Baralaba - you beauty!

Baralaba is a small town in central Queensland with a population of around 400  - one Pub, a General Store and a News Agent. The local shire has established a nice park and free camping area on the edge of town overlooking the Dawson River and Neville Hewitt Weir. Nice camp with grassed picnic area, $1 hot showers and town water available from 1 tap behind the toilet block. 

Sunset - Dawson River

Baralaba is also famous as being the home for Southern Saraotoga (Toga) – which is only found in the Dawson River and its tributaries in central QLD.

There's Toga in those snags!

After 5 days unsuccessful fishing for Toga at Bedford Weir this was going to be our last fish in the Dawson River system this trip and catching a Toga was on my trip bucket list.

I fished for 4 days- 6 hours a day - and despite seeing Toga “swirls and splashes” caught nothing but catfish! 

My personal trainer (AKA Tom the fishing guru) drove over 500 kilometers to fish with me for a night and morning session to show me how to catch the elusive “Toga”.  Well!! - after 3 hours fishing he had 4 hook-ups, lots of jumping Toga but none in the boat. Toga have very hard mouths, jump a lot and you are found in timber and snag infested sections of the river.

63 cm of  Dawson River Toga

After he departed and left me his secret Toga Lure – out I went again for the 3 hour afternoon to dark session.  

4 cm lure = 63 cm Toga

Armed with Tom’s secret lure and lessons learnt from the previous session -  I hooked 4 Toga and landed 2 !!!  As the sun set out came my favorite “walk the dog” popper and after a few casts - whammo  - big surface strike and screaming run until he pulled the hooks.

Yahoo – mission accomplished!!