Hot barra action at WA's Ord River

It begins to get hot by the start of October in the tropics. However, if you want to set your heart racing with the leaps and jumps of a hooked barra, this is the time to don the hat, slap on thick layers of blockout and break out the lurecasting tackle. The one thing you can guarantee at this time of the year is that the bite is usually as hot as the weather.

I found this to be true when I joined a group of mates at Macka's Barra Camp on the magnificent Ord River in Western Australia's Kimberley region.

The Ord River flows fresh all year round as a result of the construction of Lake Argyle. This massive impoundment provides the necessary water for agriculture and horticulture crops surrounding Kununurra. Because of the Ord's constant flow, the river no longer dries out into pools during the dry season, and this has allowed barramundi, sooty grunter and mullet to thrive in this perfect habitat. The Ord now boasts a barra fishery equal to any in the north.

SECRET WEAPON
They're big barra, too, and after hearing many stories about the high standard of Macka's operation through the grapevine, I decided to share a trip there with a group of close friends.

It always makes fishing even more exciting when most of your companions have never cast to a barra before, and I couldn't wait to see them experience the enormous thrill when they finally hooked up.

We arrived at the camp at night and it wasn't until morning that we could check out the river running over beds of rapids. The orange dawn light crept across the escarpment and the Ord could be seen twisting and turning between its banks below. The surrounding vegetation was alive with the morning song of a large variety of birds.

It was with great anticipation that all the boys sat up in their beds and started the comical banter that wouldn't let up for the week. Even at 5am there were no sleepy heads.

After a full breakfast it was time to set up the rods, reels and tackle that would carry us through the trip. Doubles were tied in the 30lb braid, and 60lb mono traces of around 1.2m were added for insurance against our quarry's razor-sharp gills.

Lure boxes were overflowing with Classic Barras, Halcos of all shapes and sizes, Bombers and a few secret weapons poking their heads out, just to keep the other anglers guessing.

"What will we be trying out today?" the boys asked Macka, wondering whether it would be deep diving Killalure River Rats or shallow-running Rapala minnows.

"Well, I figure the best bet this morning is to catch a few livies and hit some of the better snags with bait," Macka said.

Wow, I thought ... a guide that doesn't mind using livies. This should be good.

In no time Macka and Andrew, our second guide, were busy catching 30cm mullet baits, and with the tanks full, our boats blasted down river.

The Ord is an impressive system, meandering its way towards the Cambridge Gulf. Lining its banks along the way are thousands of cattle, grazing on properties whose borders are measured in kilometres.

Every so often we saw a steer that had stumbled from the bank into the water to meet its fate, reminding us of the harsh reality that this was the saltwater crocodile's domain.

A few sightings each day certainly kept us on our toes.

BIG & BAD
While the boys in Andrew's boat headed to a promising looking snagpile on a river bend, Macka dropped the anchor and tied us off about 30m from a group of fallen trees in around 2m of water. The rigs were quickly changed and the snap swivels swapped with 7/0 hooks. At least two 7/0s and a running treble were placed in the big livebaits, and these were hurled as close as we dared to the twisted branches of the snag.

This type of fishing is completely different to casting and trolling lures — the anticipation of waiting for the bite has you on the edge of your seat. Shimano boss John Dunphy was the first to feel the raw power of a good fish when an 80cm barra grabbed his bait and rocketed from the snag. His animated expressions were hilarious, but were surpassed moments later when Jon Stevens, the lead singer of rock band INXS, hooked a fish well over a metre.

It blasted through the snag with complete contempt for John's heavy drag, and leapt and jumped like a fair dinkum barra should.

Sometimes things go your way, and the great fish eventually wrapped herself around a long, elastic branch which somehow didn't cut the line. Instead, it acted like a spring, taking the final fight out of her, allowing Macka to up-anchor the boat, lean into the snag a lift the magnificent big girl from the water.

At 111cm, it was the barra most anglers dream of. We landed one other barra that day, and I hoped the boys in the other boat had shared our success.

THE GREAT ESCAPE
We sat back at the camp waiting for the others to return, doing what you do when you're a million miles from home ? sinking a few coldies and reliving Jon's awesome capture.

The boys arrived with a similar story to tell, and you wouldn't believe it, but their barra was measured by Andrew and went exactly 111cm and was landed by Eddie, who'd never even been fishing before.

As this was Eddie's first barra ? and first fish ? he couldn't work out what all the fuss was about, as he thought this would be a normal catch on the trip.

By the end of the night he had his own TV show Escape with E.D, Shimano boss John Dunphy came to the party with sponsorship, and I was out of work.

Eddie and the boys had a ball all week, catching plenty of barra, losing some monsters and enjoying the hospitality and great guiding offered by Macka and his team at the camp.

It wasn't until the second last day of the trip that I got my old job back as host of Escape with E.T. Macka anchored the boat just out from a big snag, and a seriously big barra clobbered my livebait on the surface as it splashed down beside the tree. At 118cm, she was the biggest barra I had ever caught.

Even more exhilarating than the heart-in-the-mouth fight was the sight of her swimming away to give life once more to the mighty Ord.

Andrew 'Macka' McEwan can be contacted at macka_s@wn.com.au or www. mackasbarra.com.au.