Sweetwater Fishing Forums
General Category => Fishing Reports => Topic started by: Bracey on March 25, 2011, 11:00:55 AM
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Well after a few days fishing the Boyne with Nath and Shaun, we had mixed results, many opportunities missed however fish were caught in between thundery rain and electrical storms but most of all we had a great time exploring new ground thanks to Trev (Awoonga) who was kind enough to show us some nice spots along the Boyne to fish and to keep our boat in one piece avoiding unseen rock bars. Thanks a mint Trev, it was great to catch up. We also ran into Paul having a quick chat before a spot of fishing in the rusty stuff and it was great just to put some faces to some names over the time we spent there.
What we witnessed over these short days I will most probably never see again and I'm sure Nath and Shaun would probably agree. We had front row seats to a specticle of feeding Barra less than 5 metres in front of us, not just in the slack water but in extremely fast moving water too where we were tied up in the current to a tree as they continued to smash Boney Bream within 6 inches of the bank. This would have to be a definate highlight of my trip actually seeing them at their natural best undetered by our presence which was extremely exciting to watch. We were extremely privileged to witness these moments and won't be forgotten for some time.
We wanted to see if we could get a few on surface which was a first for Shaun and myself using Rapala WXR 13's and Lucky Craft 115 Sammy's and we weren't disappointed.
Here's a few shots of some of the fish we caught and the results of some of the fish we missed including one wrecked rod. Awesome fun!
I'd also like to take the opportunity to also thank Kurt for his offer to catch up and take a look through the Hatchery. Unfortunately my week was cut short due to various reasons including work committments and wasn't able to get there which was quite disappointing. Thanks Mate!
Cheers Dave
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If you ever get to PNG, it'd be a good idea to pack the Rapala in the piccie. And a few of his twins. They don't all make it out alive!!
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Cheers Dale, I'll keep that in mind! :thanks
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smash Boney Bream within 6 inches of the bank.
that would have been a real hoot to watch 8)
well done Dave. Looks like those fish are starting to silver-up nicely, wonder how long it takes till they taste like salt-fish. ???
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Good question Doug, JM might be better to answer that question. I'm really kick'in myself I didn't take any footage to share, by the time I did think about it, the show was almost over. I hardly fished and just watch. It was pretty hard to cast a lure where they were chewing. Nath managed to teabag a Hollowbelly from a small branch which was about the only way we had a chance as the current was extreme.
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great read and pics mate,good to see you all a great week
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Awoonga barra that hit the straps and went seaward early on after the 12 Dec flood event went from a fresh water taste to an unquestionable salty barra taste in less than 7 weeks.
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salty barra taste in less than 7 weeks.
very interesting Johnny ...... thanks for that info.
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hi doug
i accidently banged one around in the bottom of the shytty tinnie the other day, and i dont waste what i kill, it was passable as a saltie. 98cm fish too.
cheers kurt
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A storm cloud with a silver lining?
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A storm cloud with a silver lining?
It certainly has Dick, well on this occation anyhow.
Here are a few more shots from the weekend, the first two is where we saw the Barra feeding on one occation in the early parts of Sunday morning, as you can see it was tight country trying to cast a lure in fast flowing water 6 inches from the bank where they were feeding which was about 6 feet back from the front line of those trees, the Boney Bream were holding up behind all those trees in that dirty water line however as soon as your lure landed it was swimming downstream faster than you could retieve it, hence snagging up constantly. Nath managed to teabag his lure casting purposely over a small twig and at times was very close in getting his lure amongst the action. Which ever way or angle we cast them we would get snagged. The dirty water line was from a tributary creek 50 metres upstream.
The next few was from the mouth of what I believe is Machine Creek, a tributary of the Boyne. I fished here on an ebb tide, plenty of bait, a few fish and some great country to fish for them. It had everything, a shallow entrance with a deep drop off, plenty of structure from rock bars to mangrove lined shores, bait in all sizes, a massive eddie pool downstream of the entrance and deeper water nearby. As you can see by the pictures the storms that surrounded me, however they don't show their true colours, I was shatting bricks for a while as with every clap of thunder the bait fish would scatter on the surface. Something told me I shouldn't have been there waving graphite rods around and left it for another day.
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Should have broke out the handline Dave ;D
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I left the cast net at home AK and my hand lines, a few liveys swimming around could have been very effective. It would have also been great fun hooking up to one using a handline.
Note to self, make sure they're packed for our next trip. :youbeauty
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Good session mate, good to see the numbers that are making it into the briny. THat's a very serius current.
JD
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A good reward for a good effort Bracey, top stuff.
Interesting you said the surface bite was so intense and within inches of the bank. was up there a few weeks back fishing a seriously hot surface bite with queenies, tarpon and barra and witnessed a mid 70's barra launch itself into some bait and beach itself on the bank at the highway bridges...it got hassled by some ibis' for a while then and eventually died when it couldn't flick itself back down as the tide dropped....something you don't see every day :camera
sam
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Just a shame we had difficulty in landing a lure within the strike zone though Sam!
Barra beaching itself, wouldn't doubt it, did you here about the incident where Pete and Kyle were fishing Mondy last Friday and one jumped literally in their boat. True story!
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Good report Dave and good to meet you if only briefly,I fished that creek in the bottom pics on the Thursday and got one fish from the rock bar on the run out only about 50-60 cm though.
Might go back for more this week in the salt.
Bummer about the rod.
Paul
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Here's a lil movie I did with the go pro camera for those that haven't seen it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4kfO5JJu4Q
Paul
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Woops I just realised I put it in the other thread about the boyne sorry.
Paul
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Get 'em while you can Paul, while they're in numbers. If I lived closer, I'd be doing the same.
For those who don't know, once the commercial netters hit the river on the 1st of May who knows what will happen to the fishery and the tourism dollars that these iconic fish have bought to the region from the travelling angler. It's a shame IMO to see fisheries hands over their ears on this one, especially when the commercial fishermen are getting their fair share at the mouth of the Boyne already.
If you are wanting to experience some good Barra fishing in the Boyne, be sure to take some time out before the 1st of May and head to Boyne Island and Benaraby. If these fish were left alone there might be a really good opportunity to establish a strong breeding population of Barramundi within this region for generations to enjoy.
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Get 'em while you can Paul, while they're in numbers. If I lived closer, I'd be doing the same.
For those who don't know, once the commercial netters hit the river on the 1st of May who knows what will happen to the fishery and the tourism dollars that these iconic fish have bought to the region from the travelling angler. It's a shame IMO to see fisheries hands over their ears on this one, especially when the commercial fishermen are getting their fair share at the mouth of the Boyne already.
If you are wanting to experience some good Barra fishing in the Boyne, be sure to take some time out before the 1st of May and head to Boyne Island and Benaraby. If these fish were left alone there might be a really good opportunity to establish a strong breeding population of Barramundi within this region for generations to enjoy.
Spot on Dave. :youbeauty
I'd be intersted to see what impact the Boyne Barra Bonanza has had on tourism (read accomodation numbers) to the area recently.
Fitz..
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whilst I was staying at the Boyne River Tourist Park I was pleased to have met and chatted to the owner John who is extremely passionate on the resource of these fish and what it has done, not just to his buisness, but for other buisnesses and the wider community within the region of Benaraby and Gladstone. He actually contacted the local paper so that the public understood the repercussions and impact this would have for the region when the netting goes ahead on the 1st of May and pleading to the fisheries for common sense. This was the article that was written in the Observer on the 23rd of March.
http://www.gladstoneobserver.com.au/story/2011/03/23/fishermen-commercial-boyne-river-stock-decrease/
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Just a shame we had difficulty in landing a lure within the strike zone though Sam!
Barra beaching itself, wouldn't doubt it, did you here about the incident where Pete and Kyle were fishing Mondy last Friday and one jumped literally in their boat. True story
hahaha thats insane!! a bit of luck like that during an abt event could get you the win :o
sam
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Bracey,
The main threat (as the article put it) to Boyne barra is their instinct to leave. Barra are nomads, and they have already turned up at 1770 and almost every river system between there and the Boyne. Once those fish headed over that wall, it was only a matter of time before the river reverted back to its old ( 2010) self again. A few barra will stay, but the majority will have gorrrn! Any switched on barra junky would know that it's short term for the big mobs as they drift off to discover their new territory- the Pacific. The only way they will know what lies before them is to swim it, wander it and explore it. They won't be holding up in the Boyne.
Fraser Coast Barra Charters. Paul Dolan is in!
Johnny
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Bracey,
The main threat (as the article put it) to Boyne barra is their instinct to leave. Barra are nomads, and they have already turned up at 1770 and almost every river system between there and the Boyne. Once those fish headed over that wall, it was only a matter of time before the river reverted back to its old ( 2010) self again. A few barra will stay, but the majority will have gorrrn! Any switched on barra junky would know that it's short term for the big mobs as they drift off to discover their new territory- the Pacific. The only way they will know what lies before them is to swim it, wander it and explore it. They won't be holding up in the Boyne.
Fraser Coast Barra Charters. Paul Dolan is in!
Johnny
True True!
My thoughts were for the ones that do remain there or close by that have nomadically swam further afield being able to use the Boyne's mid to upper reaches as a safe haven and being able to use the mouth of the Boyne as spawning grounds come that time. I realise that this is and has been an unusual event in which the commercial fisherman are taking advantage of, like us recreation fishermen and that the Boyne won't and wouldn't have the amount of concentrated populations in the future unless another event like this does occur. We know there is a breeding population of saltwater Barra already there, but not netting the whole of the Boyne, wouldn't this assist the growth of that already breeding population? It's fantastic to see them spreading themselves along the coast.
Many recreation anglers from down here have seen the results and the major improvement, rejuvination and fish return in good numbers since fisheries banned netting and commercial fishing in certain areas on the Sunshine Coast.
It will always will be a tug-of-war!
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Here's something simple to ponder that makes the fish breeding thing even more skewed. How great has this wet season been- big rains, wet lands and flowing rivers. So far, it has been discovered and looking like very few, (if any) juvenile barra ( new borns) have recruited the rivers along the CQ coast line this season. It doesn't matter how many brood stock exist on the coast- the survival of juveniles can be directly linked to the timing and magnitudes of flood events. The previous 3 seasons have produced great numbers of juveniles from the existing wild stocks- the best recruiting in over 20 years. Take the Boyne for example- there's a bloody great dam on the river called Awoonga- this on it's own takes away miles of natural space for juv. barra to survive.
We cannot have a perfect brood cycle if half of the equation is missing.
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Johnny, we only too often forget about man made structures, such as dams, weirs and barrages and the repercutions these structures have on wild brood stock in our waterways no matter what the species.
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I wish to add a bit to this chat. Being a newbie to this site I don't expect too much credibility but seeing I now live in Gladstone and work amongst some original Gladstone water people I might have something worth adding, you can judge.
Before the dec floods I was catching, in the upper Boyne from my yak, small barra, jacks, queenies, tevs and tarpon to name a few species, I was mainly catching them from tips given to me by old locals about locations and applying new techniques. Sadly illegal netting was going on between the railway bridge and pikes but I was still catching 65 cm barra on surface lures. Given that at this time the dam with the new wall hight had not yet overflowed and everyone was saying that it never would, the fish I was catching were new generation barra that were most likely breed in the river. This means to me that the wall has not stopped the cycle, yes it has reduced the passage up river but the river and the fish found a way to adapt with the wall past pikes and past the first weir which is after the railway bridge between pikes and Bruce Hwy. This gives hope to me for the future. BTW just above the first weir I found a school of Toga, hope they return once the flood stops again.
If the river returns back to at least where it was before the flood, it is still one of the best places to fish, however I do believe that it will be way better once things settle down. For the number of barra that leave the river there will be heaps that stay. I only hope that they were not too late in the season to breed this year.
Why am I sitting hear typing and not fishing - because it is blowing at least 35 knots and the dam (as of yesterday) is still overflowing by about half a metre. So I might just grab a light line and float some prawns under a bridge in the Calliope because I can't get to the barra.
About river netting - I don't believe that it should be allowed in any river system. Keep it to the oceans and larger bays.
Well that's some of my thoughts.
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Great contribution Brian, while I was on the Boyne recently I was pondering how great that river system is, in such a short distance from the mouth to Pikes Crossing. It has everything and I was also wondering what other species reside there. Great to here about the Togas which are one of my favourite fish to target in the fresh.
I'll be definately planning another yrip up there when things settle down to target other species along with the Barra.
Dave
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Give me the heads up Dave when you're coming up and work permitting I'll come for a fish. Ha famous last words - work permitting, we are so busy up here it's crazy.
Before the last overflow I found the Toga on the other side of Pikes, meaning instead of going towards the wall from pikes go the other way, head all the way down to the first weir and fish from there back to the swing hanging from the tree. A yak will be best but a small tinnie would do as well. If land based fish from the extreme left hand side of the swing area.
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Thanks Brian will do! :youbeauty
I'll definately take the yak next time along with the boat.
Dave
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Spot on Dave. :youbeauty
I'd be intersted to see what impact the Boyne Barra Bonanza has had on tourism (read accomodation numbers) to the area recently.
Fitz..
Fitz
Just a word of warning, the accommodation in Gladstone and area is very hard to get at the moment. The LNG projects are booking out entire hotels, buying houses and taking over the world up here. They are even using the local carparks as workers carparks and busing the workers into the sites or barges. It is going to get worse too.