Fishing the Cairns

If you want monster barramundi to be your catch of the day, you should seriously consider an "exploration trip" to Peter Faust Dam. Even if the first question that springs to your mind is: Where the devil is that? The dam is also known as Lake Proserpine and situated a comfortable 6 œ hours drive south of Cairns, some 18 miles west of Proserpine, which sits another 30 odd miles west of Airlie Beach, the gateway to another fabulous destination the world renowned waterway - the magnificent Whitsunday's region.

Heavy tackle losses to be expected
Stories, almost legends, abound about monster barramundi living happily in the dam; or of anglers being smashed comprehensively by big barra in the sticks. If nothing else does, a quick visit to one of Cairns well known tackle shops and viewing a video of some recent action will convince you that the dam is a must see when fishing down under. However, what you are also told is to be prepared for very heavy tackle losses. So bet make sure to be loaded with rods with 50lb braid, 60lb leader and big deep diving lures beefed up with extra strong trebles.

Local knowledge preferred
Once you get to the spot, a good point to set up your base is Camp Kanga (local camp / cabin accommodation) which is only a short distance from the lake. Take your time and drop into the guys at Proserpine Tackle for a chat - local knowledge is everything, and even so called "experienced fisherman" should never tackle new waters with blinkers on.

Huge body of water
After launching, checking drags (tightening up even further) selecting a range of deep diving lures, discussions on where to start - this is a huge body of water; when full it covers an area or 4,350ha - take an early evening just to "suck it and see" on an exploratory troll. Local guides are available to enhance the steep learning curve required to fish this waterway if you have only limited time available. In the camp you will hear endless stories of rods pulled from hands in the blink of an eye. Amazing stuff! Monster barra of between 20 to 50 lbs landed, hooked up to or lost again. The level of expectation rising with every story told, you will be hard pressed to find a proper night's sleep. 5.00 a.m. come and the first shuffling noises will bring the camp back to life in an instant. Within minutes boats are heading to the ramp in eager anticipation of what lies ahead.

A very special place
Nowhere else in barra country has the feeling been more intense that another BIG fish is just around the corner. In most barra waters, from remote Cape York, the Top End and over to the Kimberley, anglers sense that should they drop a big one that they have blown their opportunity of maybe a lifetime. This is not so in Lake Proserpine: you feel like any moment you could just hook up to an even bigger, angrier, meaner monster than the one that you just lost, dragged your favourite lure into the timber and busted that 50lb braid line like it was a piece of flimsy cotton. It's a very strange feeling and is something that is drawing anglers from around the country and very soon from around the globe to fish this very special place - like moths to a flame, iron to a magnet, fisherman to that "holy grail". To fish a waterway where mum, dad and the kids - you can see 8-year-olds landing a 40 lb + fish here - can try their luck and have an equal chance as that experienced trophy hunter wanting to add a world renown sportfish to his list of captures. Well, a very special place, indeed.

If the feeling that you should go and see for yourself, Fishing Cairns arranges private charters to Peter Faust Dam based on the moon cycles. More information is available at Fishing Cairns.

Source: anglingnews.net