Yak fish'n Dumbleton Weir

Author: Carl

Category: Trip Reports

Created on Friday, 06 August 2010 13:59

Written by Carl Holland

Taking advantage of starting night shift I went out today chasing barramundi and mangrove jacks in the lower reaches of Dumbleton Weir. Knowing when the tides run is important here as even small tides generate strong currents. That coupled with various rock and sand bars can make for challenging fishing. But not today. The tides today allowed me to head upstream for about 45 minutes before it changed.

The plan today was to use soft plastics, mainly the Squidgy Slick Baits in various sizes and colours. However on unloading I happened across a neglected popper and in a moment of spontaneity tied that on my casting rig. It was a good decision as within 5 casts I got smashed by a small barra right next to the yak. Unfortunately no hook up so after a few casts I moved on as getting further upstream before the tide changed was a priority.

Upon reaching the main structure I cast the popper along the edges and across the rock bars on the now outgoing tide. The popper got a lot of interest from a least 2 more barra as they were close enough to see and what would likely be small trevally. However none of the fish stayed hooked and the neglected state of the trebles were to blame. Now that it was what I considered to be prime time I switched back to the slick baits.

Allowing the current to slowly push me down stream I cast along the edge where several large trees make a substantial snag. On my third cast my lure got hit big time with the fish heading down and deep. Straight away I knew I had decent fish on and I played it safe waiting until I had the measure of the fish before turning the camera on (cut my head off...again). Keeping the drag fairly tight I concentrated on keeping the fish in open water. Several times I had the rod in the water to keep the line away from the rubber and fins as the fish tried to beeline it back to the structure.

I didn't know for sure what I had but strongly felt it was a barra even though it didn't jump. The sheer power and weight ruled out many of the other usual suspects such as jacks or fingermark. Whilst I did get a couple of glimpses of colour there was not enough clarity for identification until several minutes into the fight. The first time the fish came fully up it broadsided next to me before diving deep, in that instant I saw my lure hooked in the very corner of its mouth.

Backing the drag off a little I played the fish as softly as I could and eventually it came back up only to dive again. The third time up was it's last as I gaffed the fish and pulled it in. Gee I was chuffed, I have had the crappiest years fishing so far and this was a nice way to get that monkey off my back. How the lure stayed in I don't know, it practically fell into my hand when I touched it.

Stowing the fish I started casting again only to get hit by a little GT in the same spot I hooked the barra. After a very energetic little fight I had the fish; releasing it back to fight another day. Even though I had a couple of more hours up my sleeve I decided to head back slowly casting at visible structures all for nix. All up the plan came together very nicely and the day was very enjoyable.