Brisbane River barramundi: ‘Once in a lifetime catch’

A YOUNG fisherman has reeled in an unlikely catch from the Brisbane River and has the pictures to prove it.

Lachlan Baker with a rare Brisbane River barramundi. Picture: Brisbane River Fishing/Facebook

A YOUNG fisherman has reeled in an unlikely catch from the Brisbane River and has the pictures to prove it.

Lachlan Baker was fishing just outside Brisbane River, near the Port of Brisbane on the weekend when he landed the 85cm long barramundi, according to the Brisbane River Fishing Facebook group.

Highly prized among recreational fishermen, the barramundi is a staple of angling in north Queensland and in Darwin but is rarely found south of Bundaberg.

Although rare, lucky fishermen have reeled in barramundi from the Brisbane River, including a 110cm barra caught by fisherman Steve Morgan in 2014.

Lachlan, who tagged and released his big catch back into the water, said he had experience reeling in barramundi in North Queensland, but this “barra” was his first from the Brisbane River.

He said the massive fish put up a five-minute fight.

“It was a tough fight, it took my line and ran quite hard under some pylons,” he said.

“I’m stoked. They’re really really rare, it’s a once in a lifetime catch.”

Lachlan Baker with another Brisbane River catch. Picture: Supplied

Part of the Queensland recreational fish tagging program Suntag, Lachlan measured and released the 85cm fish back into the river and only posted the photo a day later to ensure its survival.

“The reason I don’t look overly happy in the photo is that I was concerned about returning [it] unharmed to the water,” he said.

“I wanted it to get a chance for it to swim back under some cover; I really wanted it to survive.”

An experienced angler, Lachlan has been fishing since he was five and contributes to fishing magazine Bush N Beach in between his weekly trips.

He said the Brisbane River is quite a good fishery and would be even better if people took care of it a bit better.

Lachlan Baker with another Brisbane River catch. Picture: Supplied

“On Saturday morning we saw a turtle and some dolphins, so if we take a bit of rubbish out and be conscientious, we can make it an even better fishery.

“There’s a couple of species in the river; threadfin salmon and mulloway, they can grow really big.

“But sometimes it stinks and stuff you know, because it’s a river in the middle of the city, but other than that, the waters will be really clean some days and other days dirty depending on the rain,” he said.