The
Skytrans flight took less than two hours as we winged our way across Cape York
to experience on of the most extensive wetland systems in Northern Australia.
Its an awesome sight on the approach to Aurukun as three mighty rivers converge
to spill out into the Gulf of Carpentaria , namely the Archer, Watson and Ward.
A few miles down the coast the Love River can be seen, yet another magic
barra fishery. We were met at the airport by the crew and were soon
being whisked away to the ‘Pikkuw’, our floating base for the next few days.
This air conditioned aluminium vessel was custom built by the WIK
group and takes six anglers and 3 crew in comfort, and I can tell you that the
food is excellent ! It was late afternoon as we sat on the top deck
planning the next days sojurn to get well upstream in the freshwater
reaches of the mighty Archer. I’ve been lucky enough to fish these parts
a few years back and the scenery, as well as the fishing is just the
best.
In
between taking some video footage and the odd pic or two I hooked into a dozen
fish or more in the 55 to 65 cms range. Full of mischief these salties
didn’t give up easily as we released fish after fish. You couldn’t wipe the
smile of our faces as we enjoyed solid action for almost an hour with only the
dropping tide beckoning our exit before getting stuck on the mud bars. Shallow
lures worked so well and included Flat jacks, F1.11’s and the new Zerek
stikbaits. As we motored upstream past paperbark stands and pandannus palms we
clipped on deeper divers such as Rapala SR9 Shadraps, Suspending Shads
and Barra Classic 10+ minnows.
Almost an hour later we arrived at the meandering & slow moving freshwater reaches. Spectacular in their remoteness and so much bird and wildlife it was like being in an open zoo. Every keen fisho should experience these untouched wilderness areas and remember to leave them as they were found. We dropped the pick alongside a huge set of snags which Les told us they were sitting in 3 to 4 metres of water. The first tentative casts in amongst the timber were worked back slowly using ‘jerk & retrieve’. No hits? We all put some penetrating casts into the tangled timber hearing the lures rattle as they made their way back but the bite wasn’t happening! That full moon maybe??? I managed a 65 cms fish just before we decided to leave, a consolation prize Mike reckoned.
We were
doing all the right things and just needed a lucky break. Another arm of
the Archer veered off to the right and we settled into a slow moving cast
and retrieve of the likely looking spots…….it looked good!
Les connected onto a 70 cms. plus barra and had it almost to the boat when the
hooks pulled. Typical of when these fish are not really feeding well, they just
strike at the lure out of instinct more than hunger and you often end up with
an outside lip hook that can easily pull. Mike boated a 64 cms barra
that gave him the run around the motor, maybe our luck was
about to change!
A
huge snag laying parallel with the bank beckoned a long cast to work through
and under it. First cast I saw a big flash, and it missed the lure.
Knowing he’d probably come back if I paused the lure in the same spot I cast
again. There he was…’boof’ he climbed all over it, but right in the middle of
that timber. I lifted the Loomis rod tip and locked down on
the spool to pressure him out…..it was touch and go, then he started to come.
What a fight in this tight timber country as a 76 cms barra came to the
net. The action was getting better as the day wore on.
The
odd barra snaffled our lures every ten minutes or so, which for most fisheries
would be fantastic but knowing how Aurukun can fish this was slow by their
standards. Never the less we had a great time for the rest of that day and most
of the next taking 50 plus barra, half a dozen jacks, tarpon and
trevally. The saltwater reaches did fish better on the run out tide
and we didn’t have the time to fish the mouth or into the Gulf waters where
huge schools of metre plus queenies were seen the previous days.
One of their clients had hooked and landed a 30 kilo GT on barra gear a few
days earlier near the mouth of the river. There’s some top
fingermark, grunter, salmon , giant herring and mackerel action out there for
clients to en joy when the calmer weather allows. It’s just
one of those magical places that consistently produces world class sport
fishing .
It was a tough call to fly
out the next afternoon but I know there will be a next time !
Often I’m asked what tackle we take on these trips….here’s
a quick rundown. I use a G.Loomis GL2 644
baitcaster teamed up with a Shimano Chronarch reel and 20 to 30 lbs Bite Motion
braid. My spin outfit is a 6’6” Raider rod rated
around 6 to 8 kilos. I team this up with a Daiwa Certate 3500
loaded with 20 to 30 lbs. Sufix braid. For leaders I
use Jinkai Red in 40 lbs., and often attach a 60 lbs. x 20cms tippet
using a blood knot. ( this gives that extra abrasive resistance at
the business end).
