Freshwater Barra

[herby]

I'm new to the impoundment Barra scene and was hoping someone could let me in on a few tricks of the trade to get me started. I mainly just flick lures but I am open to new ideas. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Muzzy]

I don’t fish impoundments but I do fish fresh water for barra mainly lagoons and billabongs.


Will try and help as best as possible.

Patterns I have sort of identified.

Night fishing is best/full or big moons better.

Gold is a real good colour for freshwater barra also get yourself a tiger lily bomber.

You need to use a sounder in deep water to identify what level to troll at.

Trolling covers more water but make sure you jig the lure don’t just prop it in a rod holder.

In cooler times try small lures real close to the cover i.e lily’s or snags

Live bait is also a productive option for bigger fish.

I prefer to use shallow divers at first then work deeper lures as you try and find the fish.

I could go on and on but I don’t know how lagoon tactics translate to impoundment ones.

P.S impoundment barra are not breeders so if you nail a meter fish don’t feel bad about keeping it for a mount as it would probably taste like a carp!

[Brett_Finger]

Mate,
look for thr drop offs and big arches on the screen,then look for the hottest water you can find.even if it means circumnavigteing (spelt wrong) the whole damm dam ;D
poppers work well as do Lazer pro's/Bombers bouth in gold.and tigerlillie.i use 50lb bionic braid and a good strong rod,especially if yo are cast and retriveing around the trees and lillie pads,small bays in the lillie pads and along the face of said pads are a good place to start looking ;D
hope this is of some help.
Hookin, Brett

[Katrina]

;) Circumnavigating! Big words are my thing! Cheers!

[Brett_Finger]

thank you katrina ;D
all day, all day!!
Hookin,Brett

[Danny.o.]

Thanks for the tips, going to lake awonga on sat 5/1/02 for a week. Never fished for barra before,trying lures for first time, lets hope iv'e reed the write info.But then again the fish have too be in the mood. Let you know how i go. DANNY.O.

[Muzzy]

Mate pay attention to your retrieve...

If you have had a million casts for no result dont keep on doing the same thing.

Barra respond to different retrieves depending on ther mood.

Really work the lure make it "do a little dance" and pause it (some times up to 5 sec).

Especially with land locked impondment type fish as they can be stirred up to a strike rather than hit it out of hunger.

The lure is only about 1/3 of the mission how ya work it is the other 2/3 and thats when ya land the fish.

so do a little dance brother cuz!

Muz

[Steve_Ooi]

RMG,rmg, rmg....the best big barra lure around, look for a weed bed and work it slowly at night. and Hang on.....

Cheers Poony

[Muzzy]

they also rock when it comes to climbing the snag rather than gripping it.

pretty much stop and reverse the things.

Muz

oi poony you useing little lucifers especially when cold?

[Steve_Ooi]

When it gets cold at Tinaroo it gets really cold, don't realy bother fishing too much during cooler weather....
But the little lucifers go off up the creeks and rivers....i would like to see them bring one out that suspends or actually sinks for the deeper snags, (have thought about drilling it and adding a few more ball bearings, just got to get around to it one day and give it a test run. should work well on the deep snags, cast it in, let it sink , twitch it out and hang on....)

Cheers Poony

[staggy]

Dell how many freswater barra have you caught compaired to the saltys. Iv caught a fair amount of saltys and a heap more fresh. You will find lazy fish in both types of water but Iv yet to catch a salty thats put up a better fight then any of the local fish we catch in our dams.

staggy

[Dell]

impundment barra or freshwater barra r great fun 2 catch but after the first run they lie ther like a wet sock. if u want a kick go catch a saltwater barra as they r more energetic and fight well

[McCod]

impundment barra or freshwater barra r great fun 2 catch but after the first run they lie ther like a wet sock. if u want a kick go catch a saltwater barra as they r more energetic and fight well

This one looks like it came frome page 1 ...
Never caught a salt Barra so i can't compare .... But i've seen a few wet socks totally destroy lures, reels rods etc and peel 50 + mtrs of braid off a locked up drag.... "5 KG plus drag settings" I'm sure that big salt water barra have more stamina for a longer fight. I guess i will just have to find out ;)

Cheers Les

[the_matrix]

Im with you McCod!
I just got off Awoonga where the worlds hardest fighting wet socks destroyed a pretty tough lure, and another one is in the mouth of another. 50lb braid, 80lb leader Goooooooonnne!! :)
Ive caught plenty of Salty's, in run offs in the territory and also a few around my local. I choose to spend most of my time in the fresh because I believe they fight pretty bloody good, and in SOME cases better than their salt cousins.

But depending on a number of factors, impoundment Barra, can be a little lazy at times. They dont need to fight current, tides, other preditors or each other for food. Saltys are definantly fitter and generally have more staminer, but Ive had sessions where I reckon these dam fish would pull a Salty backwards.

Each to their own, and Dell can only go of his experience, and that may be that the Freshies he caught were having a lazy day.
You will know it when you bump heads with an angry one. ;D
One thing I do know is that BIG salties are a very, very tough customer. They are very hard to split!
Once again......each to their own. :D
Jas

[A_DIFF_PERSPECTIVE]

Herby,,,,,,some good points aired already, I like muzzy's posts. Awoonga is just like a big billabong,,,same techniques work!!
Awoonga at present is hot, and getting hotter,,,,the water temp!! Troll a 6 to 9 metre lure anywhere in deep water, 30 to 80 feet etc. troll all day if you want to, troll slow, watch other boats and troll as slow as the slowest ones,,,ignore the quick ones,,,,no mackerel in Awoonga!!
Casting is a lot harder at present especially for a beginner, so if you want a good fish at Awoonga casting, you will have to do it tough, and possibly at night it may give you an advantage. Deeper lures casting, will see you on the money,,,but its a huge lake, and trolling will better the odds of success if u r on a small time frame.
Many brand lures work,,,RMG scorpion as mentioned is a good scorer. I use them also.
Best of Luck.
Johnny M
Lake Awoonga Barra Fishing Charters

[A_DIFF_PERSPECTIVE]

Salt or fresh, a barra is still a barra, same design, same muscle groups, leverage, and head and mouth design, both capable of destroying terminal tackle with relative ease. Broken lines, rods, reels, lures are similar with both. Use a soft drag and a salty won't feel much different to an impounded fish on many occassions, but turn up the heat, and bring out the heavy handedness in mangrove/rocky, tidal flowing salt scenarios, and its clearly obvious who's the lesser!! 10 rounds in the ring with a Fit Fighting Tyson, or Mr Bean,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,? Their is a well marked difference! The salty does not need be big either! I tried heavy handedness,(salt techniques, purposely for the exercise) on a 1100mm, say 19-20 kg barra from Iveragh creek-Awoonga a month ago,,,,,,hook-up to boat in under 15 seconds,,,,,,,,! Your call to believe it or not!
Both tough fish in the right circumstances, but certainly two totally opposing states of well-being!
Johnny M