Missus and I About to have a dabble at dam BARRA. Gear setups and combos info please.

[Bassjunky]

Hey guys,
The wife and I are about to venture on to the Barra scene. We have chased bass for years and are set up well for them but now need some info on what Rods,reels and line combos are quite good for casting and trolling( even recomended line knots). I often use baitcasters and the missus uses spin gear. We dont want to spend thousands either.
Thankyou in advance.

[Benben86]

Abu Garcia bait casters for me are great value for money and are tough. I have a 6500 c3, and c4 and a 5600 c4. Have a look on some overseas sites and you might save some $$$ I had a millionaire and sold it for an abu.

[ejackulate]

Gday Bass junkie,

I used to live in qld and fish monduran and awoonga a bit but now live in the territory and do more estuary/ billabong fishing now .I just use a G Loomis force lite braid series that is 6 foot 3,12 to 20 lbs ,moderate to fast action with a shimano chronarch spooled with 30lb finns braid,i usually use a varivas or improved albright knot to attach leader(the hints and tips section on the top tool bar has the illustratios of these) to braid i use 40lb leader when casting and 60lb when trolling.This has proved quite effective for me in the past, It is just a matter of finding a nice light well balanced combo that feels right for you as fishing these dams you will be doing a LOT OF CASTING.There are a heap of guys on here that fish mondy all the time and seem very willing to help.

Hope this helps
Good luck mate
Rob

[Scott nthQld]

My favourite combo is my Shimano curado 200 E7 teamed with a Gary Howard Samurai NV007, spooled with 30lb powerpro braid. A nice solid outfit. Alternatively a calcutta 200 would be good on the same rod. Knots I use are a simple 5 turn granny knot to get a double, down to an albright to 40-60lb leader. Check your leader after every fish regardless of what size you use. And a lefties loop knot to the lure.

Caught plenty of wild barra and other species on that combo, and if used correctly (ie NO HIGHSTICKING) you could possibly run 40-50lb braid if you wanted. For that combo you'd be looking in the vacinity of $700

[jayvee]

might be a bit easier if your a bit more specific with your budget (for each combo) mate

Jayvee

[Daintreeboy]

What do you currently have? They may be good enough?

[Bassjunky]

Most of my gear is only 2-4 kg shimano and daiwa light bass gear? I have no idea what a setup will cost me. At a guess $300 to $400 per combo. What is the recomended weight and length rod for mostly casting at mostly Monduran or awoonga?
Thankyou for replying to guys. A tackle shop guy will only want sell me what he wants.

[Benben86]

Last time I went to awoonga and caught absolutely nothing but if it counts after that revelation I used an old ian miller barra raider 7 foot think it's 8-10 kg with my 6500c4 it worked well but as I said not one hookup. It's just personal preferences. My mate used a 5 foot 6 ugly stick with the same reel. No need to go over the top. Don't tell anyone But I only paid $200 for the entire setup including 30lb fins braid. I use it for snapper too.

[Daintreeboy]

Yeah that is a bit light. For your budget I reckon teh Abu range will work ok. Maybe the 5600C4 or similar. Any rod around 5 foot 6 to 6 foot will work. Ugly Stiks etc will be at a price less than a 100 bucks to get you started.
30 lb braid is the go so get teh rod to suit this.

For the spin reel maybe a penn slammer in whatever size suits for 30 lb and same again for the rod.

These budget type set ups will do the job and get you well under 300 bucks for each, probably even 200. Whatever you decide, I believe if you are using 30lb, for the budget you are looking at try for a rod less than a 100 so you can get a good quality reel. If you go this way you can get a reel that is quite nice like an Abu Revo or even a Shimano Curado E7. My brother has both and loves them. If you can afford it it's worth spending the cash.

[Bassjunky]

Thankyou so much for your advice so far. Keep it coming. I have an Ian miller barra 8-10kg already.Will that be to light? Is 8 to 10 to light? Some rods tell you line weight/ lure weight. Sometimes its hard to figure out.

[Benben86]

8-10 is fine IMO. I caught a 90 barra at monduran on that with 30lb fins and a 40lb leader. Just remember that it's only fairly light and don't try to skull drag barra. If you go to heavy it won't be comfortable to cast all day.

[Scott nthQld]

8-10 will be fine, i use a 6-8 and have no trouble with barra and jacks trying to monster them out of the timber.

if 300-400 hunj is your budget, try not to scrimp on the reel as much, get a better quality reel and save some dough on the rod. I was using a berkley dropshot 6-8kg 5'6" for ages until I decided to upgrade. nothing wrong with that rod, in fact I still use it with another reel and it was under $100. My brother uses a Coriolis (i think) and its a good reel too for the money, cost about half than the curado I use, he still runs 30lb and pulls just as many quality fish as I do with my more expensive gear.

no idea what to use for a spin combo, but my mate 6yr old boy recently caught a 94cm barra on one of thos ultra cheap AFX4000 shimano reels (about $20). I'd probably go with something like a 3-4000 Shimano Saragosa, i use a 5000 and its very nice, it will see you in the vacinity of 200 leaving a bit for a nice 8-10kg spin rod. Should have no trouble running 30lb over that either

[Bassjunky]

i have a coriolis and a daiwa viento already but didnt think the drag would handle the big boys so much.

[Benben86]

Not hard to either get the drag upgraded or to Do it yourself

[Daintreeboy]

Yep that rod is fine. Now it comes down to the reel. Since you have a decent rod already I suggest spending a bit on the reel. Curado E7 all the way!!

[BR65]

Penn Pin Pont Tournament 56BCH are around the 120 mark if you can find them, a nice short stick for tight casting, and good for trolling I would imagine.
I also use Loomis CBR 756 crankbaits, and theres a Daiwa Pro Caster and a Shimano barra raider in there some where for vistors.
B.C. reels - Abu Revo, Daiwa Zillion in both gear ratios, Daiwa CVZ 203A and CVZ 205 JDM, Shimano Chronarch,
Ive got a couple of spin oufits, one is a Berkly something or other with a 3500 Daiwa Tierra and the other is a Lucky Craft with a 3000 Daiwa Caldia Kix
Pick something thats comfertable, theres a lot of casting between fish!
Most have 30lb finns, bionic or TD Sensor, a couple have 50 for those nasty days.
Knots are simple, braid to leader with an allbrite and a dab of super glue, and leader to lure is a perfection loop, I dont see the need for doubles etc.
Just what works for me, your options are endless, and only restricted by your budget

[Benben86]

It's hard to tell someone what they should get because everybodies opinions are so different as you can see by reading this thread.I would use the Ian miller and just a second hand reel. Then the next time you know what to expect and will be able to buy rods, reels, lures braid etc to your own preferences. Once you've got the barra bug you got it for good.

[BR65]

yep, Ive got mates that fish with Lunas, Pfluegers, calcuttas, HRF's and penns. Barrell or low profile is a personal choice.
They use T-Curves, Sic Sticks, Morrums, nitros, live fibers and no name rods.
The barra cant tell the difference, its whats comfterble for you, durable for the amount of fishing you intend, and suits your budget.
Higher graphite content in a stick reduces weight and gives a crisper action balanced against increased cost and more care required with the rod in general re angles. Drag up-grades are cheap, and a good idea, but remember generally the intent is not to stop them in their tracks. Something else will fail if you apply the hand brake to 60lbs of fish.
I reckon you'll have a bit of an idea allready, based on the Bass background.

[Benben86]

The first time I went barra fishing I used a Jarvis walker from kmart. I was 8 and it was great. Caught heaps.

[Bassjunky]

I just had a bit of a look in the shed and found a brand new 10-20lb daiwa graphite Procyon stick 6' 6". It feels really light and heavy butt with a fast light tip! Does this seem ok?

[.:::stotty:::.]

You cant beat a curado E7 for the price, im a daiwa man but these reels really do excell for what they are.