Impoundment Barra Observations 2008

[Peter4]

After watching JM's new Lake Monduran DVD and pondering the successes and failures of 2008 I just thought I would make a few observations/comments about barra fishin.......please feel free to add your thoughts.

Donuts - much more common that those reported. In 2008 quite a few more reports 'owned up' to donut trips giving a more realistic expectation of what can happen to first timers or even experienced fishos......

Photography - nearly all barra fishos include pictures of snags, sunrises, sunsets, scenery and wildlife in their reports. This is because (I think) we feel more comfortable in (and we appreciate) the natural environment. We also respect the fish we catch and release them all unharmed (even catties....).

Fads - hollowbellies, frogs, flaps etc. 2008 was the year of the fads, with some working but with all being tested by us. This shows our abilty to accept change, think outside the square and try new and innovative techniques. Regardless of the $ we will try anything at least once!

Information - through Ausfish and face-to-face meetings I was gobsmacked in 2008 by the willingness of all to share information, support each other after unsuccesful trips and congratulate each other on succesful ones. This is truly a community of like-minded individuals prepared to help each other.

Mateship - this very Australian trait is clearly evident through most posts. Ribbing, stirring, taking the piss etc is very common and always brings a smile to my face but also shows how at ease we are, even with those we are meeting for the first time.....

Communication - we all travel with the intention of catching up with others while we are there. Unfortunately the fishing is the prime objective so we either miss each other or are reluctant to approach each other on the water in fear of closing down a bite. I suggest we do a lot more sharing of mobile numbers and radio channels before trips in 2009!

The Fishing - 2008 seemed to be a pretty tough year. I heard a lot of successful 10+ fish reports in 2007. In 2008 there were many more donuts or reports of only 1 or 2 fish for the trip. I don't know if this is a trend but it certainly makes you value each barra more. There were also a lot of metre+ fish caught in 2008. Homer, Brian's fatty and Simon's 126 spring to mind as well as many others. How big will these girl's get?

Sorry for the ramble but I just love this sh*t!!;D

Regs

Pete

[NAGG]

Hey Pete ..... A good thread you put up & well said.

You've raised so many good observations here.

Without doubt 2008 was the year where it all came together for us that love impoundment barra (IBDers) ......... the Muster was clear proof of that! .
Sharing a beer with someone & talking barra at the end of a long days barra fishing ...... does it get any better! ..... MATESHIP forged from a common passion>
I think a big part of the willingness to share & even guide others to a hot spot/technique ..... becomes easier when you know that person has the same respect & cares for barra in the same way as you do .......... 8-)

As for dounuts .......Well - they go hand in hand with tackle testing (Fads) - Hell we dont want to feast on pastries so we try different things out of necessity ......... the reality is that barra wont become any easier to catch.:-X

I will add ...... We are seeing more fishoes moving away from Barra in the timber on HBs & now fishing weed beds , edges & points with plastics (or at the very least including plastics in their arsenal) 8-)
Another observation was that 2008 saw a blurring of the traditional idea of barra being a summer target ( more people were fishing in June/July .... than previously) ....... I think you will see more people fish right through in 2009 - I'm there for that!!!!
Some of the photography has been awesome & really adds to a report ...... more the better I say

We are fortunate to have some awesome barra fishoes in our midst & the value that they add to these pages makes this site compelling reading. Most of these guys go out of their way to help ..... in one way or another :thumbsup:

Finally .... & you just did it Pete! - i'd like to see more of us hit the road & try places further afield ( there are some awesome locations north of Gin Gin:P )

So to everyone ........ lets make 2009 a better year & keep helping each other to improve as anglers & people8-) .......

Cheers

Chris

[darylive]

Well said Pete, Is the main thing fishing or just enjoying yourself away from the grind. Maybe they are one and the same thing.

More dough nuts reported, well maybe more people contributing to reports.

And yes most often all happy to share as we don't take the prizes away so are happy to let some one have a turn.

[Steve B]

Peter,

Truley one of the best written posts I have read.....congratulations. Also Chris, your post added a few more things that I have noticed and they are all positive despite the increased doughnuts this year.

I know I have no scientific basis for this next observation except word of mouth, and listening to fishos at foxies and the dam.

the % of doughnuts (and poor trips as such) from Ausfishos Vs % of doughnuts from the rest of the crews fishing is significantly less. I beleive the guys sharing and learning on here have excelled over the past year or 2 despite the conditions being tougher at Monduran. I would hazzard to guess the % would be similar at other dams too.

I was talking to a couple of blokes that write books and make DVDs about the improvement of the fishos on here, particuarly the standard of knowledge, thought base, experimenting and learning from failures, observations reagarding all facets of the sport over the past year...it has increased dramatically IMHO....WHY??? WE HAVE TOO or we fall behind. We share, we learn and we go forward.

It's really been a big team effort from the absolute gurus of impoundment fishing (JM, Jas W, Trev B,Scotty to name a few) right thru to the newbies that keep posting great reports and asking important questions...again we learn. The more input the more is gained for all. I also would like to mention the important info and tips we get from the few 'salties' that contribute, I would say Dick Pasfield would be the leader there, and its great to get their perspective and experience.

We are no longer affraid of reporting doughnuts!!! they are not fun, but not the end of the world either!!! I think we report them because we trust and appreciate the feedback and positive tips (well I do anyway).

With posts like Peters and Chris's....makes me think 'yes' we have come along way in say 2 years...........And I haven't even spoke about the SOCIAL ASPECT!!!;D;D Its gone ahead in the same leaps and bounds!!!

Cheers and Thanks Steve

[Big_Ren]

Spot on Pete, Steve, Chris and Daryl.

Without this on line resource and the friendships made along the way, I doubt whether many of us would have fast-tracked our learning and the way we now think as anglers at the same light speed.

The majority of us are unable to access our favourite impoundments and waterways as much as we would like thanks to the tyrannies of distance and the constraints of our working lives. That is why we are so absorbent on here, on the phone to each other or face to face. We have fun, take the p*ss, but learn at the same time.

Ask questions on here and you will be helped......no doubt about it. And the quality of information shared among the IBD fraternity is far more authentic than some of the antiquated drivel published by product-biased mainstream fishing scribes. Seek on here and ye shall find.......

Here's to another great year of learning and development, and putting more faces to names.

Cheers
Paul

[Gordie]

Much appreciated fellas. I agree to all the above.

I like to cast till my arm drops off then pull out the camera and bring back memories.

Thanks again, Gordon

[Peter4]

I like to cast till my arm drops off then pull out the camera and bring back memories

LOL - I have a picture of every barra Kyle & I have ever caught!!:) :)

[SeekingBarradise]

Hi Pete good thread mate. You have said a lot of similar things i said in one of my old threads. I'll post the link here so i don't double up on typing if that's ok?

http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/showthread.php?t=116907&page=3

You need to be congratulated on reporting a 3peat in donuts. I remember a couple of years ago nobody would admit to donuts. It was frowned upon. Now we are getting real reports. This has made a difference as i now see tackle shops logging on here to get up to date reports as the news in mags is 6 weeks old.

Back then we were not getting the real picture which made those travelling anglers seeking good info the losers because everytime they opened up the reports section all they would hear is good news, not the truth.

Now it's hard to open the reports section without seeing a donut report. It's how we would chat around the campfire e.g. How did you go mate? " No good i got a big fat donut". Now we all have a laugh about it.

This is a big step forward, especially if we are thinking of helping people that read these reports. At the end of the day if it's hard fishing, i want to know, let alone the first timers.

Changes: A mate up north said that last year he thought 30% of the people he saw fished in good areas. This year he though 70% fished in good areas, which is a big improvement. Note: Fishing in good areas and catching fish are 2 different things. Good areas do help us though.

Sharpies 141cm barra was one hell of a salt barra in 2008. Check out the photo on JM's salt barramundi page on his new web site.

2009: I have seen a drop off in fishing industry people doing regular trips as the fishing has got a lot harder and the hype has died down a bit, yet stacks of new people are still planning trips. A lot of social anglers that had donuts won't be back, especially those used to getting constant bites in salt water. If you are still travelling 1000km+ fishing for barra on a regular basis in 2009 i reckon you are on of the hard core barra nuts. A bug you might have for life. No known cure.

Congratulations to everyone that made 2008 a great year. I met some great people on here and hope to do so in 2009 as well.

Cheers Lyndon.

[Peter4]

Thanks Lyndon, must catch up with you on the water sometime.

Just another quick thought.....other than boat and fishing gear the other essentials required to catch barra are:

1. Positive attitude
2. Keen powers of observation
3. Sheer bloody persistance
4. Confidence (even when the going is tough)
5. A good sense of humour.....
6. Masochism (def: perversion characterized by pleasure in being subjected to pain or humiliation especially by a love object)

Not saying I have any or all of these (and the level of some can vary dramatically during a long day's fishin)....

Any others?.......

[SeekingBarradise]

Hi Pete. Looking at this from a sports point of view. Fishing is a sport.

The first thing needed is for us to know exactly what our goal is when we go fishing? Only then can a good plan be mapped out for us to help ourselves.
Without the goal, the plans are all over the shop, or a bit fast and loose like 20/20 cricket.

Some people might just want to enjoy the outdoors and catching a fish is a bonus.

Others might want to catch one fish a trip.

Some guys i know want to catch a fish everytime they go fishing.

Others want to be on podiums and on TV no matter what cost on life.

Others will go and find fish and watch them for days being satisfied they can locate fish all year round.

Others want to help others and make peoples dreams come true on charter.

Knowing the goal is the number 1 most important question we have to ask.

Once that is sorted the dot points under that heading just flow.

Those dot points are not what we want to do but what we have to do to achieve the goal. Outline for a guy who wants to be a guru etc.

This is how i would approach it as a sport. I'm lucky to have seen JM/Harro/Trev and the Taylors work ethic so a bit of inside info helps here.

Say this guru wanted to be better than Harro/JM and the Taylors combined. This was the goal. A fairly considerable one. They would have to be a local on a barra dam. JM went in his 20th+ year of barra fishing went fishing (practise) 565 times day or night in the 07-08 period, day and night for salt and fresh barra. Including 1-6am sessions.. He is very observant.

Harro has a lifetime of barra fishing experience to delve in to and gets reports from the entire caravan park daily as well as fishing most days to stay in touch with the fishing.

The Taylors practise 150 days+ x 2 of the most switched on minds = 300+ days a year. They have also been known to do double sessions.

Trev: At one stage Trev was out there every day as well like a madman. On one trip he arrived before sun up and took us out all morning. Then said i'll back in 2 hours to pick you guys up for another long session. We were saying " Shit this guy is right in to his fishing, no stuffing around here". We made the mistake of dropping a hatch rushing for the camera while Trev had a fish on. He said "Goooone". We thought he meant the fish, but he meant the area. He called it. We didn't get another touch in what was a fishy area. It must have been a good area, JM pulled up next to us with his clients.

So the bar is set high by some of the best.

Travelling anglers can work from here once the line in the sand can be seen.
For starters there is no way in hell we can do that much practise, so it will take years and maybe decades longer to gain experience. We just have to plan more trips:) A travelling anglers plan would have to differ as we kind of have to be jack of all trades but mastering them will be harder.

Dot Points: Many of those dot points should be painfull. Focus on the weakness. e.g. No rods, plastic or lures can be picked up or talked about until this person can find fish am & pm 7 days a week in 5 completely different areas on the dam.

No lures or plastics bought until a fish is caught on every plastic and lure owned. Lots of time away on the water no matter what weather or financial situation. All 24 hour periods of the day fished with double sessions daily. Lots of bad feedback to improve poor areas. All ego would have to go. Lots of hours fishing in ways and areas he/she never fishes. Constant testing, no easy days. People being really critical of your fishing like Leigh Mathews at Quarter time when the boys are not going well. A spray then get your ass back out there an improve or else.

On the flip side we could just do the same thing as everyone else. We could stick to ourselves and share nothing with nobody...How much do we learn then? I don't think this will accelerate learning as much as experimenting & feedback.

People didn't fish for bass in winter a while back, they thought it was crazy. Many people didn't fish for barra in winter only a couple of years back, they thought it was crazy.

Many people up north have hung up the barra rods when the water temp gets below 27 degrees celcius. Experiments considered crazy today might be ground breaking next year, especially if they win tournaments they are held in high regard. I also reckon if they catch 5000 fish on charter methods can also be held in high regard.:)

Once the goals are sorted i reckon it makes it 100 times easier to then search for the information we need. Just my thoughts, i'm no guru - far from it, the Taylors/Harro/Trev & Mitchell are a 1000 times better than me. I know a bit about sport and progressions & i enjoy the challenge of barra fishing etc. I hope this makes sense Pete. It would be easier to have a chat around a campfire in the future as words come across differently without the tone of voice and face expression etc.

Cheers Lyndon.:)