibly acknowledging that there is much better table fare swimming in Cungulla and Salmon Creek waters.
SEND IN YOUR BEST PICS
How about letting pics of your endof-season barramundi catches land in this column next week?
Send pics and a few words about your prize catch to eddieriddle@fishcity.com.au
Happy fishing and keep your rods bent!