# Who will be the first in the Bribie Passage?



## BIGKEV (Aug 18, 2007)

OK so I have Caloundra Fishing World on my facebook feed and they have been responsible for a few ripper photos that really peak my continued interest in this regions fishing opportunities.

One that recently caught my attention is a guy holding a 1m+ barra caught in the area. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...633833.-2207520000.1391474938.&type=3&theater

It's got me wondering whether one of our local yakkers will get one of these beasts? Has anyone thought about actually targeting them?

If you read through the comments and can get past the sledging about killing the fish you will note that Caloundra Fishing World says that he has seen more barra than jacks in recent weeks.

Kev


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## Beekeeper (Aug 20, 2011)

The other day, I got a hush-hush whisper that they're being caught very close to Redcliffe... didn't even ask where... but when threadies and grunter are around the Brisbane area, why wouldn't barra arrive as well?

Years ago after the North Pine Dam had spilled over, amongst all the other dead fish lying all over the ground between the dam wall and the road-way below, including lung-fish, black bream, bass, mullet etc., I was shocked to find one lone barra.

That would have been fifteen years ago at least, Kev.

Jimbo


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## GuruGrant (Nov 20, 2006)

I bet that was a big breeding female about to deposit thousands of little barra in the passage, and that clown killed it!


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## BIGKEV (Aug 18, 2007)

Well, that's lovely, but current legislation states that he is completely within his rights to do so. The argument is invalid, please don't deposit that tripe here. Join Facebook with the rest of the keyboard warriors and attack him there.

Jim, if that barra had come over the dam wall then I would suspect it was some bodies pet that got too big for the home aquarium and was released into the dam.


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## imnotoriginal (Jan 13, 2008)

Was fishing the passage fairly regularly prior to all this wind.

Can't say I've troubled any barra... :lol:

Joel


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## DrJed (Sep 13, 2007)

Have heard more than a few reports of barra in the passage over the last 5 - 10 years but cannot say I have seen any myself. There is a barra park on the sunny coast that has flooded more than once and one theory is a few of the fish escaped and set us residence in the maroochy river. Stands to reason if that is the case they could breed and more down the coast to the passage. 
I do a few of the bream tournaments in SEQ and generally try and chat to people when fishing their pontoons. I had a bloke in the Mooloola river tell me he was about to head out with a mate to a spot in the Noosa river where they target and regularly catch barra....I hit him up for details but he laughed and said that wasn't possible.

Anyway - hope ya snag one.

Cheers
Steve


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## grinner (May 15, 2008)

interesting topic kev.

wayne young has caught a couple in the coomera, but he is fairly certain they are aquarium fish that have been released.
thoughts?


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## Bretto (May 23, 2010)

grinner said:


> interesting topic kev.
> 
> wayne young has caught a couple in the coomera, but he is fairly certain they are aquarium fish that have been released.
> thoughts?


I was on a camping trip around Bundy about a year ago and ran into guy who said he had some spots on the Goldy for them. A little skeptical at first, but then he dug out the GoPro footage where he and his mates got onto a few. He suspected they had escaped from a privately stocked dam during a flood.


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## BIGKEV (Aug 18, 2007)

nezevic said:


> Eyetag got one a few months back in the noosa river from the yak. Was a good fish too from memory.


Yeah, I knew that Ian had got one, he was specifically targeting them too as barra catches in the Noosa have increased steadily over the last few years. There certainly seems to be some strange anomalies occurring over recent times in regards fish species distribution.

Years ago the Noosa river used to be a hotspot for Threadfin Salmon, all the 'experts' claimed it was because of the superior water quality within this system. Nowadays you cannot catch a thready in the Noosa, but there is a well and truly established fishery for them in the Brisbane River, which is odd in itself considering the 'experts' deducted that it was water quality that kept them at Noosa, but the Brissy river is pretty well known as a bit ordinary. All the 'chicken littles' attacked the early killers of these fish too, claiming that they would destroy the stocks that had somehow been blessed to them as a catch and release target only.... Well, they're still there and regularly caught by all and sundry and from all reports they are one of the best estuary table fish going around.

I am by no means an expert in Barra, but have a few mates that fish for them regularly both semi locally, and on extended top end and gulf trips. I have been told by more than one source that one of the best baits for big barra is a small barra (obviously not legal but effective....). So right now being February and the barra closed season being over, one would expect that this fish has already done its mummy/daddy duty and would simply get down to the business of eating, and based on the theory above, it would at some point be eating small barra. Is it really worth getting worried about one larger fish that could be eating smaller models before they have the opportunity to breed and replenish the stocks?

I'm not sure whether they are ex-stocked fish from dams, aquariums, farms or the like or if the southern distribution of the species is slowly creeping further south? Either way, it could make for some excellent adventures in the foreseeable future.

Kev


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## jbonez (Jul 9, 2013)

http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/what-a-catch-matt/2161906/

Saw this today about the catch.


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## kayakone (Dec 7, 2010)

jbonez said:


> http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/what-a-catch-matt/2161906/
> 
> Saw this today about the catch.


What a great story! Thanks.


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## carnster (May 27, 2008)

Many years ago a logan farmer claimed that a crocodile was eating his cattle. Everyone laughed and said that there can't be a croc in the logan river. So he set a trap and brought in a beast of a croc and showed everyone. I have also heard stories of crocs further south, so why not barra, they catch them here on the GC as well. Someone caught a coral trout and another a red emperor, which would b nice as well.


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## anselmo (Aug 26, 2008)

carnster said:


> Many years ago a logan farmer claimed that a crocodile was eating his cattle. Everyone laughed and said that there can't be a croc in the logan river. So he set a trap and brought in a beast of a croc and showed everyone. I have also heard stories of crocs further south, so why not barra, they catch them here on the GC as well. Someone caught a coral trout and another a red emperor, which would b nice as well.


That translates as "If only I was closer ..."


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## Daveoh89 (Feb 8, 2014)

I know for a fact pet barra have been released into Brisbane water ways. You spend hundreds if not thousands on live food growing a barra to this size, in an aquarium, it doesn't make sense to kill it. This guy/ girl pictured was 60cm long, grown from a fingerling and released into the wild. It was one of 2. But yeah I didn't have a thing to do with it


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## actionsurf (Jul 8, 2010)

More and more warm water fish are turning up around Brisbane. Barra are fairly common on Western Fraser 
and Baffle. I've caught a 60 and a 75 on separate trips to Ungowa chasing Jacks. I expect to get some there in April. Won't be long and they'll be turning up regularly in brissy I reckon.


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