Biggest Barra Ever

[black_sheep]

Ausfishers,

I'm keen to know what the biggest Barra that any of you have heard, seen or caught, either on line or other. I keep hearing of massive Barra being pulled from all our impoundments and know that consistant catches of fish up to 36kgs have been made.

I was under the impression that Tinaroo held the record for line caught fish at 38.??kgs but this record has got to be a few years old now and with the number of fishos now chasing these impoundment fish, certainly bigger ones have been landed?????

Last year when we were at faust, we heard that when they last electrofished the dam, it produced a 160cms fish that was estimated at 50kgs.

Like to see someone stop that one cating at timber ;D

[McCod]

Tinaroo record is still it.... sept 1999. Been bigger ones eletro fished.... with models going over 40 KG.... have heard a few wild stories of impoundment Barra around the traps..... 1.8 mtr Faust Barra #[smiley=jester.gif] ? Yeah sure #;) No proof yet...

[Graham_N_Roberts]

Crikey ... 1.8 mtr .... would be best to keep the kids from swimming in there. Especially the smaller ones.

Have heard of stories of big Murry Cod taking kids many years ago.

Cheers

[Fitzy]

I recon that the biggest fish in faust might be just a tad harder to land than the big girls in Tinaroo.
I dont think we've seen the best of barra as yet.... far from it.

Below is from Suntag news 115.

fitzy..

[peterr]

A Murray Cod eating people ???. What were you smokin when you heard that CQ. :D
I suppose you've heard the one about the ten footers At the bottom of the Keepit Dam Wall too eh? :o
Ah those campfire stories are good. ;)
Cheers Peterr.

[A_DIFF_PERSPECTIVE]

how big? that question runs through my mind before bed at night!
nothing but age will stop our impounded barra from growing in the food rich environments, and as Fitzy mentioned, the best is yet to come! Some lakes offer easier fishing conditions than others and the likes of Awoonga gives anglers a mass advantage before even casting a lure. Northern lakes, of an older generation hold larger fish, but unfortunately they also carry tougher angling scenes. 40 kg will be broken in the following 3, 4 or 5 years in one of the major impoundments, and the odds certainly are in the favour of Awoonga because of its lack of 'nasty country'!
Salt environments have certainly reached their peak of growth potential, as they have been established for hundreds of years.
My salt goal was a hundred pounder, never done it as yet, but i have cracked 70 on several occassions, even 80 lb, (approx 36 kg). my best measured salt fish 134cm, 136cm and 138 cm, lure and livebait. 100 pound fish get netted every year in heavy set nets, and i have seen fish in the calliope river in gladstone launch themselves whilst chasing bully mullet that are 80 and above. The salt offers tough grow out conditions(although some barra are exceptionally heavy) whilst the lakes offer a gentle (like grain fed cattle) scenario. "we aint seen nothin yet" is close to the mark.
The number of stocked impoundments in qld will see ridiculous fishing in the coming 10 years. The ease of open water trolling will see many large fish hooked,,,(many lost) and fish over 50 kg will not be an uncommon sight! Spring fishing will also see its fare share of monsters in all northern lakes. Most big bazzas get landed in august and september, as numbers are readily available at this time in depths covered by normal casting lures!!
johnny.

[Jim_Tait]

Reliable reports of barra taken from freshwater lagoons in the Burdekin River Delta in north Queensland include a 96 pounder taken from a drying lagoon in Sheepstation Creek in 1936 (by Maurice Kelly) and a 106 lber shot with a 303 in Dick's Bank Lagoon (also in Sheepstation Creek) in the 1940's during low oxygen levels when the fish was up near the surface.

Sad news is that natural barra recruitment to the SheepStation Creek system has been inhibited by weed infestations, loss of habitat, weed infestation, fish passage barriers and poor water quality for about the last 14 years - Good news is in teh last 5 years much of the creek has been revegetated, fishways installed, weed harvesting conducted and fish stocking used to re-establish barra populations (see below) so I'm optimistic we might get some more wild freshwater 100 lbers re-established in the system!

[Jim_Tait]

Here's a fishway established by the Burdekin Fish re-stocking group - note riparian revegetation in background.

[Graham_N_Roberts]

A Murray Cod eating people ???. What were you smokin when you heard that CQ. :D
I suppose you've heard the one about the ten footers At the bottom of the Keepit Dam Wall too eh? :o
Ah those campfire stories are good. ;)
Cheers Peterr.

Smokin' nothin' pal #:D.... Tongue in cheek remark actually. ;D

How ever there are aboriginal stories of the big cod taking small children. If you look at the sizes of the cod, pulled out of the southern waterways in the old days, (as shown old black and white photos in older mags) and compare that mouth to a two or three year old child, that would be entirely possible.

Merry Xmas ter ya.

ps.... Where's Keepit Dam wall :-? :P

[peterr]

CQ
If I told my young bloke your stories I'd never get him back in the tinny again. I trolled an 89cm fish at Copeton last year & that scared him enough. Know what you mean though with those big gobs they,ve got.
Keepit Dam is between Gunnedah & Manilla, Nrthn N.S.W. The story goes that when the State Water divers had to clean debris from the bottom of the dam wall in very deep water they would come across these huge cod which of course would scare the sh#@ out of you. :o
Merry Xmas ter ya too. :D

[Dell]

cant remember wat the biggest barra ive herd being caught is but if u wana catch a big barra
barra base is a good hit. mate of mine was ther 6 months ago and they pulled 5 monsters ova 45 pounds off the same tree in ten casts
or
u can fish tinaroo which evry1 knos bout

[jimbolikes_barra]

geez 1.8 thats a monster if not bullsh#t :-? good fun on a tiagra 130 :o :o ;D ha ha

[Barraholic]

Geez I hope the references given in www.fishbase.org have got it right!! [smiley=shocked2.gif] [smiley=shocked2.gif] [smiley=shocked2.gif](see below)

Lates calcarifer (Bloch, 1790)
Family: Latidae (Lates perches)
Point map
Order: Perciformes (perch-likes)
Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
FishBase name: Barramundi
Max. size: 200 cm TL (male/unsexed; Ref. 7050); max. published weight: 60.0 kg (Ref. 28138)

[Smithy]

Here is a picture I've been sitting on for a couple of years and haven't used yet but thought this topic was appropriate. In a round about way it has come from Alf Hogan I believe. It is 40+kg fish electrofished from Tinaroo.

[McCod]

Imagine trying to stop a 40 KG Barra in heavy timber :o….. It’s hard enough trying to turn the 25 kg models. I’m a bit surprised that a 40 kg model has not been landed in Tinaroo yet on rod and reel. I wonder if these big fish start to lose condition after a certain age. Bit like us! Not all of us grow to 6’6” and 250 lb and some that do then lose weight and hight as they get older. I know some fish like Murray Cod can drop off more than 30 % of body weight in there old age.

# Cheers Les

[A_DIFF_PERSPECTIVE]

Why do i smile when i see that pic of that Tinaroo barra,,,,,,,,,,,its because big barra are very majestic, charismatic, and are very drawing, and alluring. Kinda make ya go cross-eyed when ya stare at it too long!!
Great pic, great condition too.
Mc Cod, Possibly Tinaroo lacks the numbers of big fish to warrant any real chance of tangling with a biggy. Maybe I'm wrong, never been there actually. I think 40 and 50 kg barra will be caught in other well stocked lakes in the coming x to 10 years.
Condition may drop a little, all depending on food availability, but age is not the issue of these bigger fish. They are still relatively young as far as barra go, so as long as the food is there, the high condition factor should remain for a while as yet. That pic shows a great conditioned fish at 40 kg or more.
Bring it on,,,,,,,,,,!
johnny M

[manangatang]

smithy thats massive,great photo,good post.