Hi again! Me here, about to fill you in on what I
think was one of my best weekends yet in Australia! There have been heaps of great weekends in the last five
months, but pulling in a fish like I did this weekend doesn’t just happen every
day! So, shall we?
So the week before the
long weekend is a four-day week pretty much everywhere that celebrates Easter,
and being as excited as James and I were, Friday morning couldn’t come fast
enough! Life has been busy here at
Wentworth, as it’s branding time and the Low Stress Stockhandling school is
coming up and the goal is to have the property and the houses immaculate for
our guests. Thursday afternoon, I
wasn’t done work until after 7:30pm, which was the longest workday yet, but
Dyan was away and I wanted to make sure everything was done for her return
Friday morning. Needless to say,
come 7:45pm, that rum and coke went down niiiiiicely! We were sleeping at a good time, and
were up and getting packed and organized by 7:30am – or at least I was up by
then, apparently James was like a kid on Christmas morning, up at 6:00! We waited for Ben (the friend of James’
I met last weekend at the campdraft) and his girlfriend Chloe, and once we were
all collected and the Esky (what the Aussies call a cooler) was packed and on
ice, we hit the road! We were
expecting about a five hour drive, but that five hours turned into a departure
at 9:30am and an arrival at 7:30pm.
PROPER LONG DAY. There were
some events leading up to that extended travel time, which I’ll get to in a
pinch.
James and I were in his
ute, with the dog cage behind the cab of the truck, our swags, fishing rods and
our Esky. Benny and Chloe were
behind us with the same haul, minus the dogs. The day was perfect for driving, and we had the windows down
and music cranked. A few clouds,
sun shining, and the promise of an amazing weekend in the air.
Ever had a moment that
completely stops you in your tracks and puts your thoughts on pause? One that stretches a smile across your
face, and fills your lungs with air, making you feel so at peace and so happy
that you wish it would last forever?
Driving down a highway, not saying a word, just listening to music in a
comfortable silence between James and I, I had my arm out the window catching
the sun with the back of my hand.
We passed a large mob of moving cattle being mustered by some Aussie ranchers. James pointed out to the left and said,
“ay, they’re musterin’.” – That’s when my moment hit. James and I both waved, and the grazier waved back with a
smile on his face, a wordless acknowledgement and greeting, while riding at the
end of his mob. I felt the urge to
scream and tell the world that I LOVE AUSTRALIA.
Dyan and Richard own
another station called Strathalbyn, which is about three and a half hours from
here, and was only slightly off route towards Home Hill, where we were headed
for the weekend. James was to
deliver a dog to the station manager, Greg, on Friday. We stopped in for a cold drink and a
visit before heading back out on the road. Greg and his wife Anna have two little boys, and have a
third little one on the way.
They’ve been there for a few years now, working and managing the
property. Strathalbyn is about 84
000 acres, and is in a gorgeous mountainous area with lots of trees. Home Hill is near Ayr, so you can
locate it on the map if you’re interested. We were south on the coast, from Townsville, then inland
30km or so.
Leaving Strathalbyn,
about thirty minutes out, James and I realized that Benny and Chloe weren’t
behind us anymore. We pulled over
and waited five minutes or so, then turned back to go find them. They were several kilometers back, with
a nasty blown tire! The boys put
on the spare, but the pressure was too low, so they took it back off and took
it back to the last station to fill it with air. That set us back about an hour total, but luckily the tire,
or “tyre” as they spell it here, was filled and we were safely back on the
road. Once we got to Home Hill,
the boys got gas and we all got a small bite to eat, knowing we’d be eating
barbeque dinner once we arrived at the camp.
When we finally arrived,
no one was there! They were all
still fishing! Lucky bums! We waited, and after cracking a cold
one, heard the truck and buggy coming up hill. Everyone was well into their long weekend, with smiles on
their faces. Three fish had been
caught, all about 30-35cm long. “Pan sized!” We gathered in the shed and socialized for a bit, while some
organized dinner and others watched some tv to wind down from their day. There were heaps of kids running around
too! One fella was right into the
drink, and was talking to a friend of mine about fishing. After finishing his thoughts, he looked
at me and mumbled out, “ah, well you don’t even know what we’re talking about
because you don’t know how to fish and you’re too blonde to get it
anyways.” Then he turned to Chloe
and said, “and you, well, you just look too fancy to even be here right now.” I kept my cool, but said to him as
sternly and politely as I could, that “I in fact have two degrees there, chum,
and I could talk you in circles about pretty much anything. I know quite a bit about fishing, as
I’ve done it the majority of my life, and I’d be happy to show you.” He avoided me for the rest of the
night, and got the hint that I wasn’t about to tolerate his flack. (You’ll understand why this little run
in ended up being glorious!!)
As people started to hit
the hay in preparation for an early start on Saturday morning, James, Chrisco,
Benny, Chloe and I all headed down to the river for a big bonfire and a few
drinks. We talked and laughed and
enjoyed each other’s company for hours!
The fire was huge, with big pieces of driftwood, and we all had folding
lawn chairs to sit in. We were
down there until around 3am, when we finally decided to head back up to the
camp to sleep. All in the back of
Benny’s ute, we were ready to head up the hill. But in order to get to the bottom of the hill to drive up,
we needed to get across the beachy part of the river, which was actually the
bottom of the river when the water is really high. There were some different sandy banks that we needed to go
up, some areas steeper than others.
Benny was a little too ambitious, and bottomed out his ute in the
sand! - aaaaand that’s where it
stayed for the night! We all just
walked up, which is only about 500m or so back to the camp.
We were up around 7am,
and breakfast was being cooked up!
Eggs, toast and bacon! We
all had a quick feed, and god the boats and lines ready for an 8:30 start on
the water. James, Chrisco, Chloe,
and Benny went in one boat, and Wade, Charley, their two four year old twin
girls and I went in the other.
There was a third small boat, but the others didn’t come down until
later that day. We were fishing for an iconic fish of Northern Australia, called
Barramundi, or Barra for short. In Queensland, they predominantly occur
in the central and northern coastal regions, and we were on the Burdekin River,
near Home Hill. We were using 30lb test line, but I couldn't believe
when my friends told me that Barra can grow to be 1.5m long and up to 40kg, but
most common is 80-120cm for a big Barra. The season runs February to
November, and there are pretty strict size limits for size and quantity taken
home. Between 8:30 and 2pm,
Wade caught a small Barramundi, and that was it! We went home basically skunked and pretty discouraged, and
that made me want to fish even more.
I had to show that guy I could catch and clean a fish!
We went back up to the
camp to eat, and the girls went down for an hour or so. The plan was to go back out on the
water around 3pm, but that turned in to getting ready around 5pm, and on the
water by about 5:30. This time,
everyone went out. Wade, Chrisco,
James, Chloe and Benny were in one boat, the guy who called me dumb, his broad
and some backpackers were in another boat, and Charley, the twins
and I were in the third boat – an 8ft tinny!! It was so small and tippy, but Charley and I were beyond
determined to catch at least one fish.
Each boat went to a unique spot along the edge of the river, around
“structure” – logs and fallen trees in the water. We laughed a few times about “structure” and making sure to
cast near the structure, but not on it!
Charley and the girls and I tied our boat to a “lucky structure,” where
we’d been early in the day but only had a few bites, nothing serious. We casted a few lines and weren’t there
long before I decided to try a more colourful lure than I’d been using. First cast, I hit the money. The lure had just hit the water, and was
diving into the river when WHAM! A
huge hit! But I had remembered
what everyone had warned me about Barra – they have a soft mouth and even can
spit treble hooks out quite easily!
So I left it set before cranking the end of the rod up to reel it
in. Barramundi are a sport fish, and let
me tell you - reeling in the Barra I caught had me shaking with adrenaline and
excitement! I thought a good bass was fun to catch, but it was nothing
like pulling in that Barra! (Mind
you, this was the biggest fish I've ever caught!) It was like reeling in a whale, especially since the drag
wasn’t set properly, so every time I’d crank it in, the line would go out twice
as much. I was screaming and
laughing so loud that it caught the interest of the people in the other two
boats, and they started to make their way over. I knew it was a fish.
You know when you’re fishing and you have a fish on, that it’s a
fish. However, it was real when it
jumped out of the water completely and let Charley and I see it! IT WAS HUGE! At this point, I’m shaking in excitement, and Charley is
just as excited. The girls can’t
really grasp what the hell is going on, and why I’m screaming so loudly! (Whatever happened to staying quiet in
a boat was lost with this fish on my line!) Within seconds of it jumping out of the water, it felt like
the fish had wrapped itself around a log, of huge solid “structure” at the
bottom of the river, and there was no give in the line or give and take at all. I kept working the line, and Charley
kept saying “I hope it isn’t s snag now! I hope it didn’t wrap around a
log! You have to get that fish in
here!!” Especially now because the
two boats were within a few meters of our boat, watching the entire episode. It crossed my mind how devastated I’d
be if I had in fact lost it, even more so now having attracted the others and
making such a wild scene in the boat!
Luckily, the Barra came back out from wherever it had been tucked, and
that was some liiiiiiiive action!
It even crested the surface of the water so everyone else got a glimpse
of the beast on the end of my line, and you could feel the excitement soaring
even higher! I was still screaming
with excitement, and when it finally got to the side of the boat, I kept the
line tight while Charley pulled the fish into the boat! SUCCESS! We finally got a good look at the fish too, which had me
even more excited! I couldn’t tell
how long it was right off the bat, but I knew it was huge! It was pretty lazy in the boat, which
was for the best with the twins, and stayed pretty still. Something that big flopping around in a
little tinny with two girls is hectic!
I was riddled with excitement and adrenaline. My hands were shaking, and so were my legs! I couldn’t tell you the last time I was
that shaken up with pure excitement.
What a rush!! Best part?
The fella that told me I was a dumb blonde who knew nothing about fishing
and told me I couldn’t fish, WATCHED me bring in the biggest fish they’d seen
in ages, properly! (Minus the excessive volume levels! Hahaha! I couldn’t help
it!) PLUS HE GOT SKUNKED! Didn’t pull one in all weekend! Did that ever feel good!! The front
treble hook is what landed it, and the other two got stuck in it’s throat,
hence the chopped look in the picture.
We had to bleed it out, and did so while cutting out the lure. You can see the happiness splashed
across my face! We measured it on
the ruler sticker in Wade’s boat, at 80cm, and weighed it when we got back to
the camp at ounces away from 13lbs.
I was thrilled with the circumstances! The Canadian caught one of Australia’s most iconic fish on
her first Australian fishing adventure! (and the jerk got skunked!!) Although I know how to clean and fillet
a fish, I’d never expected to have to clean and fillet one so monstrous! Wade helped me out in that department,
and then cooked it up the proper way for everyone that night. We ate the fish within an hour and a
half of catching it! Wade cut the
filleted white meat into pieces about a centimeter thick, and as big as the
palm of your hand. We lightly battered it in a peppered flour batter,
then deep fried the pieces until fork tender, and sprinkled a bit of salt and
fresh lime juice onto it. DELICIOUS! I think it tasted even better
because I caught it and fed over 10 people with the fish, but I seriously think
it was the best fish I've ever eaten.
Absolutely melted in our mouths, and has the most pleasant, almost
sweet, fish taste. I was even
approached later that night and told I did a good job bringing in that fish,
and that he was surprised I didn’t lose it since they can throw lures so
easily, by you know who. I soooo
did not require his approval at this point, but knew he felt silly, so that was
rewarding.
After we had a huge
feast, (Barra, steak, burgers, veggies), the same five from the night prior
headed down to the beach for the night.
We packed up the ute, and brought our swags and an Esky this time. We were all exhausted, and sleeping at
a decent hour; the sun does that to you.
We each found a spot in the sand and laid out our swags. James and Chrisco apparently had the
better ideas – Chrisco was in amongst some trees for some shade when the sun
woke up, and James was under the smoke that was coming off the tired bonfire,
to keep the mossies (Aussie term for mosquitoes) off. I woke up around 3am from being completely and utterly
tormented from mossies. That
annoying high pitched buzz that we can all relate to, was unavoidable and was
such a nuisance!! I found some
AeroGuard and showered myself in it, which helped, and I was able to fall back
asleep. Not for long though, as we
were up shortly after the sun was.
Oddly enough, in the
middle of nowhere, we must have been near a cell service tower, because I had full
service! This in the outback is
like hitting a goldmine. I was
able to call Mama and Papa and my Mom and Dad! - that was all my morning really allowed me time for, or
else I would have perched myself on a rock and called my entire home contact
list for a chat. It’s always so
nice to hear the voices of those you miss the most.
I took the buggy up to
the camp, and brought down the portable barbeque, and Wade and Charley and the
girls came down for breakfast. We
had all brought meat and ribs and such, and that was the best breakfast I’ve
had in a while! It was a
mean feed! Just what was needed, especially for another attempt at catching
some huge Barramundi!
We wrapped up our fishing
weekend with a group adventure out to the “rude fella’s” TOP SECRET SPOT, where
there are apparently heaps of Barramundi just waiting to be caught. He catches one every time he goes… We all
got skunked. Minor waste of a few
hours, when we could have been back on the river where we were all happiest in
the boats!
James and I left and everyone
else stayed, since James had to muster on the holiday Monday. WHAT AN AMAZING WEEKEND! The picture below is a little fuzzy from
the steam and smoke from the barbeque, but from left to right, it’s Wade, Chrisco,
James, Charley and Benny. Chloe was
still sleeping, the little devil!
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE!