Barra with Brad and Douglas Smith…

Fishing out of Whitesands towards Barra is really cool with minimal fuss. No surf launch…dry…Brad and his son Douglas are super keen anglers, we even did one launch at 3:30am! Unfortunately, the Smith’s don’t choose the best weather and we certainly got bashed around some.

But we caught nice fish – and three first time species for Douglas. On the first day we headed out into the rough stuff, and for the first few hours never got a strike. Then all of a sudden the birds appeared, for their secret meeting with the fish. But we were on it.  Rods started screaming and soon Douglas and Brad had their first Skipjack tuna each…and we know how those things fight! Especially over 8kg size.

It wasn’t long and we had more action, a live bonnie that got chopped in half by a big couta. Then, at home time, we decided to pull small lures along the inside towards base, and bang, a tasty queen mackeral. Which Douglas marched into Barra Lodge over his shoulder – our trademark – with blood dripping all over reception – our calling card!

But we still hadnt got Douglas a couta yet…so we fixed that on our next launch, quick sticks!

The marlin were scarce this December, but we saw a few local rowboats get some bill action – right next to us on the drift, in about 15m on the inside at Barra again. It is amazing that these guys catch marlin on handline and on a rowboat, whilst we chase them with all the equipment possible. Are we in the same game?