Sweetwater Fishing Forums

General Category => Fishing Reports => Topic started by: Sweetwater on February 24, 2011, 11:31:59 PM

Title: Boyne River Barra Report
Post by: Sweetwater on February 24, 2011, 11:31:59 PM
Boyne River Report from member via text message tonight.

Quote
Hey mate. Got to Pikes Crossing just on dark.

Fished from the bank, dropped 4 meter + barra plus straightened the hooks on 2 more. My mate langed a nice one.

Regrouping for morning plastic session.

Thanks mate.

 
Title: Re: Boyne River Barra Report
Post by: Mackerel Whisperer on February 25, 2011, 05:36:08 AM
Thanks Fitzy

We're going for a look around Boyne/Calliope systems this weekend. Can you camp at Pikes Crossing or are we better of staying at Boyne River Rest Area?

Was thinking about taking my tinny and throwing a few crab pots in the Boyne downstream from the bridge. Is it worth while crabbing there?

I have never fished these areas before. Any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers
Jono
Title: Re: Boyne River Barra Report
Post by: aussiebasser on February 25, 2011, 06:57:49 AM
Paul Dolan fished their yesterday afternoon.  He had to use ropes to get his Polycraft to the big hole at the top. (Please remember that there is a no fishing zone close to the wall, and if discovered in there you will be in trouble.) He stopped counting at 12 fish in the first 3 hours, but landed at least that many again before dark.  All were taken on fly.  He even complained about sore arms from pulling on fish.  The poor thing.  At one point he landed 5 from 5 casts.  Kurt is doing some great work to try to open the river up and let these stranded fish make their way through the river to the harbour and get them out of this fragile system.  Don't be too surprised if you see and excavator working in the river.  I've heard stories of some people catching fish here and claiming both World and ANSA records.  It hardly seems right when it is possible to catch in excess of 100 fish a day there.  I could see that it would be a useful experience to fish this water and watch how the Barra react to different lures and techniques.  (Yes the water is so clear that you can see them.)  But to fish here and claim any kudos for being an expert Barra angler would be stretching the truth.  If anyone has the means to get there, go, by all means.  Your boat will get knocked about traversing the couple of sets of rapids, so if you've got an old tinnie or even a canoe you could have some fun.
Title: Re: Boyne River Barra Report
Post by: Johnny Mitchell on February 25, 2011, 08:27:40 AM
It's a small mecca that place. I am concerned about water levels and the future prognosis, but. There could end up being a mass of dead barra if nature has it's way. One of my friend's girlfriend landed 12 from the bank a weekend or two back, to 118cm. That gives people some idea on what type of waterway and fishing hole it's like. She's never caught a barra in her life, until now.
The salty Boyne opens up to commercial netting on or about the 1st of May. Look out barra, the big mobs' days are numbered. I have started guiding in the salty parts of the Boyne if anyone is keen to try their luck. Down in the salt the fish are in great condition and look a million dollars but are scattered in comparison to Pikes, but when we know the river and the barras' habits, it makes life easier. I'll be there for the next couple of months.
Paul must have had a blast.
Johnny
Title: Re: Boyne River Barra Report
Post by: aussiebasser on February 25, 2011, 08:44:12 AM
Yeah he's having fun.  You guide blokes are a bit weird though.  When I have holidays I don't stay home and make medium voltage switchboards, but you guys take a few days off from fishing so you can go fishing.......weird.
Title: Re: Boyne River Barra Report
Post by: Johnny Mitchell on February 25, 2011, 10:15:17 AM
Ahaha, but if you guided someone to make a switch board, and you yourself loved making switch boards, then on ya days off you'd be making switch boards!  :)
Title: Re: Boyne River Barra Report
Post by: Sweetwater on February 25, 2011, 10:43:24 AM
Ahaha, but if you guided someone to make a switch board, and you yourself loved making switch boards, then on ya days off you'd be making switch boards!  :)

WTF?? You need to go fishing mate.....ah forgot that's work, so go fishing instead.

Thanks for the updates JM. Are the salty ones getting some nice color about them yet?

fitz..
Title: Re: Boyne River Barra Report
Post by: aussiebasser on February 25, 2011, 11:03:50 AM
Ahaha, but if you guided someone to make a switch board, and you yourself loved making switch boards, then on ya days off you'd be making switch boards!  :)

Mate, you don't know just how much I love making Switchboards.  I love it so much that I put up with going fishing just so I don't suffer from love overload.
Title: Re: Boyne River Barra Report
Post by: Sweetwater on February 25, 2011, 11:31:20 AM
Heres one sent via text message this morning

Title: Re: Boyne River Barra Report
Post by: Sweetwater on February 25, 2011, 11:49:25 AM
And another Boyne River Barramundi
Title: Re: Boyne River Barra Report
Post by: Johnny Mitchell on February 25, 2011, 04:07:12 PM
Fitz, the colour is on it's way, a dynamic change already.
J
Title: Re: Boyne River Barra Report
Post by: beau on February 25, 2011, 05:00:34 PM
Ordinary fisherman up in the dams but experts catching them hand over fist in the rivers below, lets hope that excavator makes its way there soon  :thumbsup
Title: Re: Boyne River Barra Report
Post by: aussiebasser on February 25, 2011, 07:12:16 PM
Fitz, the colour is on it's way, a dynamic change already.
J

I hear Steve Morgan got one about 70 in the Lake itself yesterday.  I'm predicting that the place will be going off by this time next week.  I may be way off, but I'd love to be on the lake next weekend.
Title: Re: Boyne River Barra Report
Post by: Bracey on February 25, 2011, 07:23:11 PM
Heres one sent via text message this morning

Great to see you got onto a few Robby!!! :youbeauty
Title: Re: Boyne River Barra Report
Post by: k.hutchby on February 25, 2011, 07:53:34 PM
nah dale, steve didnt get it, one on the western side of the dam with one of my mates.  i found some of the better soundings on that side, hooked in the eye and back of head, poofter colour (elton john) classic barra.  2 other bites (chuffed leader) but no other activity apart from catfish (gotta love em).  fished below the spillway today, 30 casts = 1 fish, no other bites no other hookups, those barra that were stuck must have had a move since the excavator has been in there.  watched a couple of guys come up to the top pool today and counted 14 run ups before giving up.  water levels are dropping quick up there and so too is the flow. 

cheers
kh

Title: Re: Boyne River Barra Report
Post by: Paul Dolan on February 26, 2011, 11:42:10 AM
Yeh I had a few spare days so  like Dale said I fished the Boyne Barra barrel on Thursday that's the best way I could describe it!!fishing in a barrel but had a ball all the same!!! also encountered fish in the lower 2 pools towards Pikes crossing, with all fish on fly and very interesting to watch as I stripped the fly fast to see what reactions the fish made  when the sun was shining bright[eg no cloud cover] there was a great opportunity to watch as many as 4 fish slash at the fly on the retrieve.
Biggest I got went 109cm but got done over buy 2 others I couldn't stop and popped the 60 and 80 lb leader,only lifted 2 from the water the other was 95cm but most I guess were from about 85 to a metre or a touch over
I hate to think how many fish are in that pool but if they don't get out and when the flow dries up it will all be revealed eventually.

On a slow twitchy strip with the little Boney Bream pattern I tie with two sprig style weed guards Harro showed me years ago that go at right angles to the hook eye that make the fly jump over snags most of the time, it was dead easy to get hooked up so I played around with them watching as the fly would be sucked in and spat back out again in the blink of an eye,all the fish except for a few were hooked in the scissor of the mouth and watching the fish turn as they struck was the reason for that. and if I didn't react most wouldn't get hooked! great fun to watch.
I did catch fish on a variety of flies but the little Boney was the stand out fly for the day.

There was a similar thread on another fly fishing site where Harro called it Barrel fishing and it didn't go down to well!!! but sometimes the truth hurts and he obviously hit a nerve,and any one claiming a record for catching fish in this situation shouldn't be allowed to because it's too easy and those that earned it buy doing it on a dam or river would be getting robbed.

I've been fishing for impoundment Barra on fly since 99- 2000 and it's a bloody tough way to catch them and very rewarding when you do but in the boyne atm it's a turkey shoot but a fun one and no reflection on what impoundment barra on fly is really like.

The next day I fished the Boyne in the salt for the first time and landed 2 from about 10 hookups just couldn't stay connected, with some good visual strikes as I twiched lures around the rock bars loosing one fish close to a metre in the dying stages to a worn leader down near the tanum bridge and another smoking me under the pylons.

The pic with the lure[4'' mad mullet]  was from the salt section I'd had enough of fly the day before and the shoulder and arms were a bit stiff so I stuck to casting lures,healthy fish with good colour but still had the black tail and fins so I'm guessing a dam fish that made it all the way.

I fear for the lives of the fish below the dam in the upper reaches as when the flow stops over the wall life for those fish will be limited,I've seen it too many times below Lenthalls!! the water will loose oxygen and food supply will dry up,maybe if the log blocking the bottom of the pool was removed they may venture further down stream and have a chance as it will be a shame to see them die in there.

Kurt I hope you and the guys and at GAWBA can find a way to get at least some of the fish to go down stream or get them out of there some how, it will be a terrible waste if not and end up a smelly mess to clean up,when I worked as a ranger for Wide Bay Water I had to pick up thousands from Lenthalls and I wouldn't wish that job on anyone.

Would it be possible to get say ten boats in via the top ramp you made catch them or net them and truck them back to the dam?I'd be willing to lend a hand if this would be possible I just hate seeing dead barra that could be saved.

I'm going to get back to the salty Boyne as soon as I can!! before the netters have their way,  bloody nice river that one with a lot of potential.
Here's a few pics

Paul
Title: Re: Boyne River Barra Report
Post by: aussiebasser on February 26, 2011, 01:16:10 PM
Thanks for clearing that up Kurt.  My ears are going with age.
Title: Re: Boyne River Barra Report
Post by: Sweetwater on February 26, 2011, 01:29:59 PM
Here's another one from this morning from the boys....
Title: Re: Boyne River Barra Report
Post by: Jim_Tait on February 28, 2011, 11:57:47 AM
As the SWF reports came in I had a lot of trouble doing any work Friday afternoon, found myself pouring over aerial images of the Boyne upstream and downstream of Pikes crossing, getting the boat out of the shed, fiddling with gear etc... My wife had left on an overseas trip with girlfriends that morning - so I was a 'free' agent’ –crazy 7 hr drives north could at least be considered..., but my daughter had been sick that week with a belly bug and Friday was her first day back and school, they'd got up real early in the morning to see mum off - so they'd also be buggered.. Not the time to go charging off up north - so resigned myself to not going - or maybe next week, but I knew the flow situation would be different and the barra bite would be like ..., you should of been her last week!!! :-\

So picked my daughter up from the bus stop at 4 pm and explained what I had almost committed to doing - and she was like what "I'm well lets go!!' So when my son Jules got home from swimming at 6pm we're packed and departed! Got to the bunk house at Awonga at 2 am and I got 4 hrs sleep - before the kids (who had slept in the car most of the way) got me up at 6 - ready to go fishing (no rest for the wicked)!! :P

We were at the crossing and primed to go before 7am but when I went to push the bung in my boat – the bung housing (held in with now perished rivets) push out leaving a gaping hole – this stumped me until a nearby kayaker (Glen – thanks mate) loan me his repair silicon and we fixed the hole but had to wait for the silicon to set – missing the last of the good morning session time upstream while we did – however Jules got busted by a barra and then landed his first ever (an undersized wild fish) from the crossing bridge while waiting – so he was happy (understatement!!). ;D

When we did get up the river all the way (jumping a couple of log jams) to the top holes we saw a couple of other fish being caught but the main bite had gone off with the rising sun – so noting the potential of the run in flows for the afternoon session we retreated to our airconditioned bunk room for some R & R – dad was even allowed to have a camp!

That arvo they were on – I scored a 102cm jobbie that went like the clappers, thought it was going to brick me in snags on the far side of the river on a couple of occasions – a few were also caught by boats adjoining us several over a 1m but it wasn’t going ballistic  - though I heard that after dark it did – unfortunately I had to retire with tired kids before the full ‘barra o’clock  came round’ – ce la vie, I was disappointed my daughter Bodhi didn’t score one as she was really putting in the hard yards! Next time!

Next morning (Sunday sesh) we fished again but scored nought – though a couple (only) were caught next to us and Jules got a cattie on the fly rod which he was happy about! Overall the kids had a ball and I’m glad I made the effort to get there, thanks SWF for the info on the ‘barrel bite!’ :youbeauty

On the issue of it being ‘fish in a barrel situation’ – I don’t think we can go too hard on how meritous or otherwise the captures made in the Boyne River channel are. Fair enough Harro sticking it up some who were (illegally) fishing the constricted and rock constructed dam spillway plunge pool (the real barrel) and claiming fame.  But in the river below the fishing was real – in that they were hard pulling fit barra, the snags were real and you still had to hook them and land them – which many weren’t succeeding to do.  If people think that the concentration of fish is what disqualifies it think again – those situations can be found naturally and I have been (fortunately) party to a couple of them – (think) Bensback River PNG (2500 lb of barra fillet baitcaster caught for a commercial restauranter one weekend in 1977), natural log jam in the Nicholson River (family hole), the beginning of freshwater swamp run in to the Barratta Ck estuary, floodplain run off Fly River PNG etc).  I’m not trying to make a case one way or the other, but once you start trying to downgrade someone eles’s barra capture - because the fish were too abundant and ‘too easy’ – make sure you remember to mention how hot the bite was if you get a notable catch in one of the types of natural ‘fish in a barrel’ situations that occur…Or if you find one go somewhere else as the fish are meant to be ‘harder..’ and don’t count. :-\
Like most other’s on this board one of the main concerns now is what will happen to this barra resource once the flow shuts down. In an ideal world we’d have enough environmental flow regulation written into the operation of the storage that the downstream pools don’t fall over once the spillway event stops (especially since estuarine connected freshwater habitat is at a premium in the Boyne post-dam)  – certainly in a wet year like this one where the natural flow regime would of extended for longer..

Was also great to see small, naturally recruited?, wild barra in the system – the lower Boyne looks set to enjoy some great barra fishing into the future. Long as the pros don’t hit them too hard – gee maybe a protected area (rec only yellow zone) would be a good idea? – Nah we can’t do that we’re joining voices with the commercial industry these days to keep the dreaded greenies from agitating for more protected areas….
 ::)
Title: Re: Boyne River Barra Report
Post by: takrat on February 28, 2011, 12:45:36 PM
Great report Jim, I just got home from my local tackle store and was told that the owner was up at the Boyne-catching fish in a barrel. He called while I was in the store to say that the river level has dropped 4 inches over night. Need to rescue those Barra. If there was a mob of kittens stuck like that it would be on the 6 o'clock news along with all the rescue apparatus they could muster. Be a big tragedy if all those fish went belly up and became one big stink.
JD
Title: Re: Boyne River Barra Report
Post by: aussiebasser on February 28, 2011, 01:20:12 PM
I think you'll find Kurt is doing all he can and is confident that they'll get to the salt water and disperse.  Comparing them to a mob of kittens is a bit over the top.  If they were feral kittens we'd be lined up to knock them on the head knowing the damage they do to our native wildlife.  This is a phenomena that happens whenever a dam anywhere that is stocked, overflows.  I've seen it at Clarrie Hall, Hinze, Wivenhoe, North Pine, Lenthalls and further north, south and west.  I wonder what is happening in the Kolan River below Monduran.  Getting them back to the dam would be nice, but probably a logistical nightmare that would see many losses.  Getting them through the barriers may create it's own problems further downstream, but it seems to be the most viable alternative.  Let's just hope they get to the saltwater and disperse quickly.  Upsetting as it may seem, maybe the best thing for the ecosystem is to let them die where they are.  I know I wouldn't want to be a mullet in the Boyne at the moment.
Title: Re: Boyne River Barra Report
Post by: takrat on February 28, 2011, 03:10:15 PM
Dale that was not meant as a criticism of anyone especially Kurt, and the kitten thing was a subtle reference to the Greenies calling fish "sea kittens" perhaps I should have made that a little more obvious. In any case nobody wants to see good fish go to waste.
Title: Re: Boyne River Barra Report
Post by: Sweetwater on February 28, 2011, 08:12:38 PM
A bloody ripper report Jim, thanks for posting. You seem to do well at getting & keeping the kids involved, good onya!

Also thanks for your insights re closed waters. Noted a TIC line there and cant blame you really...

Fitz..
Title: Re: Boyne River Barra Report
Post by: k.hutchby on February 28, 2011, 08:31:10 PM
hi guys
first of all no critisism taken....  the past 2 weeks have been mindblowing seeing the secondary fishery that has been created and the extra opportunity for locals and visiting recreational (and unfortunately commercial) fishermen within the river proper of boyne.  again when the spill happened i had confidence that this would be the result, but that was only from endless hours of research, visiting other impoundments veiwing their spillways during flood, and consultation with people with way more experience in this feild (i am the first to admit i WAS totally unexperiened in impoundment barra overflows).  but after travelling unknown number of km's up and down the boyne and sitting in the spillway tower, and catching a cr@p load of barra during and after the flood, i would say that i have a much clearer picture of the event (bear in mind in 2 months i will have my pHD in fisheries biology, but not in this feild), and confidence of predicting flow on affects of both within and below the spillway.  also a point worth making, is that every spillway and river system below these dams are different with varying results of survival and numbers exiting.  how this major influx of apex predators into a relatively small estuary impacts its ecology?  (this does not require a phd candidate to answer, you guys can predict the flow on affects).

health of the fish have improved by the day within the last 2 weeks, with many spillway injuries healling rapidly.  i understand what you guys have concerns with in the pools below the spillway, but this is something that is way out of my control (i wish i had the solution).  remember this is a natural stream, but the barra are spread throughout a large area and as the experienced would understand, you will never catch all of the barra within a pool.   

sorry gotta cut it short, gotta go.

cheers
kh
Title: Re: Boyne River Barra Report
Post by: takrat on February 28, 2011, 08:53:20 PM
Kurt, that weather event took heaps of people by surprise and like you, stood up to the challenge the best way they knew how. Well done all 'round mate.
John
Title: Re: Boyne River Barra Report
Post by: Binder on March 01, 2011, 06:15:07 AM
I remember years ago that the boys at Monduran actually got a permit to catch a few and let them go below the wall to boost the breeding population.

If they have a similar amount of surviving fish going over as Awoonga, I dont think they would need it for a long time now!

I wonder if this is where the the white bucket brigade have gone? They have been leaving North Pine alone for the last couple of weeks, although there are still lots of bass to be caught caught in the pools.

Title: Re: Boyne River Barra Report
Post by: Brad H on March 01, 2011, 10:19:06 PM
"I wonder if this is where the the white bucket brigade have gone?"
Good luck to em Binder, I think the Barra would need more than a couple of weeks freedom to reduce the DAM taste they get. But I guess if you add enough spices to the fishcake mince it could overpower it

Brad
Title: Re: Boyne River Barra Report
Post by: aussiebasser on March 02, 2011, 06:45:29 AM
As long as anglers are obeying closed seasons, closed waters and bag and size limits, there is nothing wrong with taking a feed of fish.  That is the reason stocked impoundments exist.  Prepared correctly, I doubt that anyone could pick the difference between an impoundment barra, a farmed barra which you get in most restaurants and a wild saltwater fish.
Title: Re: Boyne River Barra Report
Post by: Dick Pasfield on March 02, 2011, 04:21:28 PM
Tartare sauce, the great leveller, provided you put enough on ;)