I'm in the market for baitcaster for Western Cape York Barra.
I'm in the market for a rod that will handle 30lb(maybe even 50lb) Bionic Braid on a Daiwa CV-Z253. Mostly casting hard body lures and soft plastics.
I've had a quick look around. I quite fancy an Ian Miller(brillant rodbuilder) Top End Braid Barra rod. Loomis Crankbait series have been mentioned. Don't know much about Strudwick.
Interesting in your thoughts.
Thanks
Wes
30lb to 50lb Braid for Barra?
What are you doin'?
Rev.
Rev!
"Go n-ithe an cat thu is go n-ithe an diabhal an cat"
Rev, 30 to 50lb is not out of the question when snag bashing. It has been said many times before that probably the most important problem associated with some forms of barra fishing is abrasion resistance. I myself have lost numerous big barra to tug of wars around timber. And heavy leaders and line can help in this situation. There is nothing to be gained by going light IMHO because most barra casting is 10m, unless of course you are trolling and depth is important. Also it is impossible to apply 50lb of tension through a loaded baitcaster.
To answer your question Wes, Miller rod - good expensive, dunno if it will catch more fish though.... Limited Warranty.
Loomis CBR 756 is the go, Lots of power, softer tip for braid, less jump offs (plenty of those...).
Studdies, good, maybe a bit too high modulus. Brett might disagree.
Do some serious NT barra fishing first Wes and then see what you need..
George
struddy 10-12kg it is a far weapon on big barra I have 30lb penn braid on it I have turn big sea turtles sharks and barra on it it casts ok for a heavey rod and works and feels good with a cvz253
I`m with George on this one Wes...go the Loomis.
Randall.
Gotta agree with the Loomis. Used one up at Hinchy on the CVX combo - sweet bit of gear.
Rev - Minimum I ever use for snag work is 30lb. Still got bricked a few times at Hinchy. Some of this fish up there have taken knitting lessons I'm sure of it.
George,
I guess the Loomis Crankbaits are covered by the Expeditor program.
Ian Miller has a Barra braid rod under his own Miller Rods brand as well as under Shimano Ian Miller Millenium series. I may investigate whats the difference.
What setup did you use on your 50lb Tinaroo Barra?
I'm may be off to the Archer River(Aurakun, south of Weipa) in May if I can't go on another Rowley Shoal trip. Mostly fly, but I'll take a baitcaster along.
I guess I'll have to have a closer look at all the options.
Did you see that WMC have 6X trebles now? WMC8527PS.
Randall,
50lb Barra on fly. Any more details? I may make the long run up north. I've got a 12/13# I can cast all day. From what I hear about impoundment barra, I'll have to cast all week.
Wes
Hi Wes,
Have a look at springwood marine, talk to travis about the ian millers. Nice rod, fairly quick action though which is like the Loomis 666 and 667 (the previous barra standard - actually Ollie has one). I think they are about $500-600. Wes if you are serious about getting big barra, then I think you need every advantage, because unlike the goldens and longtails, these barra are extremely hard to land, for numerous reason which I'm sure you'll find out for yourself.
I was lucky to land that particular barra, my VMC 3x were opened up and the fish was jumped out.
If your serious about big barra -
1. GL CBR 756 (it is the gold standard)
2. heavy braid (50lb braid for me this year)
3. millionare/cronarch or alike
4. tripple splits and 4x-6x hooks. I had a look at those VMC 6x, and geez they are thick guage, thicker than the owner! only downside is they are not sharp and not a conical point. I am not sure how sharp you can get them, but if they're like the 3x that is probably very sharp.
Wes, casting all week is not much to land a fish of a lifetime..
George
hey guys i'm going to lake awoonga next week i'm well "equiped" my main rods a live fibre black bass special lines 50lb bionic and the reels a 400 calcutta with custom drag, The back up tackle is a sabre stroker with a tld 25 same line might troll with this, Rob
Man, you dudes are so unforgiving on those poor fish.
Me thinks your tecniques may need a little looking at.
Below is a 40lb Barra from deep in the snags in the upper Bensbach.
No impoundment slacker here, as this fish is not the top of the food chain in the river, the 20' Crocodiles are.
The fish was hooked hard up against the bank under a very substantial clump of snags in the form of fallen trees, you can sort of see them in the shade behind us. 8)
Gear used;
Live Fibre 6kg Custom Baitcaster.
Calcutta 250.
14lb Fireline.
60lb Black Magic Tough Trace.
B16A Gold Bomber.
Done it before this one and I'll do it again. 8) 8)
I have only ever used gear as heavy as you guys are saying when I was fishing for Black Bass in New Guinea.
By the way, the fish totally destroyed the 5x Mustads, all of them, and the rings on the lure.
Rev.
Rev!
"Go n-ithe an cat thu is go n-ithe an diabhal an cat"
Wes
Don't know what your budget is, mine is fairly low, I bought a shimano backbone 6 to 8 KG and as far as I'm concerned it was very good. I used a ABU 5600 c4 with 30 lb bionic braid. I was happy with everything except the bionic braid . We tested bionic, gorilla braid and fireline with scales and fireline was best by far for strength.
wamjam
Hi Rev,Originally Posted by Rev
Man, you dudes are so unforgiving on those poor fish.
Me thinks your tecniques may need a little looking at.
Below is a 40lb Barra from deep in the snags in the upper Bensbach.
No impoundment slacker here, as this fish is not the top of the food chain in the river, the 20' Crocodiles are.
The fish was hooked hard up against the bank under a very substantial clump of snags in the form of fallen trees, you can sort of see them in the shade behind us. 8)
Gear used;
Live Fibre 6kg Custom Baitcaster.
Calcutta 250.
14lb Fireline.
60lb Black Magic Tough Trace.
B16A Gold Bomber.
Done it before this one and I'll do it again. 8) 8)
I have only ever used gear as heavy as you guys are saying when I was fishing for Black Bass in New Guinea.
By the way, the fish totally destroyed the 5x Mustads, all of them, and the rings on the lure.
Rev.
Beautiful fish - a real thumper.. I hope to go to bensbach in the coming years, when budget allows. It must of been amazing..
Now to the discussion - while it is possible to land large fish on lighter tackle I think you would have to agree that you would loss less fish through tackle failure on heavier tackle provided you use that same technique.
Whilst I have not caught a 40lber saltie, I have caught a 28lber at liverpool river. I dont know about the freshie slacker line - having been connected to a est 70lber and averaging 40lb impoundment barra aren't lightweights. I think saltwater fish lb for lb fight harder, but probably are in some ways a bit easier to catch. I say this because - firstly salties can be in dirty water. They tend to run out into the middle. If they do go for the snags, they are typically 'lighter' snags than what is experienced in impoundment, where you are mainly dealing with submerged 20m tall gum tree trunks. I think 14lb line wrapped around a gum tree with a 50-70lb barra may test anybody's technique. I agree with you that it is possible to catch massive barra on light gear - look at matt frasers amazing 6lb record (admittedly trolling). But IMHO you would catch MORE with heavier gear.
Don't get me wrong Rev, I agree that this may seem over the top, but you're dealing with a XOS fish which can be extremely hard to land. The more weaponary available to you, the better your chances. From reading Randall's post about TBF, I am not alone in going the elephant gun.
Cheers
George
George, you are spot on. Not too many anglers have had the chance of fishing faust for the "unstopables".
Rev, if you were to fish this area with 15lb, you would last approx .005 of a second hooked up. Believe me,, we know what this impoundment is like!!
The average size of the impoundment Barra would be 100cm. If you were fishing them out in the open, no probs, you probably would get a few back to the boat. These fish concregate in old river mouths where standing timber abounds. Sometimes your casting in betwen two trees that may be 50cm apart. Get wacked there and you stand no chance.
There`s been some comments by a few anglers who have opinions about how to fish this location who have never visited the place. One guy even said 10 lb braid would be sufficient!!
The local stocking group at Faust who fish for these fish all the time just sit back and laugh at such ideas. They love to see the faces of the guys who finally come up and use their standard barra gear. First fish they get slammed by and their off to Prosserpine Bait and Tackle to get 50lb Braid and better rods.I believe that they are devising ways of getting these neanderthols back to the boat with off-shore gear!!
It really is an awesome fishery and until you visit the place and sample what overgrown impoundment barra are all about, its very hard to imagine why anglers upgade their gear.
Food for thought.
Randall.
Here's more,
52lb Barra,
Snaggy Creek mouth.
Steve Starling Calcutta Medium Rod
Calcutta 200
14lb Fireline
60lb Momoi Leader.
Plenty of submergerd Snag and Mangroves.
Plenty more too.
Rev!
"Go n-ithe an cat thu is go n-ithe an diabhal an cat"
And this one,
Barramundi 38lb
hooked within a couple of metres of the boat that was tied to one of the many fallen Mangrove trees and roots in the same creek mouth as above.
Same gear as for the fish from Bensbach, except the leader was Momoi not Black Magic.
14lb Fireline.
Tough fight in and around the snags and a resident 8' Croc.
Rev.
Rev!
"Go n-ithe an cat thu is go n-ithe an diabhal an cat"
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