Barra question
Submitted by rails8291 on Wed, 2012-06-13 11:53
Hey fellas,
A mate and I have been talking alot about barra fishing, we are in perth, was just wondering what is the closest town to Perth for barra fishing, was thinking port headland, is there anywhere this side of there to catch barra, does karratha hold barra? Any info would be appreciated, as we have never fished or been up these ways before, and most of all never laid eyes on these barras,
Thanks in advance
Ricky
Sean66
Posts: 149
Date Joined: 18/09/11
There is barra around
There is barra around Karratha and the creeks. The furthur north you go, the better your chances. Gotta wait till the water starts to warm up..say late October/November onwards. Definatley around Hedland. We missed a few last year.
I'm here for a good time, not a long time. Lets go fishing!
trymyluck
Posts: 908
Date Joined: 06/05/12
There are Barra from Exmouth
There are Barra from Exmouth up , but if u want to go somewhere and fish for barra, go to the NT, I have had sessions of 50 plus in a day in the NT !! Remember most barra are caught in the wet season or either side whilst the waters are warm. ..its getting too cold now....... Its not that you wont or cant catch them this time of year, its just more difficult. During the build up to the wet and the runoff after the wet , you will do much better.
Sean66
Posts: 149
Date Joined: 18/09/11
Kool..barra in Exmouth. Yeah
Kool..barra in Exmouth. Yeah NT is the place to be.
I have a theory...you say its not impossible to catch barra in cooler weather...Ive been thinking that the barra are so lazy in cooler conditions, they will hit a dead/strip bait. In wamer conditions, they are more active and are happy to hit live baits and lures and will leave dead baits alone. Perhaps I can test this out in a few weeks.
I'm here for a good time, not a long time. Lets go fishing!
Yewiefish85
Posts: 792
Date Joined: 02/01/11
your theory?, i remember
your theory?, i remember tellin you that last time we chased barra!!!
Mate as stated above the water temp is generally too cold for barra at the moment, during the cooler months the metabloic rate slows down, this makes them more lethargic and feed less but feed they must!, i have caught 1 barra in Hedland during winter time, the water was cold (cold for here) and we had livies out for salmon, i decided to throw a lure around then BANG!, out jumped a barra, this fish ignored 4 livies and hit a lure, this fish was pretty lean for it's length (68cm 2.7kg).
Good luck with you quest for a barra, i have to agree with the above comments about heading to the NT to get your barra, from my experience Hedland and Broome barra take a fair bit of time and effort to get wired but once you have the knowledge it gets easier so unless you know someone in town that knows their stuff i would suggest you forget Hedland (also good luck finding accomedation).
Cheers Yewie
Sean66
Posts: 149
Date Joined: 18/09/11
yeah yeah..our theory..lol..
yeah yeah..our theory..lol..
I'm here for a good time, not a long time. Lets go fishing!
Adam Gallash
Posts: 15645
Date Joined: 29/11/05
get a guide
Personally if I hadn't barra fished before and didn't have someone that knew the ropes, I would go somewhere that you could get a guide and pick his brains on the ins and outs of the tides, the baits, the lures. Of course it will change between areas, but once you have a base knowledge to work from, your own trips and exploration will be so much easier and more fruitful in my opinion.
Site Admin - Just ask if you need assistance
CCC
Posts: 539
Date Joined: 29/03/10
Yep Barra from Exy North but
Yep Barra from Exy North but if you are making a trip North with the focus being catching barra head futher north then Hedland. Get up into the Kimberley. It might be a bit futher but will be way more rewarding.
I'm with Adam a guided trip for at least a day will be worth every cent.
I think you need to decide how keen you are on getting barra. They are awesome to catch but to maximise your chances it involves being up here on stinking hot days(and nights)with the possiblity of big rains or cyclones. Dont let me put you off, it wicked fun but not the idea time to go camping.
In saying that if you can handle being up here with 40deg days that are humid as hell while being smashed by sandflys I say bring it on. Catching a Barra is something very special. Until you have done it you wont understand. I have mates that cant believe the effort we go to for a baz but once they experiance their first they also get addictted.
Heaps of good info on this site should you make the trip north and I'm sure many will help you out
CCC
damo6230
Posts: 2029
Date Joined: 07/06/08
Barra
Plenty of Barra up here.
The best time for Barra is the Build up, so late Sept-Nov and I reckon October is the best month period. At least all the roads are open, the weather is warming up but the nights are still not too hot, and the Barra are very interested in feeding. And it is always good to see the rubber necks leaving town :)
Most will say the back end of the wet but the end of the wet is very hard to pick and changes each year.
Yeh it's OK if your a local but can play havoc if your travelling.
Fishing over the wet has some benefits like cheaper Accom / Flights etc but again if your travelling then it's totally weather dependant.
Barra tend to shut down on a rising river also.
Tides are cruicial and dictate how you fish, where and when. We get 8m tides here.
You really need sharp casting skills unless you are going to troll all day and much to everyone disbelief there is a real ART to trolling and it's not as boring as bat shit! Best weapon is a lure retriever cause if you aint in the wood you aint catching Barra.
Dont let those headland crew etc convince you otherwise, they wait for the low tide and fish the pools when Barra can't get out
Ouch it felt that POC :)
Guides generally charge by the boat but if you are real keen charter a Heli fish and get the best of everything, scenery with a birds eye view, isolation, local knowledge and you get dropped right on the fish. With a few crew it really is not all that expensive.
Dont use live bait because that is cheating :)
rails8291
Posts: 402
Date Joined: 06/01/12
Thanks guys
Not to bothered about the weather as we both work in the pilbara , just looking at giving it a go so we can tick it off our list, and gets us out of Perth fishing
Yewiefish85
Posts: 792
Date Joined: 02/01/11
where abouts do you work?,
where abouts do you work?, some of the rivers have semi permanent water holes that sometimes hold barra, mostly small fidh but great fun on appropriate gear
Nimbin 157
Posts: 130
Date Joined: 03/05/10
Kunnunurra area is the go
Kunnunurra area is the go Pentacost,Keep and Victoria rivers + the Ord system.Avatar pic is almost 2 years to the day 95cm on popper Pentacost and 106cm in the Keep same day in morning.
rails8291
Posts: 402
Date Joined: 06/01/12
FMG Cloudbreak
Work at cloudbreak,
Yewiefish85
Posts: 792
Date Joined: 02/01/11
hot as hell in summer there,
hot as hell in summer there, would you drive up or more look into flying into your destination to chase barra?, if driving don't underestimate locations by the side of the road, i have had some great sessions on small barra flicking plastics and small hardbodys (bream lures) pretty much under bridges on the highway, a mate of mine was also telling me about the barra fishing from the culverts around Darwin during the run off.