Travel north up to Townsville and you’re greeted with a variety of fishing opportunities. Head offshore to chase any number of pelagic or reef species, or you can head up one of the many river systems to chase the kings of the estuary… barramundi.
Scotty hooks up with JC, a local guide who has a knack for knowing where the mighty barra lurks on the Burdekin River.
Chasing barra means looking for snags, breaks in current, structure or eddies for the fish to hide amongst. Using little deep diving hard body lures, the boys flick into a bit of a drop off, resulting in a nice little bi-catch, a Sooty Grunter.
The Sooties are known as the Jacks of the North. Awesome fighting river fish, but not much on the chops. They have a deep black complexion and are renowned up north as a prized catch. If the barra aren’t playing the game, you can opt to move locations, and even come back to the same snag later in the day. This option pays off for JC and Scotty, as the big man lands one little barra, then his PB in the fresh a good looking 74cm fish!
As far as gear is concerned, fishing for barra up north requires a relatively heavy leader. Even though the guys were only using 15-pound braid, 40 pound leader was used to combat the snag and stick that could potentially break you off.
You can find all the details to book in a session with JC here. And be sure to check out BCF for a range of hard boddies and tackle to take on the mighty Burdekin Barra.
