western australia Kimberley Trip Complete

[Luvit]

G'day everyone,

I am back from an amazing part of Australia and have some stories to tell and things to share. 

There is a lot to catch up on with real work and the new lure business also, I will get to photos videos etc as soon as time allows.

Rather than doing a full report with heaps of photos etc like i would normally, I will be doing small videos and releasing photos slowly to get whatever mileage I can to promote the business. (I don't expect I will be doing a trip like this for a very long time so I need to make the most of it).

I am expecting to release small videos of the trip on FB and the Gobblers web site so if you would like to follow that part of the journey you can.

One of the best investments I made before the trip was to buy that drone. It gives a whole new level of appreciation when you see where we were and the amazing places we saw.

Here is a small sample of what I mean.

 

Cheers Wayne

[ellicat]

Looking forward to the stories as you unfold them.

 

Welcome back.

[natang]

Welcome back am really looking forward to your tales! 

 

[kmcrosby78]

Welcome back mate, glad you had a safe and successful trip. No storms/lightning with heaps of jerry cans on the roof of the boat again ......... ?

[tugger]

Good on ya Wayne big adventures are always epic 

[Drop Bear]

nice one mate. I look forward to hearing about the adventure. 

[Luvit]

Ok, one of the highlights was hooking a Barra and the fight was strange. When we got a look at it a croc had the Barra in its mouth!

I was not impressed,  Brett started the motor and while I played it back to us and then finally got it beneath the boat. ( we were only in 1.2m of water) As the Barra came up Brett gave the Croc a little tickle with a pole and it released its grip. Much to our surprise the Barra took off in a flash only, he was still connected to the line. Very quickly I played it back to the boat knowing the Croc would be right back on it and our hoots of excitement rangout when we netted the biggest Barra for the trip landed at 90cm. Lost estimated 4 meter plus Barra's between us.

We got it all on video so I will edit it and post it for you to see for yourselves.

Here's the photo of the big girl. Unfortunately the croc had done some damage and you can see between the Gills and the wing fins. Otherwise it was in fairly good nick after the croc did the death roll with it in its mouth.

More to come.

[ellicat]

How good do barra look from the salt...

Very nice specimen.

 

[kmcrosby78]

Won't forget that capture in a hurry Wayne - well done!!  Looking forward to seeing the video  

[Drop Bear]

Fantastic story to go with that one mate. Cant wait to see the video. What and adventure. We had problems with crocs in PNG as they were taking the surface lures. Crazy. 

Mate you have the drag on very loose at the moment. I am enjoying being played out with all the stories. 

[Luvit]

I am sorry I can't be more active at the moment. I jump in as soon as I get a chance but don't have time to read the posts.

Here's so more photos. Sorry Drop Bear.

 

You need to be very aware whenever you are near the water up there.

 

 

 

[ellicat]

6 minutes ago, Luvit said:

Sorry Drop Bear.

That's some big oyster !

[kmcrosby78]

4 hours ago, ellicat said:

That's some big oyster !

Wopper!!!!

[Luvit]

Ok, I'm feeling guilty. Here is one of the highlights of the trip.

We were fishing the incoming tide in a small inlet, I hooked up to a nice fish and then things didn't feel right. When the fish surfaced it had a croc attached to it. We played this for quite a while but, I have edited it down. Eventually we got the the fish alongside the boat with the croc still hanging onto it. Not to be beaten Brett persuaded the croc to let go after a few death rolls and splashing. This part somehow got lost in the editing process    

To our surprise the barra took off once the croc released it grip and I quickly got back to the boat and into the net. In the excitement I claimed the lure to be a 4" paddle tail, but it was a 6" I underestimated again.

Remarkably the fish only sustained a small bit of damage between the gill plate and the wing fins. You will see that in that in the photo.

We were only in 1.2 meters so it got the adrenaline pumping when the croc came up. 

 

[ellicat]

Haha. I can see how that would have the adrenaline pumping.

[kmcrosby78]

Awesome story, capture and video Wayne, great work mate!!  Won't forget that one in a hurry!!

[Drop Bear]

On 16/09/2019 at 4:27 PM, Luvit said:

Sorry Drop Bear.

Wow is that a full sized axe? What a cracker of an oyster. Shame it was a bit empty but I bet it tasted great all the same.

[Luvit]

No a small hatchet,

We only took a few for a morning snack.

 

 

 

[Drop Bear]

2 hours ago, Luvit said:

We only took a few for a morning snack.

Yum looks delicious. i had some up at the Whitsundays a few weeks ago. So good. Great texture and flavour. I don't know all the varieties but they look like the standard black lip ones. 

You did a really good job of getting them off with the shell in one piece. 

[Luvit]

Here's a few more photos from the trip.

Selfie 

Fueling up

Langi Beach

Land based Barra

 

 

[ellicat]

4 hours ago, Luvit said:

Langi Beach

Interesting formations. What's the nearest town ?

Where did you setoff from in the boat ?

[Luvit]

Derby is where we launched I’d have to do a measure on Google maps for the distance. I would estimate 350km from Derby. 

[jon]

Epic trip Wayne what an amazing part of the world!

[Towknee]

Hi @Luvit,

Planning to chase some Barra with a mate in the Fitzroy river. Will need to buy some soft plastics, are you able to give some advice on which ones/ size from the gobblers range you would recommend?

Cheers 

tow-knee

[Luvit]

Thanks for thinking of us.
Our 4” & 6” Paddle Tails worked very well on Barra, Jacks, Threadfin etc 

Colours like Deadly Gold, Bronze Aussie, Aged Copper, Squid ink & Red Pepper we found the best colours. 

If you have any other questions you can message us from our website www.gobblers.com.au or email gobblerslures19@gmail.com 

 

cheers 

Wayne
 

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Hi Luvit

Thanks for that advice (even though it wasn't for me )

The next time i go up there I might have a go, the last time I was up it had just rained so I think that affected things.

Cheers Hamish  

[Luvit]

You're most welcome.

I'm lucky I had notification still turned on otherwise I may have missed this. 

The places where you find Barra can be some of the best this country has to offer.

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Hey Luvit

Yeah, just from watching some of the shows I see how amazing some of the gorges or systems they fish look.

Cheers Hamish  

[Luvit]

Yes, would do it again in a heart beat.

[Luvit]

This was sent into me yesterday by AFO member Shane Ovington who is in Bowen QLD.  

He said they got many around the 70 cm mark. I was grateful he took the time to photograph one for us. Solid fish.

Hyper Bubblegum 4" paddle did the trick.

[Towknee]

Nice! 
I’m actually fishing the Fitzroy Barra bash competition in May. Haven’t chased barramundi before, looking forward to the challenge.

@Luvit I’ll be ordering some gobblers 6” paddle tails shortly! 

[Luvit]

Thank you, looking forward to it.

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Hi Luvit

That is a real solid fish, I have a friend who fishes in Bowen for a trip occasionally (mainly his Grandfather though).

I must get around to getting some gobblers too, I reckon the Hardy Head, Aged Copper and Red Pepper would do the trick for me  

Cheers Hamish

[Luvit]

All good colour choices,  Hamish.

I tried up loading a video of a Barra bow wave as it chases down a 6" paddle before smashing at my feet then doing some tail walking before I land it. It failed to upload I'll try again later.

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Hey Luvit

I'd be excited to see the bow waves, they are incredible just watching online/video, I can't imagine what it would be like in real life.

I have mainly chosen these lures for flathead, and possibly jacks since I won't be chasing barra any time soon (unless I get a famous Brisbane River Barramundi ) 

Cheers Hamish  

[kmcrosby78]

@Luvit - I saw this topic and my first thought was 'that lucky bu99er hasn't been there again has he ..........'   Hope you're well mate.

[Luvit]

Going well thanks @kmcrosby78 so busy with social media stuff leaves little time for other sites now. 
 

Hope everyone else is still going strong