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Tackle Test

Not one of my better days.
Now I’m not one of those guides that can rattle of a heap of names for different type of reel, lures and all that stuff. I just stick with what I know best, (that’s catching Barra) and what works for me. If I need any info I go to the experts, the guys I use are Nugget at Ingham Tackle Shack and Rowley at the Barrier Reef tackle Village both are good fishermen and will look after you price wise.

I was in the market for another rod and was walking past Rowley’s shop in Tully so I called in for a bit of a squizz. I was looking at something a bit durable as graphite and me just don’t get on, I always finish up breaking the tips of or shutting them in car doors! So how I let Rowley talk me into one of the new Shakespeare “Platinum” rods I’ll never know! Anyway I had the new rod, Max Paton had sent up some new lures to try, these were made by Brad Smith and were called a “Digga”, I’m crazy on pink at the moment so I grabbed a pink and a gold coloured one leaving Roscoe the rest.

So the stage was set, new rod, new lure, good weather plus good tides look out Barra! Mark Adams from the new “Norship” set up at Pt Hinchinbrook was to fish with me the first day and my old mate Ross Paton the following morning. Mark and I duly set out for the Small Boat Passage end of the Channel, it was a decent sort of a high and we wanted to fish the snags from Damper Creek to Conn Creek. Now fishing with Mark can be a bit off putting as he’s one of those guys whose forever changing lures.

We fished for a while, I was using the new pink lure and Mark a procession of different types and makes, the common denominator being a deep diver. Next snag I was on, a decent sort of a Barra, it grabbed the lure in the snags and took it right back in, now there’s one thing about Barra that makes them easy to fish on the snags, if you keep the pressure on they will swim out. Such was the case with this fish, swam straight out, a bit of tail walking and he was along side of the boat, a quick measure and photo and back into the water. We fished for a bit more until Mark worked his lure along side a sunken log, he had just floated the lure over the top when a juvenile barra floated up inhaled the lure and just floated there looking at Mark. I suggested to Mark that it would be a good idea to reel in his fish as he was one down so far! ”What, oh yeah I’d better” he’d been some where else at the time. Didn’t put up much of a fight but a Barra’s a Barra!

We’d finished that bank and motored on to the next one, as we cruised along we passed a couple fishing and stopped to watch as she fought and dropped a decent fish, no sooner than she had her lure in the boat when her partner hooks into another decent fish, a 75cm Barra. After some introductions, (John and Marie Lynch from Townsville) John suggested we fish this bank with them as it was really going off, they had caught and released 8 Barra the biggest around 90 cm, we didn’t need a second invitation and proceed to work the sunken tree’s.

Well, it was all down hill for me from then on, first cast into the snags and smash a fish that had to be a 1m plus monstered the lure and ripped me into the snag, ’Oh no you don’t” says I and really put it to the fish, well the bloody rod exploded in my hand the fish disappeared into the depths, also taking the new lure with it! Not much I could do about it now, got the second string rod out and proceeded to fish, Mark has caught and released some nice Barra best being about 70-80 cm (we were just releasing them at the boat by now, as I had enough pictures). He was now using the ugliest lure I had ever seen, it was a yellow and black Down Under “Jindavik” .The best I could do was get a follow from a horse right to the boat, he let me have a good look then casually swam off. If you wondering why there’s no pics that’s because when I got home and tried to rewind the film, the camera decided to chew it up! So I had bust the new rod lost the lure and stuffed the film, not one of my better days.

I still had time to shoot into Tully and throw myself on the floor in front of Rowley; some serious grovelling was in order to get this rod replaced for the next day’s trip. Well as usual Rowley came to the party but only after I had to have a lecture about keeping my rod down and how to fish with graphite, a bit embarrassing really. Still you’re never too old to learn!

Ross and I started the next day fishing the incoming tide in Damper Creek chasing some Jacks for the table. I, using my new rod (again) and another pink “Digga” that I scabbed out of Ross’s box (No shame in my game!), Ross was using some nondescript lure he’d purchased from “Woolies”. We slowly drifted in on the tide working the snags and drains. Ross was soon into a nice cod, which gave a bit more fight than the usual, it measured 55cm,nice one. I had managed to catch and release two small Barra, caught in front of a drain that must have had thirty plus fish schooling up in it.

We decided to move on as we were after Jacks, the next bank was lousy with snags so we decided to give it a go. First cast for me was a nice Jack of 45 cm; Ross was still persevering with his new lure managing to catch a small “FingerMark”. I meanwhile had pulled in two more Jacks, best being 52 cm. Ross was mumbling about getting his pink lure back, he had no chance of that I can tell you. We fished for about three hours catching 3 nice Jacks, 3 small Barra, a small Fingermark and Ross’s Cod, a nice mornings fishing and I still have the rod in one piece!

Jim (Jimbo) Lee  -  www.un-reel-sportsfishing-adventures.com.au