1st time Monduran Questions !!!!

[jayvee]

Hi all,
making first trip to monduran late march with a few mates (also 1st timers) and just have a few questions that i thought th Impoudment barra Freaks on here might be able to help with! i've been doing as much study on here and elsewhere as i can to try avoid comimg back with the dread'd DONUT:-/ ok here goes

- i have a daiwa saltist HRF with 30lb fins braid on a Shimano t-curve 5' 8" 6-8kg rod. is the braid heavy enough and should i maybe look at an upgrade to a say 6-10kg rod?

- what size leader is the norm and is it fluro or just normal leader

- i have squidgee fish in evil minnow 100mm and 130mm
lorikeet 130mm
blue with silver belly 100mm
i plan to also buy some hollowbellys and squidgee boof frogs and fish the frogs with my snapper spin rod and 4000 shimano symetre.

-and i have classic barra +10 HB in the blue with silver/chrome underneath

- is there any other plastics and hard body's you guys think i should have in my arsenal to give me the best chance possible

i dont expect 1 person to answer all the questions as i no theres alot but any info/help would be appreciated;D
cheers JAYVEE

[Roo]

Good luck jayvee, Ive added a few bits below.
Cheers Roo.



- i have a daiwa saltist HRF with 30lb fins braid on a Shimano t-curve 5' 8" 6-8kg rod. is the braid heavy enough and should i maybe look at an upgrade to a say 6-10kg rod? Should be fine, we've done ok on lighter gear than that so I would'nt make any extra special purchases until you get seriously hooked and tagged by the bug!!

- what size leader is the norm and is it fluro or just normal leader. I reckon 60lb Mono is Plenty...Used 80 once but found it difficult to cast through the relatively small rod guides on the rod we were using. we use Penn 10X but others have said Black Magic is better....

- i have squidgee fish in evil minnow 100mm and 130mm
lorikeet 130mm
blue with silver belly 100mm
i plan to also buy some hollowbellys and squidgee boof frogs and fish the frogs with my snapper spin rod and 4000 shimano symetre. sounds like a good selection

-and i have classic barra +10 HB in the blue with silver/chrome underneath Nice choice

- is there any other plastics and hard body's you guys think i should have in my arsenal to give me the best chance possible If you can find some suspending Storm Wildeye Shads (soft plastics) and maybe look at a Arafura Barra hard body or something similar without rattles. the silent lures might be necessary if the fish are in that kind of mood.

[jayvee]

cheers ROO. yeah i like the arafura barra's to

[BR65]

Hi all,
making first trip to monduran late march with a few mates (also 1st timers) and just have a few questions that i thought th Impoudment barra Freaks on here might be able to help with! i've been doing as much study on here and elsewhere as i can to try avoid comimg back with the dread'd DONUT:-/ ok here goes We all eat the donut some times mate, even the best/locals, part of the barra thing

- i have a daiwa saltist HRF with 30lb fins braid on a Shimano t-curve 5' 8" 6-8kg rod. is the braid heavy enough and should i maybe look at an upgrade to a say 6-10kg rod?
Gears fine mate

- what size leader is the norm and is it fluro or just normal leader personally I use 80 Penn 10X, lost to many fish on 60, others like twisted, or 60, or even 50, but thats a bit thin for my liking these days

- i have squidgee fish in evil minnow 100mm and 130mm
lorikeet 130mm
blue with silver belly 100mm
i plan to also buy some hollowbellys and squidgee boof frogs and fish the frogs with my snapper spin rod and 4000 shimano symetre. Dont forget the Storms, have a look around as well, bigger the tail action the better, things like Bozos, the Shadalicous etc. Take the scisors to your plastics, a bit of nipping and tucking helps the action. The squidgy hooks are crap IMHO, and can let you down on a big fish, consider replacing them with Nitros, 1/4 and 3/8 ounce 5/0 or 7/0 to suit

-and i have classic barra +10 HB in the blue with silver/chrome underneath Classics are fine when your looking for a little bit of commotion in the water, maybe a pre-dawn cast, I use the classics then, figuring the rattle helps in attracting a fish, dunno, just a personal theory, try taking out the middle hook, useing double Halco splits and #1 owner ST66 trebles front and rear, bigger hook exposure, more movement available on a thrashing fish from the pivoting of the double split rings, and slows the rise rate down a little. Can also be used for trolling

- is there any other plastics and hard body's you guys think i should have in my arsenal to give me the best chance possible
Dare I say the B52, some suspending X-Raps, Storm Mid thunders moded as per the classic to hang in the water, Arafuras, the list is endless, but at the least have something thats a shallow swimmer, and something that suspends
i dont expect 1 person to answer all the questions as i no theres alot but any info/help would be appreciated;D on a tuff day I go down in lure size, the ol jelly bean theory, saved my bacon a couple of times
cheers JAYVEE


My input, for what its worth. Dont forget your sense of humour, the sun block, bundie and coke for nite time, and have a ball mate.

cheers
brian

[BR65]

Ooops, should have added, the best 15 bucks you could spend would be a lure purchase at Foxies at Gin GIn on the way thru, you'll get the lure, and the latest on whats what!

cheers
brian

[jayvee]

cheers for the info BR and yeah i had already planned a stop in at foxies for the low down

JAYVEE

[slyman]

Hey in addition to the PM i sent you, I also recommend getting yourself one of those Monduran maps, Foxies in Gin Gin have them and so does the kiosk at the campground, the Johnny mitchell DVD "Lake Monduran" is also an info packed item to get a hold of. The map has latitude and longitude on it which will help you locate your position if you have a GPS.

Like brian says above, dont forget your sense of humor, there could be many hours between fish and be prepared to cast your arm off. Watch out for submerged trees off the main drag, there's lots of them and you'll find them when you least expect it.

[Plasticin]

Watch JM's Lake Monduran Dvd several times before you go. Confidence that there are fish where you are fishing is what I think is the most important thing.

Be confident.

[NAGG]

Boof frogs :( I'd give em a miss this time ......... Stick with Slick rigs & hollowbellies , Storm Shads & Suspenders (+ your hardbodies) ......... Get some fish under your belt & enjoy yourself

Chris

[Steve B]

Your gear sound fine. Leader 60lb hardbodies, 80lb plastics seems the norm.

Extra HB's that I would never leave home without are B52, Xraps (jointed and normal)

good luck mate.

Steve

[jayvee]

would bcf or tckleworld stock the monduran dvd mentioned above if not how could i go about getting hold of 1???

yeah i plan on taking a sense of humour i'm looking at this as more a sussing things out kinda trip but am just trying to gather as much info as possible to give myself and friends a good chance at a fish! thanks for the reply's!

NAGG- i think you might be right about the boof frogs, maybe i'm just gettin a bit over excited!!!
cheers JAYVEE

[robersl]

Would bcf or tckleworld stock the monduran dvd mentioned above if not how could i go about getting hold of 1???

look up foxies barra havoc website you can by it online i think

shane

[BR65]

Tackle warehouse at Camp Hill has them, and I think I saw it on ebay under "barra"
Definately worth a look, dont bog down to much on the technical side of things for your first trip up, otherwise you'll do your head in and spend to much time searching, look more at the whys and whats, especially the whys, of the boys lure selection for the conditions they are fishing. It will be a bit differant weather wise when your up, but the halted suspending HB works no matter what.
Theres a whole ramble in the reports section on a trip up to Monduran by a few of the boys on Aussie Day week end, me included, and mixed in with our usual BS jabber to each other is some fairly specific stuff on what worked, and what we thought was happening over the course of the 3 days, maybe have a look there???

[woolybugger]

Hey mate, good luck with the Barra trip, you will definetaly enjoy yourself. Monduran, like any new dam is very daunting at first but thats all the fun, exploring the place at will.

We have found fish in most places of the lake at some point, just use your common sense and your "womans intuition" ha ha.

Arafuras have been a stand out performer for myself and others I go fishing with, which have caught Barra every trip so far (touch wood) Love the gold and green & silver.

We use all the others mentioned plus many more. The Predetek vipers have caught there fair share too.

We are that way too at the same time in our new rigs, so come over and say hello and have a beer. We will have two black boats (Alley Crafts) with 60HP on the back.

Good luck and if you want more info on locations that have worked for us, send me a post.

[rc@hinze]

Jayvee, I'm no expert but I would 2nd the predeteks Vipers in your kit especially the hyper Viper casting in deeper water or trolling.Thats what lure saw most of my hookups. Last trip to Monduran I felt like I was too inexperienced to use my 30lb braid safely amongst the timber. I got a bit nervous and tightened my drag up to much i think. I would take a role of 50lb braid as a back up or for some extra confidence . Black Magic is my choice of leader in 60lb or 80lb. You have been given some top advice by very seasoned Barra guys here mate. ( I not one of them sorry)- RC

[darylive]

go the black and gold! B52 & arafura.

As for Jonny Mitchells DVD have a look at it, put simply he will tell you the only way to catch Barra is to hire him for a charter.

[shaneoo]

howdy bud,
mate i would have to say the arafura lures and the classics in the hard bodies, but i have plenty of big barra on the squids pro series, never bent a hook to date(touch wood). I have watched the johnny Mitchell dvd a couple of times now and i can tell u there is so much info in there it is not funny, I wouldnt be looking at it as just saying hire me for a charter. But the best way is to get up there for urself and give it ago, keep a record of what u do and break it down, and yes we all have had dounts a mondy, sometimes it just one of those places that dont want to play.
cheers shaneoo

[nipsta]

[quote=shaneoo;969634]howdy bud,
mate i would have to say the arafura lures and the classics in the hard bodies, but i have plenty of big barra on the squids pro series, never bent a hook to date(touch wood). I have watched the johnny Mitchell dvd a couple of times now and i can tell u there is so much info in there it is not funny, I wouldnt be looking at it as just saying hire me for a charter. But the best way is to get up there for urself and give it ago, keep a record of what u do and break it down, and yes we all have had dounts a mondy, sometimes it just one of those places that dont want to play.
cheers shaneoo[/quote)
yeah or ya go up there when shaneoo is there and catch pb fish hey shane
how ya been havent seen ya for a bit are you attending the borumba bash if so i will hopefully see ya out there for a drink or 5

i agree with shane have ago you never know what you might get and try to put a few things to work that ya learn of this site or off johnnys dvd its a must and if ya still have trouble and want a guide johhny is the man and there is also paul dolan and several others

[shaneoo]

hey nipstar,
mate been just cruising around starting to get itchy feet for a trip to mondy, and mate u are not invited every time i show up when ur there smack a new pb to u , so sorry mate ur out lol. By the way mate i cant see ur face in johnny mitchells dvd some big shinny thing is in the road lol.
take it easy bud talk soon .
cheers shaneoo

[jayvee]

thanks for the tips

WOOLYBUGGER- might take you up on the offer of some of the spots that have worked for you,will shoot you a PM bout 2weeks before we leave if thats ok??

i bought 2 barra classics today (on special at bcf 2 for $25)
i got a +10 and +15 one is Orange head yellow sides with black stripes and green back and the other is the red head and black body with the silver scales. upgraded owner rings x2 on each owner hook with middle hooks removed.

i'll probly go the arafura barra and b52 as my shallow hard bodys