The birth of the barra boat -- Feature
From humble beginnings, the barra boats of today have come a long, long way...Barramundi fishing and the fishing tournaments have spawned many other tournaments in this country, such as those for bass and bream which are located much closer to the greater populace.
But the common denominator across the three fisheries is the barra or bass boat -- an exciting craft that continues to evolve.
Back when the Aussie bass was just a near-coastal proposition, and bream were something you only went to fish for when the weather was crook and you couldn’t get out, the evolution of the barra boat was taking place in the far north of Australia.
In the late-1970s, greats of barramundi fishing included the likes of Col Cordingly and a few other legendary characters who still to this day ply the rivers and keep tournament competitors on their toes.
THE MANTRA WAS THE MANTA
Long-range fishing meant long-range fuel supplies but back then that was simply the addition of a jerry can of standard petrol and a bottle of oil rather than a fancy built-in tank.
Diesel Creek about 30 kilometres downstream from the Daly River Crossing was considered a major trek in those days. It wasn’t always called Diesel Creek though. It got its more-recent name when Alex Julius (another legendary NT character) tied up at the creek mouth and filled his tote tank for the trip home.
Around the mid-1980s, Manta Craft and Savage were prominent players in the pressed-alloy boat market that dominated northern Australia.
Fibreglass hulls were foreign to northerners due to the lack of bitumen roads. And boat trailers were a rare commodity in a place where the roads were so rough there was not a small-boat trailer on the market that could handle the abuse.
Alloy punts were carried on roof racks, while their outboard motor lay in the back of the 4WD on an old tyre casing to minimise the damage sustained on the trek. The well-heeled carried an auxiliary in the form of the 8 or 9.9hp outboard which also graced an old tyre in the back of the vehicle and then lay on said tyre on the bottom of the punt until required in an emergency.
SAVAGE KICKS THINGS OFF
In 1985, I saw one of these boats on display at Boatland Winnellie, the then Mariner dealer and it was impressive.
Sadly, many these days are American imports at the expense of our home-grown products.
With the modernisation of a burgeoning Northern Territory bringing with it infrastructure in the form of better and often bitumen roads, the sleek stiletto hulls of fibreglass bass boats now rake the surfaces of those waterways, side by side with equally dressy alloy hulls, all in search of barramundi.
DECKED OUT
The transition from those early years has been amazing. Hulls, motors as well as electronic innovations are seemingly endless and the place to see this kaleidoscope of evolution is the Daly River in the Northern Territory, which is home to two of the largest and best-run barramundi fishing tournaments in this country, the Barra Nationals and the Barra Classic.
Boats varied in size and brand, the latter numbering 23 different names!
The full range of outboard manufacturers was represented on the various transoms. It seemed that 150 horsepower was the most popular power plant but if you averaged out the figures just over 100hp would do the job.
The dominant brand over both tournaments was Suzuki and this result may be put down to the fact they were the preferred brand outboard on the once locally produced GS Marine alloy boat packages, which featured prominently on the river. That company met its demise with a very unhappy ending but apparently the pieces have been picked up and boats of that design are still being produced in the Northern Territory.
PICK OF THE OUTBOARDS
Yamaha came in second with 12 at the Nationals and 14 at the Classic and Evinrude ETEC featured on eight boats in the Nationals and four in the Classic.
The balance of the transoms were fitted with a handful of Honda and Mercury outboards and a couple of Mariner’s as well. A lonely Tohatsu in the Nationals stayed in the race while an old four-stroke Johnson that was nearing retirement struggled for attention but competed well.
FISH-FINDING ELECTRONICS
The Barra Classic saw boats sporting 25 Lowrance brand units, and 15 from Humminbird while the Nationals had 28 Lowrance against Humminbird’s 9. Simrad and Garmin featured on only one boat in each of these tournaments.
That’s a far cry from the 1980s when a depth sounder was unheard of and depth was usually tested via the skeg on the outboard leg! Dual-beam transducers and those that performed side-scanning functions were science fiction unless you came from a naval background.
Humminbird was the game changer to the electronic ignorance in this part of the country. Imported by Bob Littler Agencies, the first models were very simple units that showed shapes on the chunky pixel screen with a red dot displayed when a fish was detected.
The catch call then was "if it’s red its fish". Whether or not it was, it formed the main topic of heated discussion around the creek-side camp fire at night over a few bundies and copious amounts of insect repellent. The sizzling fillets on the BBQ hot plate were always put down as sure proof of the integrity of the 'Bird, not to mention that of the triumphant angler.
TODAY'S BARRA BOAT
And marine electronics? Well, the sky really is the limit and you have to be mentally fit to keep up with the latest and greatest in gadgetry that is put before us at every boat show.
One thing is for sure: from where we stand today, the humble Manta Craft tinny with 15hp outboard on the back is a far cry away. Yep, a distant and fading memory!
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