When the weather turns foul and the salt turns to mud, plenty of barra anglers simply stay home. The host of Micksgonefishing did the opposite, swapping the boat for a pair of light combos and walking the bank to chase barramundi in a freshwater run-off, and the land-based session turned into one of the most productive he has filmed.
The decision was born of frustration. With the salt water "absolutely disgusting" after heavy rain and little happening for boat anglers, he turned to a freshwater channel draining down into the salt pans on the run-out tide. It is the kind of high-pressure, easily-found spot that gets hammered, which is why he was careful to keep its location to himself throughout the video.
The fishing did not take long to fire. Working weedless soft plastics and the odd hardbody through the last deep pools before the water shallowed out, he landed a steady procession of barra, including a one-eyed 73-centimetre fish to open the account and a "pigeon pair" of 83s that came two casts apart. There were fish around 80, several in the high 60s, and at one point a run of three fish from three bites that had him laughing at his own good fortune.
He was joined on the bank by pro bull rider Josh Sarin, who turned up still in his riding gear and pulled on a Micksgonefishing jersey before getting amongst the barra himself. The pair traded fish and good-natured ribbing, and noted the telltale signs of the country they were standing in, including a fresh crocodile slide in ankle-deep water that was a clear reminder to stay switched on.
There was real fishing logic behind the bag. The barra, he explained, were stacking up in the last pools they could hold in before the falling tide trapped them, with fish effectively stuck until the next run of tides, potentially a fortnight away. Dropping a small-profile lure right on their nose was often all it took, with spooked fish sending bow waves across the shallows as others ate.
For all the laughs, the most pointed part of the report came at the end, and it had nothing to do with technique. The host made a deliberate plea for anglers to protect the spot and others like it. "One of the good things about this place, it hasn't been trashed yet," he said, noting the absence of rubbish along the bank. His worry was simple: the more people who know about a location, the less respect it tends to get, and that respect is often the only reason access survives.
It was, in the end, a reminder that a productive session does not require a boat, a long run or perfect conditions, just local knowledge, a willingness to walk, and the discipline to look after the water that produces. With the weather set to stay ugly, he signalled more land-based content to come, provided viewers keep the secrets that make spots like this worth fishing.
