They are on the top of most Aussie’s fishing bucket list and for good reason too; they fight hard, put on an aerial display after being hooked and taste great! They are as iconic as a meat pie and sauce and if you’ve always wanted to catch one, we’ll give you a few tips to make that dream a reality.
Where to look for them
Barramundi live in the tropics and while they can be found outside estuaries, it’s more successful to target them in the creeks. They are ambush predators that love to hide right up in the structure and wait for an easy meal to pass by. You will find them right up against the mangroves and in the deeper section of the creeks on rock bars. If you look at a spot that looks like a good spot to snag your lure, then chances are that it’s a prime place to look for a barra. I can’t stress how important it is to get your lure or bait right into the snags and tight up against any structure. The difference between getting a barra and going home empty handed can be the difference of a few centimetres. If you’re not getting your fair share of snags, then you’re not casting close enough to the mangroves.
When hitting the mangroves, the tide will play a huge role in your success. Knowing that the barra like to hold tight up against and in the mangroves, you need to make sure the tide isn’t too high that too much water has flooded into the mangroves. Otherwise, the fish will be too far into the snags to get a lure or bait in front of. Rising and falling tides, where the water is at the edge of the snags are your best bet.
Another deadly technique and something that a lot of barra fishos will talk about is fishing the drains. A drain is the section where the small channel meets the main bit of the creek and is usually smaller than the width of your boat. Fishing these on a run out tide is such a great technique because all of the barrumundi that have been feeding right up in the mangroves will usually move back into the main creek or river as the tide drops. Anchoring up and fishing a live mullet or continuing to case lures up the drain and work them back is a great way to catch a barra.
Working lures
The best advice I can give you about working your lure is to go s-l-o-w, the slower you can work your lure the more time it is going to spend in the strike zone. When you think you are winding back slow, go slower! Winding your lure back slowly, with a few twitches and pauses is a great way to maximise your chances. You’ll be shocked at how many barra will jump on your lure when you slow down and even pause your lure allowing it to float back up the water column a few feet before giving it a sharp twitch.
When choosing lures to take with you on a barra trip, look for shallow diving lures as these are great for casting into the snags and not getting snagged. Slow retrievals also help the lure to swim over logs and sticks and helps it from getting stuck. Suspending minnow lures are also worth keeping in your kit as well as a lure that can dive down 3m or so. That way you’ll have all your bases covered. In terms of colours, I have always had success with gold and black configurations, whites and greys that look like a mullet and fluro yellow and greens.
After a Barra lure? Check out these top picks:
1. J.M Gillies Gold bomber
2. Reidy’s B52
3. J.M Gillies Classic Barra
4. Predatek Viper
5. Rapala X-rap suspending slashbait