Impoundment barra are a year-round possibility but they are much easier to catch throughout certain months of the year. Nearly all of the lakes will fish at their best once the water begins to warm in spring and before it gets hot in summer. The warming water in spring draws the fish up into shallower areas. In the hotter summer months, the barra spend shorter periods in the shallows and stage out in deeper water where they are more comfortable. If you hope to catch one by casting lures to the edges, plan a spring trip. If you want to mix it up and try the deeper water with vibes, deep plastics or trolling then plan to hit the lake around the hotter months.
If I had to choose a time of year as my favourite, it would be a few day either side of the full moons in October and November. We hear it all the time, ”barra bite best on the full moon.” For night time fishing this can often be the case with most fish caught after sunset. Most anglers choose to hit the water later in the afternoon around 3 or 4 pm and settle in their chosen spot waiting for the action to start after dark when the fish move up on shallow points or weed edges to feed. The bite time can change from day to day. This is a result of the moon being about an hour later to rise each day. Despite dams having no visible signs of being tidal, gun barra anglers make sure they are in prime spots around the turn of the tide in the saltwater nearby. This trick can help put more fish in the boat both during the night and day.
Prior to the full moon, the moon will set before the sun rises and this can also be a good period to fish. Due to concentrated efforts around the afternoon/night session, most anglers will be off the water and tucked up in bed. Once things go dark, listen for boofing fish feeding on the surface and stealthily move into their feeding area. As a hint of light glows on the horizon ensure you are positioned in a likely spot and casting your favourite lure.
Shallow sandy points are the perfect place to fish at night
Night Time Fishing
Not all fishing needs to take place at night but often the best bite period will take place under the cover of darkness. Rather than move around in the dark, it is advised that you anchor on a chosen spot and watch the sounder closely to see if barra are swimming through. If you do see fish, you definitely want to be casting. Position the boat in 2 to 5 m of water and deliver casts to the weed edge or exposed points. Barramundi should be seen on the sounder’s side image as they swim by. Pick out your night time spots during the day. A GPS is invaluable for this as you can quietly return to your different marks at night without too much trouble. I love choosing spots in the middle of the day in weedy lakes. With sun overhead you can spot all the holes and points in the weed formation. A good anchoring spot should have several casting locations where fish are likely to move through or come to feed. I even look at the surrounding trees or horizon so I have a reference for where to cast once things get quite dark. You don’t want to be working this out by trial and error when you can barely see your hand in front of your face.
Once the moon is up, it’s surprising just how much you can see. Keep lights in the boat to a minimum. Once eyes are adjusted to the dark it’s best to keep it that way until you’re really in need of some added brightness. Fishing in the dark adds a bit more danger to a relatively safe pursuit. Ensure your navigation lights are in working order. Always carry a head torch or hand torch in case they fail and for general work around the boat. LED light bars are so cheap nowadays thus a lot of boats have them fitted up front to spot any hazards while on the move. Wear your safety lanyard while on the move in case you are tossed from the boat (at least you’ll have a chance to swim back to it and have something to hold onto). And if you are fishing with a mate, remember he is there for company not to embed a heavy-duty hook into the side of his face. Be aware of your surroundings!
Anchoring in the Right Spot
Having a boat or kayak is a big help to access the best fishing grounds. Some barra impoundments like Awoonga, Proserpine and Monduran can require travelling some distance so a boat is definitely an advantage. The open water on these dams can get rough so a boat of at least four metres is recommended. In lakes like Lenthalls, Kinchant and Teemburra, the action is close by and you can get into fish from a smaller boat or kayak.
How do you pick the right spot to fish?
It’s pretty simple to choose a good spot. Look for points or bays that have plenty of wind blowing onto them. The more prominent the point, the better it will be. Think of it like this: even if the barra aren’t coming to the point you are fishing to feed, they will need to migrate around it from one bay to another. This increases the traffic flow by funnelling the fish through that particular area. If you can find a shallow fishy looking location with deep water nearby, the fish can move from the deep up into the shallows easily when they are ready to dine. The wind creates oxygen and attracts bigger numbers of baitfish to the area. Sometimes even a dirty water line will be present from the wave action and this provides the ideal ambush zone for predators.
Anchoring in the wind can pose some problems. A sand anchor with a decent chain will suffice when there isn’t a lot of wind. If there is a lot though, these anchors tend to drag through weed and the build-up makes them useless. The boat rocks up and down with the wave action and the boat keeps drifting right over the area you want to fish. To counteract this, I add a 10 kg plonk to the front of my anchor chain. My plonk is a lump of lead with a short length of chain in it. You could use a heavy lump of steel which is compact enough to carry in the boat.
Awanga barra are big
Gear
Barra, especially the bigger models, are a tough fish. They require a quality reel with a good drag because once hooked they do peel line. You want at least two outfits ready to rumble just in case one fails. A wind knot at precisely the wrong time in the hot bite window will cost fish, so the more rods at the ready, the better.
Spin rods are great for delivering soft plastics or for those not accustomed to a baitcast reel. Opt for a rod around 7’ with a rating of 5 to 10 kilograns. This should be fitted with a 4000 size reel filled with 20 to 30 lb braid. Always top this off with a leader of 60 to 80 lb fluorocarbon. Leaders don’t need to be long; 60 cm will do but always start with around double this. It doesn’t take long for lure changes to eat up leader length when loop knots are being tied. A baitcast setup is ideal for tossing hardbodies. Even a heavier swimbait style setup is worth considering for punching out long casts with heavier plastics and hardbodies. These reels should feature 30 to 50 lb braid and again be topped off with a 60 to 80 lb leader.
Lure Selection
So just how much gear do you need to successfully catch one of these prized barramundi? To be honest you could try your luck with one outfit and one pack of lures and succeed on many occasions. Fish though, dictate what they want to eat and therefore you will need to front up with a selection of tackle and a couple of rods if you are taking the challenge seriously. Make sure you have something like this in the boat:
Deep trolling hard – Halco Scorpion 125 or 150 8 m Crazy Deep
Shallow casting hard – Bomber 15A Heavy Duty 11.9cm
Deep casting hard – Jackall Squirell Super Double Deep 115mm
Top water hard – Zerek Skittish Dog 115mm
Plastics: 5 to 6” – Molix Shad 140mm
Soft vibe – Jackall Transam 95
Weedless plastic – Zman 6’ Swimmerz and Owner 6/0 Weighted Beast Hook
Weedless top water plastic – Zman 4’ Frogz and Gamakatsu 4/0 Worm EWG HW Hook
BCF have a wide range of Barra Lures & Reels for you to choose from that’ll help you land that cracker fish.
Ancillary Gear
Sunscreen, bug repellent, hat, mutiscarf, big landing net, pole lure retriever, lights, waterproof jacket, camera, brag mat, pliers (long pointy nose) and refreshments. I highly recommend Dri Screen sunscreen as it’s super effective and doesn’t repel fish.
STOCKED BARRA LAKE’S FISHING RULES
A closed season applies outside of stocked waters every year from midday 1 November to midday 1 February. A take and possession limit of one barramundi applies during the closed season in all of the lakes and dams mentioned below. The barramundi may be greater than 120 cm.
Recreational fishers may continue to fish in the listed dams and lakes once they have reached their limit of one barramundi. Outside of the closed season, in the dams and lakes mentioned below, a take and possession limit of five applies to barramundi that may include one barramundi greater than 120 centimetres. The minimum size for keeping a fish is 58 centimetres.
Aplins Weir (also includes Black Weir and Gleeson Weir)
Awoonga Ben Anderson Barrage (also includes Paradise Dam, Claude Wharton Weir, Jones Weir and Wuruma Dam)
Burdekin Falls
Callide
Eungella
Fairbairn
Fred Haigh (Lake Monduran)
Kinchant
Koombooloomba
Lenthalls
Peter Faust
Teemburra
Tinaroo
Wuruma Dams
Lake Fred Tritton
Lake Gregory (Isis Balancing Storage)
Lake Morris (Copperlode Falls Dam)
East Leichhardt Dam and Belmore
Corella
Julius and Moondarra Lakes
START PLANNING
Reaching your destination and settling in with all the right gear and some idea of what to expect will see you in with a good chance of success. Still, barra fishing can be frustrating and at times when they just don’t want to play the game. Make sure you visit your local BCF before you head off. You can find your local with the store locator on the BCF website. With 2-hour click and collect, you can snag your barra supplies before you head away. Chartered fishing trips are a great option to speed up the learning process. Guides fish the lakes regularly and can take you straight to fish and hopefully help you achieve your goal.
Impoundment barra are one of my favourite fish to chase. They can be ridiculously frustrating to tempt one minute and biting every cast the next. A metre-plus of chrome belting your lure and then dancing across the surface is as good as it gets. Hard work from stocking groups has truly created world-class fisheries. Big numbers of fish all stuck behind a dam wall with no tides, no saltwater and no crocs. It’s an angler’s paradise. The fish are there and waiting, all you need to do is start planning your own barra adventure.
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BAITS FOR BARRA
Barra are very much a predatory species and respond best to live baits. Ideal livies include prawns, mullet and herring. Lightly pin the live baits with a 4/0-8/0 octopus or circle hook on a running ball sinker rig. Use 40-80lb leader to avoid being rubbed off. When a bite is felt, allow the Barra plenty of time to swallow the bait before setting the hook.
SOFT PLASTICS FOR BARRA
Soft plastics are a great way of getting connected to a big Barra. Use large paddle-tailed baitfish imitations and work the plastic very slowly to keep it in the strike zone longer. Plastics in the 4-6 inch (100-160mm) range are the perfect size for the task. Using a weedless style jighead will allow for snag-free fishing in heavy structure.
HARDBODY LURES FOR BARRA
Hungry Barra respond very well to hardbody lures. Any baitfish imitation twitched slowly through a snag will attract a hit. Similarly to soft plastics, lures in the 100-160mm range will get the best results.
Ensure the terminal tackle is up to the task, some lures may require upgraded trebles and split rings to handle large angry Barra.