'Thinking outside the Square' at Tinaroo

[the_matrix]

Jas,
Now... can I ask you a Q mate? Is there an ultimate Lure out there for Awoonga? Sure it sounds like a stupid question, but Im sure it would be interesting to hear your thoughts - not just for me, but for everyone else.
Cheers mate.
Theo

The ultimate lure is the one you find that stimulates the fish to strike wholeheartdly on that given day. It is something that you fine tune as the session wears on, and every day is different. One day its a HB, the next day its a soft plastic the next a surface presentation.
Sometimes its all three in the one session!

If I had one lure to chose, and one only then without thought it would be a 110mm slick rig in any colour. Its the most versatile lure on the market, can be fished fast or slow, shallow or deep. I have caught hundreds of metre plus fish on them, and 7 fish over 120cm.
Its got nothing to do with the fact I am sponsored by squidgy or helped develop them, they are just bloody lethal in so many different conditions.
Cheers
Jas

[Nomad62]

Hey Theo,
I known where you are coming from with that one......we have a gun, big fish catcher in our area that live baits in the salt, using legal size Pikey Bream around the snags.....he reckons there's no mucking around with the take.....its just straight down the shute. He also said you'd be surprised how many smaller fish take them on as well....i would think that most fish would be hooked deep....bit sad for catch and release!!

Cheers Nomad

Have I told you about the Russian bloke in Atherton who Live Baits with Sooty Grunter around the Barron? He is as mad as a cut snake... but let their be no lie, he has caught big Barra all on live Sooties much, much bigger then 150mm. Take it from me...

Theo

[TinarooTriumph]

Couldn't agree more...

For me and Tinaroo, its a 5 inch Wildeye shad in ANY colour... if there's a Barra near one, its going to have a crack or a good look anyway. They are that kind of plastic. It would be Kucurs choice, and its by far and away mine! Not because of him, but because of the results and the way I fish them. Super effective, super easy to use... just like a Slick Rig at Awoonga.

Cheers

Theo

[Barraboss]

Hey Theo,

Thanks for the fish on the weekend. Was good to have a "change" in fishing partners. Yeah, I took Kim for a fish at the same spot as it was out of the direct wind and she hooked up straight away. PRICELESS!!!!

Will head back up soon I am sure, as I fished "my gully" for a couple of hours today and had hits on Boney Breams, 130mm blue Squidgy fish and also the 130 pro Slick rigs. Was in close to the bank, closer than I would usulaly fish.

Thanks for the report, saved me typing

Cheers
Matt

[the_matrix]

Hey Theo,
I known where you are coming from with that one......we have a gun, big fish catcher in our area that live baits in the salt, using legal size Pikey Bream around the snags.....he reckons there's no mucking around with the take.....its just straight down the shute. He also said you'd be surprised how many smaller fish take them on as well....i would think that most fish would be hooked deep....bit sad for catch and release!!
Cheers Nomad

Hang on a second lets compare apples with apples here.
Saltwater fish, yep big baits big fish. I'll never argue with that.
Salt fish dont have the food availabilty in such large numbers like dam fish either, so often whatevers there is going to be eaten.
Those salt fish have to do a lot of work in current, have to escape other predators and survive in big tidal ranges which in turn assists the digestion process. They have evolved that way.

Dam fish do not need to have the tail in motion 24/7 like a wild fish does, hence the fighting supremacy and endurance salties hold over dam fish.
Dam fish are evolving down a different path, and have found optimum feeding/survival patterns to create an easy lifestyle that sees them triple the growth rate of their wild cousins.
That is why the are growing so big, lots of food, minimal effort.
Theres a clear difference between the two fish.
Cheers
Jas

[Mak579]

Couldn't agree more...

For me and Tinaroo, its a 5 inch Wildeye shad in ANY colour... if there's a Barra near one, its going to have a crack or a good look anyway. They are that kind of plastic. It would be Kucurs choice, and its by far and away mine! Not because of him, but because of the results and the way I fish them. Super effective, super easy to use... just like a Slick Rig at Awoonga.

Cheers

Theo

Hey Theo,

As you know I fish both the Suspending Shads and Slickrigs often and after reading your post I was trying to compare the two - I couldn't! The only similarities they have is they're made of plastic, they have different attributes, different actions and to be effective, need to be fished differently in different situations.

Both of those lures will outfish each other at certaimn times in certain circumstances, both always have a place on my boat.

Every angler needs a confidence lure and it's great to see you've developed one by using the shad, you would be amazed with what people are catching barra on in the comps so I'd definitely encourage you to keep exploring the alternatives.

Congratulations on your trip

Cheers
Matt C

PS Try using the slickrig bodies when fishing weedless, I've found them to be easier to rig, better action and have a greater hookup rate. You might need a small cone sinker in some applications, texas rigged!

[Nomad62]

Hang on a second lets compare apples with apples here.
Saltwater fish, yep big baits big fish. I'll never argue with that.
Salt fish dont have the food availabilty in such large numbers like dam fish either, so often whatevers there is going to be eaten.
Those salt fish have to do a lot of work in current, have to escape other predators and survive in big tidal ranges which in turn assists the digestion process. They have evolved that way.

Dam fish do not need to have the tail in motion 24/7 like a wild fish does, hence the fighting supremacy and endurance salties hold over dam fish.
Dam fish are evolving down a different path, and have found optimum feeding/survival patterns to create an easy lifestyle that sees them triple the growth rate of their wild cousins.
That is why the are growing so big, lots of food, minimal effort.
Theres a clear difference between the two fish.
Cheers
Jas

Hi Jas,
As far as the difference between salt and impoundment barra go ....i couldn't agree with you more however i was just pointing out a fact/observation that may interest some readers of this forum.

I can understand how dam barra compare in growth rates to their saltwater brethren.....more plentiful bait supply and less effort to gain it.

However after fishing places like Tinaroo, Faust and Awoonga i have noticed the more than occasional large Bony Bream floating on the surface with the distinct inhale/exhale marks that barra leave on them. Whether this is from a territorial attack or perhaps simply a fish that eyes were too big for its belly, i don't know.

It would be good to get some feedback from people who have kept a fish for the table, as to stomach contents. As i release all my fish i wouldn't know...without the evidence my thoughts are only a theory.

As barra are opportunists, i would imagine if a school of large Bony's were in the barra's vicinity they would consume them.

Personally i am not ready to rule out the fact that lures with bigger/deeper profiles won't attract bigger fish in dams. You are correct in saying that "vision is only one method of detection utilized by barra, and usually the last one before it attacks its prey." The fish would almost certainly be stimulated by lateral detection long before it see's it and most likely already decided that its going to be lunch long before its in visual range."
However i would think that lures with different profiles (Deeper/ wider) would add to this stimulation.....water displaced differently and possibly stronger signals put out to stimulate the fishes lateral lines.

Just for the record, my preffered dam lure at the moment is the 110mm Squidgy Slick Rig, however like most, it is just another tool in my kit, and iam trying different lures and techniques all the time. I am keen to try the profile theory when conditions are right and i have the opportunity (which isn't often lately).

Cheers Nomad

[the_matrix]

Nomad,
No drama's i aint trying to discourage you from doing that, just pointing out differences as I see them. I fish Alma and Gladstone region for saltfish on a regular basis, in fact I enjoy that much more than dam fishing to be totally honest.
In regards to Barra being territorial, no they are not. They are a nomadic species that will take up residence in favourable locations. Salt and fresh.

Im also not going to talk you out of larger profile lures.
What I am trying to do is convince Theo not to get stuck on one lure, one size or one profile. Its why Barra anglers have boxes full of lures, most have a time and a place.
In regards to seeing large boneys regurgitated?? Barra cant help themselves when it comes to food, and they do make mistakes from time to time.

The answer isnt going big, that I am certain of. Will they catch fish, yep, then next day it wont raise a scale, like any other lure.
Its about finding what the fish are up for on the day, sometimes it requires lots of persuasian (and lots of lure changes).
Cheers
Jas

[Nomad62]

In regards to Barra being territorial, no they are not. They are a nomadic species that will take up residence in favourable locations. Salt and fresh.
Jas

Jas,
I should explain.....I meant that the barra may have attacked the bony's out of aggression.....ya know, your in my face/territory and i don't want to play type of thing. I never meant that they don't move around.

Been fishing the Alma eh!! Good area that.....have caught some quality fish there....but then thats another story.

Cheers Nomad