Tim and I decided we needed to get a fish in before the school holidays finished – and it was worth it (for me anyway)! Casting a beady eye on the no less than 11 boat trailers at the gorge carpark, we launched around midday and were off. We decided to go for a troll through the Graveyard before heading further up river for a bit of a flick.
We quickly realised why there were so many boats in, as we passed camp after camp of tourists up the river – it resembled Moore River (and that is not a good thing). Some campsites had four or five tents, full barbecue and two to three families. We grumbled along, hoping they weren’t taking all our fish.
Sure enough, though, within 10 minutes of trolling through the Graveyard, I was on, and after a good fight, pulled in a respectable 58cm beauty. We quickly bled it, and into the esky for dinner tonight.
After another 10 minutes of trolling, we took off further up river, catching nothing for the next 3 hours. Time for home (and a return troll through the Graveyard ). Bang! Another 10 minutes into trolling, and I was on again! Another good fight, and another barra at 60cm. We didn’t want to be greedy, so this one was returned to the water.
I was beginning to feel (slightly) bad for Tim – I’ve been out six times fishing this year for 4 barra. He’s been out eight times for no barra. We kept trolling, when suddenly…bang! Tim was on. He played it well for a few minutes, just as a “pleasurecraft” came past loaded with kiddies and a set of parents. They stopped nearby, screaming in delight as they watched Tim play the fish. It then did a wonderful tailskip, much to their delight, at which point it snapped through Tim’s line, much to his disgust. With this, we left, most of us happy in the boat, with some still a little upset. Better luck next time, Timmy! 