Of Barra, Geese, Fire and Jew
By Alex Julius
Great fishing, wayward honkers, a flaming valley and black jew that thought they were barra... it all happened at the 2005 Shimano Tackle Show in Arnhem Land.
The second annual Shimano Tackle Show was a logistical exercise of monumental proportions, and that was just getting the grog to the Lodge... only kidding, there was at least as much tackle as there was grog. And it made quite a sight set up along the perimeter of the escarpment verandah. Yes, it was a very different tackle show for sure, held as it was in the wilds of Arnhem Land. But that wasn’t the only reason that made it different.
Think about this for a moment: how many tackle shows around Australia – no matter how big or small – have been attacked by wayward magpie geese? Two nights in a row they came hurtling in like missiles, breaking rods, knocking over ice buckets and honking at cacophonous levels. One even crash landed on the deck, got tangled in some line, and waddled off at breakneck pace, dragging a Tcurve spinning rod and a Stradic 4000 reel behind it down the side of the Lodge.
Inebriated rod grabbers came from everywhere, and took turns fighting the bird. Finally, a Shimano heavy crash tackled the squawking goose, unraveled it and released out in the scrub behind the Lodge. But this was one unlucky bird – it flew straight into a solid tree and broke its neck.
Luckily, that was the only casualty, apart from the broken rods that is.
Burning-off during the dry season is a tradition that has been carried out by the people of Arnhem Land for centuries. It’s done to regenerate plant growth and to clear spear grass for hunting. Very few trees die, although there is probably some loss of wildlife.
Each year, the bush surrounding the Arnhemland Barramundi Nature Lodge is burnt back under strict control. This is to create a buffer for any rampant grass fires that burn towards the Lodge later. However, this year, the decision was taken not to burn back until after the Shimano show so that the surrounding countryside looked at its absolute natural best for the guests.
One night the valley below the Lodge was on fire. A line of flame extended for more than a kilometre and it was slowly creeping towards the escarpment and the Lodge on top of it. Some of the guests were getting a bit toey – understandably so – but they were assured that it was coming from the wrong Direction to impact on the Lodge as there was a rocky barrier at the base of the escarpment.The next day the Lodge nearly burnt down.
We all returned from fishing to find a water truck manned by the Maningrida volunteer fire brigade putting out the last of the flames. Karen, the housekeeper, had saved the cabins by raking the fl ames and clearing away leaves and other combustible matter. Meanwhile Mick the chef stopped the fire from reaching the main Lodge by blasting it with a gurney gun from the verandah. Later, he cooked half a dozen foil-wrapped barra in hot coals below the Lodge.Easterly winds blew for much of the 12 days of the Shimano show, so those not up to handling a bit of chop stayed in the rivers and concentrated on barra. Those less queasy had some monumental sessions with Spanish and broadbar mackerel, although oceanic whalers took their toll on hooked pelagics.The mantarays that had hung around Entrance Island out from the mouth of the Liverpool River since the wet season were still about in force. With them were cobia which, although small, were a delight to sight fish and catch. Mind you, some errant casting led to a few prolonged battles with the mantas themselves.Aerobatic queenfish, some longer than a metre, provided a thrilling experience as they smashed poppers and shallow-running minnows fished from barra outfits.
The catch of the trip was a 132 cm black jew caught trolling a deep-diving Barra Magnum for barra over AJ’s Rockbar by Chad Rodgers. I was driving the boat for that one.
Chad played it beautifully, taking his time and working his Tcurve smoothly for at least 20 minutes before the great catch was made.
Black jewfish are a regular encounter whilst chasing barra on the rockbars and deeper holes accessed from the Arnhemland Barramundi Nature Lodge. They don’t get out of the water, but they have more stamina, and they can strip 50 metres of line from a baitcaster in mere seconds.
On the barra front, everyone pigged out — as you’d expect at a barra lodge — although the usual 90-100 cm fish the Lodge is famous for weren’t getting landed.
There were a few hooked, but the usual big barra trolling spots were affected by wind, so nearly all the barra were caught casting to submerged timber along mangrove banks out of the wind, which meant big fish were difficult to extricate.
This year, there were several hundred barra caught and a total of 43 species, so you can imagine that much of the new Shimano gear received a thorough workout. The two new Curado baitcasters, one with a 5:1 gear ratio and the other with an amazing 7:1 gear ratio, are a great improvement on an already great reel. The rugged Curado has long been a favourite with guides, and these new models have the feel and smoothness of more upmarket reels like the Chronarch.
The Calcutta DC200, Shimano’s top-of- the- range baitcaster, has been added to with a 100 and 250 version.
The awesome new Shimano T Curve baitcasting, spincasting and jigging rods were also on display. Once they’d tried them, the Lodge guides quickly put their hands up for a T Curve baitcaster each.
Great fishing, wayward honkers, a flaming valley and black jew that thought they were barra... it all happened at the 2005 Shimano Tackle Show in Arnhem Land.
The second annual Shimano Tackle Show was a logistical exercise of monumental proportions, and that was just getting the grog to the Lodge... only kidding, there was at least as much tackle as there was grog. And it made quite a sight set up along the perimeter of the escarpment verandah. Yes, it was a very different tackle show for sure, held as it was in the wilds of Arnhem Land. But that wasn’t the only reason that made it different.
Think about this for a moment: how many tackle shows around Australia – no matter how big or small – have been attacked by wayward magpie geese? Two nights in a row they came hurtling in like missiles, breaking rods, knocking over ice buckets and honking at cacophonous levels. One even crash landed on the deck, got tangled in some line, and waddled off at breakneck pace, dragging a Tcurve spinning rod and a Stradic 4000 reel behind it down the side of the Lodge.
Inebriated rod grabbers came from everywhere, and took turns fighting the bird. Finally, a Shimano heavy crash tackled the squawking goose, unraveled it and released out in the scrub behind the Lodge. But this was one unlucky bird – it flew straight into a solid tree and broke its neck.
Luckily, that was the only casualty, apart from the broken rods that is.
Burning-off during the dry season is a tradition that has been carried out by the people of Arnhem Land for centuries. It’s done to regenerate plant growth and to clear spear grass for hunting. Very few trees die, although there is probably some loss of wildlife.
Each year, the bush surrounding the Arnhemland Barramundi Nature Lodge is burnt back under strict control. This is to create a buffer for any rampant grass fires that burn towards the Lodge later. However, this year, the decision was taken not to burn back until after the Shimano show so that the surrounding countryside looked at its absolute natural best for the guests.
One night the valley below the Lodge was on fire. A line of flame extended for more than a kilometre and it was slowly creeping towards the escarpment and the Lodge on top of it. Some of the guests were getting a bit toey – understandably so – but they were assured that it was coming from the wrong Direction to impact on the Lodge as there was a rocky barrier at the base of the escarpment.The next day the Lodge nearly burnt down.
We all returned from fishing to find a water truck manned by the Maningrida volunteer fire brigade putting out the last of the flames. Karen, the housekeeper, had saved the cabins by raking the fl ames and clearing away leaves and other combustible matter. Meanwhile Mick the chef stopped the fire from reaching the main Lodge by blasting it with a gurney gun from the verandah. Later, he cooked half a dozen foil-wrapped barra in hot coals below the Lodge.Easterly winds blew for much of the 12 days of the Shimano show, so those not up to handling a bit of chop stayed in the rivers and concentrated on barra. Those less queasy had some monumental sessions with Spanish and broadbar mackerel, although oceanic whalers took their toll on hooked pelagics.The mantarays that had hung around Entrance Island out from the mouth of the Liverpool River since the wet season were still about in force. With them were cobia which, although small, were a delight to sight fish and catch. Mind you, some errant casting led to a few prolonged battles with the mantas themselves.Aerobatic queenfish, some longer than a metre, provided a thrilling experience as they smashed poppers and shallow-running minnows fished from barra outfits.
The catch of the trip was a 132 cm black jew caught trolling a deep-diving Barra Magnum for barra over AJ’s Rockbar by Chad Rodgers. I was driving the boat for that one.
Chad played it beautifully, taking his time and working his Tcurve smoothly for at least 20 minutes before the great catch was made.
Black jewfish are a regular encounter whilst chasing barra on the rockbars and deeper holes accessed from the Arnhemland Barramundi Nature Lodge. They don’t get out of the water, but they have more stamina, and they can strip 50 metres of line from a baitcaster in mere seconds.
On the barra front, everyone pigged out — as you’d expect at a barra lodge — although the usual 90-100 cm fish the Lodge is famous for weren’t getting landed.
There were a few hooked, but the usual big barra trolling spots were affected by wind, so nearly all the barra were caught casting to submerged timber along mangrove banks out of the wind, which meant big fish were difficult to extricate.
This year, there were several hundred barra caught and a total of 43 species, so you can imagine that much of the new Shimano gear received a thorough workout. The two new Curado baitcasters, one with a 5:1 gear ratio and the other with an amazing 7:1 gear ratio, are a great improvement on an already great reel. The rugged Curado has long been a favourite with guides, and these new models have the feel and smoothness of more upmarket reels like the Chronarch.
The Calcutta DC200, Shimano’s top-of- the- range baitcaster, has been added to with a 100 and 250 version.
The awesome new Shimano T Curve baitcasting, spincasting and jigging rods were also on display. Once they’d tried them, the Lodge guides quickly put their hands up for a T Curve baitcaster each.
