Sweetwater Fishing Forums
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: fishaholic5 on February 05, 2012, 09:48:58 PM
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Does anyone know roughly how old a barra over 140cm would be?
Cheers
Wal
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Reckon an impondment barra would have to be at least 10 or 12 years old and I guess a wild fish would hae to be a bit older than that. These are just guesstamites though. Others may know better.
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Thank's Brett,
I thought they'd be older than that, I've been shown a pic of a fish well over the 140 mark( 156cm) from a dam that had only been stocked for 13 years when it was caught. My thoughts were that it had already been in the river before the dam was built
Cheers
Wal
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The first 1 metre fish caught in Monduran was caught within two years of initial stocking. A fish that big is a freak of nature and could be any age. I've never seen a photo of an Impoundment Barra over 150cm, I'd guess they're about as common as 60cm Bass.
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The max length of barra is reputed to be 1.8m, Here in the gulf the size of barra caught on handlines and livebait by aboriginals (who rarely have a camera on hand, and often discard larger fish to rot) is amazing. Next time you pass through Croydon Heading to the gulf have a look at the pics on the wall of the pub, I think you'll be be surprised
Cheers
Wal
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I'm certainly no expert on the subject, but I think it's a simple case of available foodand ease of getting that food, weighed against time spnt resting/or swimming against the current and dodging predators. An impoundment fish will always grow faster than one in the wild. However simply trying to come up with the real age of a fishjust using length or weight as the only guidline without full knowledge of its lifecycle is well nigh impossible.
JD
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The max length of barra is reputed to be 1.8m, Here in the gulf the size of barra caught on handlines and livebait by aboriginals (who rarely have a camera on hand, and often discard larger fish to rot) is amazing. Next time you pass through Croydon Heading to the gulf have a look at the pics on the wall of the pub, I think you'll be be surprised
Cheers
Wal
But this was about impoundment barra, not wild barra. Impoundment barra are very susceptible to fatty liver disease and I can honestly say that I have never heard of an impoundment fish reaching 156cm. There was a pic of one from a closed dam near Cairns that may have been near that, but it's hard to get a copy of that pic as the angler wasn't really obeying the law when he caught it about 6 years ago. I'm not saying that I don't believe it happened, but I am saying I'd believe it even more if I saw a picture showing that the fish was 156cm.
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The question was regarding all barra, after studying fisheries at uni for a number of years (where we often estimated age based on length/weight data for population modelling) I thought someone here may have had some more info. My opinion is that several 140cm plus fish that came from a water storage in the gulf 6 to 13 years after it was stocked were from fish trapped in the system, not from the stockings.
Cheers
Wal
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Wal, that opens up a whole different range of possibilities. There's a whole range of imponderables involved. Maybe Jim Tait or Dick Pasfield may know.
JD
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The first 1 metre fish caught in Monduran was caught within two years of initial stocking. A fish that big is a freak of nature and could be any age. I've never seen a photo of an Impoundment Barra over 150cm, I'd guess they're about as common as 60cm Bass.
A 60cm Bass !!! Those Unicorns do not exist ,otherwise there would be pictures :)
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Larson states 150 cm and 60 kg in several references.
Kottelat et al 1993 200cm
Oldest verified age 32 years.
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Wal,
Firstly, I am not an expert, as per earlier post there are so many environmental factors that influence growth. But I’m guessing as little as 6-10 years in an impoundment.
From my limited experience fishing Awoonga and with no exact tagging and measuring programme, 150 mm - 250 mm per year seemed to be an average. However, I suspect this diminishes, as the fish get larger 120cm+. Length gives way to girth, much like myself.
Kurt at the Gladstone hatchery or Scott the vet would be the best people to ask or ask the guys from Suntag.
Regards
Earl
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I have heard reports of a 160plus that was electrofished in Tinaroo. This from a guy I trust not to exaggerate. I'll have to dig around and see if I can find evidence. Regardless though I would say a Barra over 1.4 mts would be a genetic anomoly. They exist but the average fish may never make and those that do may get there very quickly(perhaps in under 10 years).
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Here's the pic fella's. caught in 2009 in a lake that was first stocked in 1998
Gundy is well over 6' and has his arm down the Barra's throat. It was pulled in with the V dub in the background after being hooked on a livebait.
The size of the barra on my bucket list has got a bit bigger......................
Cheers
Wal
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Geez, now I'm going to have to buy a Volkswagen to go Barra fishing. You have to love a good Aussie yarn.
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I've located another pic of a 1.4m+ fish from the same location I will post today. I would love to hook one on a lure
Cheers
Wal
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Turns out this one wasn't quite 1.4m, but still a huge fish.
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Hey Dale, that one needed a tojo and 357 to subdue ;) :))
sorry Wal for hijack....
awesome fish in anyones book.
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Yep, he made a lure out of the numberplate, and the fish still bit his face off before he was apprehended. Nice Barra, they breed them tough up north.
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I know fella's, you'd think the officer would have got all the suspects details including its age. Look's like I'll just have to try to catch one myself
Cheers
Wal
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Turns out that a number of large broodstock female Barra from the Karumba Hatchery have been released into this little waterway as well as fingerlings. Sorta makes my question a bit irrelevant.
:youbeauty
Cheers
Wal
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Hi Wal,
Here is some actual data on barra growth rate from Suntag news 187. The 3 barra had growth rates between 184-261mm/year.
PS Awoonga is still producing barra, not easy to catch, but have been averaging couple of fish per session
Regards
Earl
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There is quite a bit of variability when it comes to estimating a fishs age, so fish length isnt always a good predictor of exact age and especially if your dealing with different genetic stocks. Have a look at this link with information collected by the long term monitoring program.
http://www.daff.qld.gov.au/documents/Fisheries_SustainableFishing/Barramundi-results-update.pdf (http://www.daff.qld.gov.au/documents/Fisheries_SustainableFishing/Barramundi-results-update.pdf)
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Thank's for the info fella's :youbeauty
Earl- I'll have to get to Awoonga and some of the other Lakes sometime when I get a chance, I've definately got the Barra Bug after the 12 months I've been here in the Gulf
Cheers
Wal