The First weeks of June @ Awoonga

[Steve B]

I'm not convinced with the soft plastic stories from Monduran. I hear that they are not that good.
How could that be so?
They are a style of triggering method that carries vibration and movement in a constantly moving lure. That's how they work. It is the same principle with straight trolling in Monduran's basin with a rod in a holder or one worked slightly with a hand. Plenty of barra get caught that way in Monduran so why wouldn't it be feasable to apply straight winding, vibrating and moving offerings in varying sizes in a rubber body instead of a hard plastic or timber body?
Are they not that good or are they not really used that much? My lady has fished Monduran once, it was a fairly hard day. She used a soft plastic, had 4 bites, missed two and landed a 114cm fish.
What do all you Monduran regulars think?
Cheers,
Johnny

Johnny, your right, yet agian. The simple fact is the 'bulk' of fisherman coming to Monduran have been told thru various media, magazines, us and mates that hardbodies are the go at Monduran. yes, plastics work, very well too. Many higher standard anglers I know have had great success on plastics (when HB have been quiet too). The submerged timber can be daunting and snaggy for the relative novice to SP's which can be a deterant for some. Again, thats what sets some apart from others when it comes to adjusting weights, retireves etc. So they (and Myself too, I might add) stick with HB's for comfort and safety. I have some new SP's which I am super keen to give a good run in the near future (thanks to Navi, Vinny and Ben). I cant get hold of them in our tackle shops here, but they look a treat.

If every person chucked or trolled a B52 at monduran.....what would all the reports be??...."B52 are the go at Mondy"!!...Same goes for Awoonga...6 months to a year ago every report was "slick rigs to the weedbeds at Awoonga" 3yrs ago the majority was casting HB to the edges at Awoonga from what I remember.

Monduran has become 'hot' only recently in the grand scheme of things. First timers generally stick to 'safe' methods and dont evolve siginificantly straight away...but will in time, previous impoundment technique evolution at Awoonga, Faust, Tinaroo will be a good guide to what happens here.
Times will change, this time next year, I bet there will be more reports of SP action at Monduran...it's a slow evolution, which follows a pattern in all dams as they become popular.....or is it the fact we realise the fish are the same species where ever they reside..hence have the same inherant genetic feeding patterns regardless of location...I might be wrong! but I am thinking

Steve

[Roo]

I have some new SP's which I am super keen to give a good run in the near future (thanks to Navi, Vinny and Ben). I cant get hold of them in our tackle shops here, but they look a treat.

Foxie has good supply of Flaps!!! and I honestly reckon they will work a treat. certainly have stronger rigging than the ones Navi had ripped apart. It would be worth a try.

Cheers Roo.

[Steve B]

Rod, It wasnt the Flaps I was talking about.....but they are on my hit list this year too. they do look great, and would work awesome I reckon.

Further from my previous post, (work rudely interupted me!) I beleive fisherman have 'evolved' more at Awoonga than Monduran, I am not saying we here are cavemen (contrary to Foxies photo in 3F thread), we are just spoilt in the fact our fish have been relatively untouched compared to Awoonga.

We havent been required to adapt our techniques too much as is the case at Awoonga where fishing pressure over several years has caused fish to 'wise up'. I have particualry noticed the difference in fishemen from Awoonga coming here and their success almost instantly.

Scott (Vet) won the ABT on his first trip here. Johnny M has has success here with minimal exposure, even during 'tough' sessions. Trev too. Jas fished with me, on his 2nd or 3rd trip and had no troubles finding, hooking and landing fish. He stated "you can tell a lot of these fish havent been caught before". Now, he wasn't being a smart a#$e, it was a simple comparison to the seasoned barra at Awoonga which are definatly more gunshy and require constantly evolving tactics. Hence, the fishermen/women HAVE to evolve too in order to keep up.......This will happen here at Monduran in the next few seasons. But currently, HB are still working so many resist change until nessessary. The bloke/women who evolve first will reap the rewards in the future. Soft plastics is, and has been to natural evolution at other dams which have been through all this before. Until then, many will be happy to ride the 'dumb fish gravy train' while it exists. I am guilty of it!!.

Steve

[TinarooTriumph]

I think I mentioned somewhere in the past of similarities between Tinaroo and Monduran that I have seen. Sure, I havn't seen or been to Monduran but Im able to 'stand on top of the hill' and take a good look at things that others mighten.

Yes, Monduran has been very successful for anglers fishing with Hardbodied Lures... no different up here at Tinaroo either. The one Lure which I have heard alot of people rave on about down at Monduran is Mr B52. Again, no different up here at Tinaroo... some of the locals think if you havn't got a B52 or a Long-A tied on then you won't get a touch. What is apparent between Tinaroo fish and Monduran fish that is so dam noticeable is the size of the Barra... they are monster fat arse fish. They live in much the same structure (sort of...), the layout of the Dams are similar (millions of 'arms' filled with timber), they are large waterways, big bio-mass at both and are heavily fished. I could go on.

Generally speaking, I have always believed in Hardbodies for timber and Soft Plastics for deep/weedy waters. I have chopped and changed and I have found that Soft Plastics will work just about anywhere, especially around large numbers of Bait. I have found that at locations where I have caught fish before where there isn't ever noticeably alot of Bait that they will fall victim to a twitched, injured Lure. Thats just something I have picked up on.

If the B52 and all the other Lures I have heard that these Monduran anglers are raving about (strangely enough all work very well in Tinaroo) then you should try the ultimate Tinaroo lure, and its a soft plastic! Im sure most of you know which one it is.

Just my thoughts.

Theo

[Magella]

Hey Roo
Leave Foxies flaps out of this and stick to Steve's Stiffy's

Cheers

[Roo]

I'll need a bit of Peanut butter for it tho'

Here's hoping those Mondy monsters dont wise up too quick....They probably learn quicker than i do. Me not brite sparx.

[NAGG]

Some of the recent posts have been quite interesting ...... specially for someone who lives in another world & has to travel so far to try to catch a barra!
Without a doubt , the media & chat sites play a huge role in what is used & what catches barra .......... but I'll bet my other one , that for every lure / technique that is working ........ there are 10 more that will also do the job just as well ... if not better! .......... The only thing is , that you need to try them!!!!!

Nagg

[A_DIFF_PERSPECTIVE]

[Without a doubt , the media & chat sites play a huge role in what is used & what catches barra .......... but I'll bet my other one , that for every lure / technique that is working ........ there are 10 more that will also do the job just as well ... if not better! .......... The only thing is , that you need to try them!!!!!

Nagg]


Nagg,
There is no need to bet, There is no doubt at all. Grouping or classification of lure types into 'concept or principle' is the first step for any angler.
Once anglers discover the principle or the concept, doors open. Understanding how lures work and why they work will carry us further along.
Try as many lure types as you can within your chosen 'concept' for a better arsenal of stimulation options. Seek and you shall find.
I had twenty casts yesterday working with a 'visual' silent concept and it scored a small barra.
Cheers,
Johnny
Steve B,
I'll chat soon.
JM

[NAGG]

[Without a doubt , the media & chat sites play a huge role in what is used & what catches barra .......... but I'll bet my other one , that for every lure / technique that is working ........ there are 10 more that will also do the job just as well ... if not better! .......... The only thing is , that you need to try them!!!!!

Nagg]


Nagg,
There is no need to bet, There is no doubt at all. Grouping or classification of lure types into 'concept or principle' is the first step for any angler.
Once anglers discover the principle or the concept, doors open. Understanding how lures work and why they work will carry us further along.
Try as many lure types as you can within your chosen 'concept' for a better arsenal of stimulation options. Seek and you shall find.
I had twenty casts yesterday working with a 'visual' silent concept and it scored a small barra.
Cheers,
Johnny
Steve B,
I'll chat soon.
JM

Unfortunately for me & the majority of others ....... when we hit the dams our time is so precious that we use tried & proven methods ........ or WORST STILL ... The "It worked for us last time" ........ we become so engrossed in catching the big one ,we become blinded & we wont move out of the comfort zone!
Guys like yourself , Theo ,Jas ,Trev & Steve are in the envious position to be able to hit the water for a session ..... tie on a xxxx can & bloop it over a weed bed to see what happens .....Lucky buggers
Its funny ...... lots of years fishing & its only my recent time spent targeting big bream in my local area ( between relapses of IBD) ..... on lures / Sps where I've broken my mindset & started to use different things / retrieves , conditions etc .......... regardless of what worked for me last year! ......... Why is this so??? - Because I can be casting within 30mins of leaving home ....... but just as important , I have no pressure

Cheers

Nagg

[the_matrix]

Without a doubt , the media & chat sites play a huge role in what is used & what catches barra .......... but I'll bet my other one , that for every lure / technique that is working ........ there are 10 more that will also do the job just as well ... if not better! .......... The only thing is , that you need to try them!!!!!
Nagg

100% Correct Chris, its not just Barra that this applies to, or fishing, period. If you knew how good Subaru's were (and you may do) you'd never buy a Holden again. But gee that Holden Ute ad rocks! Advertising is just that, and fortunatley, we all have a brain to decide and choose whats good, whats not, and whats advertising.

The products I use, I stand 100% behind. Not because of sponsorship, I chose those products as a part of my arsenal because of experience and results, with thousands of hours fishing them. Through good fortune and hard work I have become sponsored. If people want to know what I use, I tell them mate, quite simply. If they dont like the product, cool thats their choice.
Thinking outside the square does not just apply to below surface activities, keeping an open mind and finding things out for yourself will go a long way to helping you grow as an angler.

I have 12 tackleboxes in the Skeeter, and I wish I had 12 more. I have lures that work 60% of the time, but the other 40% is spread through the rest of those 10 tackleboxes.
If you knew how much time I spent on U.S websites trolling for interesting products !!

I know for a fact that the likes of Trev, Scott, The Taylors, Al Macnamara, Lindsay Dobe, Jas Swan, Steve B, Theo, Matt Wallace and Matty Coleman have Barra lures that are important to their arsenal, and its because of experience, not marketing that they do this.
Lots of time fishing products versus others to fine tune and tweak the best ones.

You get crucified if you dont tell anyone what your using, and you get classified as an advert if you do.
Like I said, thinking outside the square topside will weed out the crap, its a subjective world out there.
Cheers
Jas

[NAGG]

[QUOTE]

100% Correct Chris, its not just Barra that this applies to, or fishing, period. If you knew how good Subaru's were (and you may do) you'd never buy a Holden again. Be gee that Holden Ute ad rocks! Advertising is just that, and fortunatley, we all have a brain to decide and choose whats good, whats not, and whats advertising.

Before I bought the Prado ...... I owned a Liberty RX Wagon & then a Liberty GT ! ......... I miss the GT big time ( best car I've owned!) Unfortunately (fortunately) , I was buying a boat & with the long trips I do ...... I felt a bigger / spacious tow vehicle was the go ......... an besides the GT didn't go down Snowy Mountain fire trails that well
Now where were we

Chris

[Steve B]

[quote=NAGG;848926]

Before I bought the Prado ...... I owned a Liberty RX Wagon & then a Liberty GT ! ......... I miss the GT big time ( best car I've owned!) Unfortunately (fortunately) , I was buying a boat & with the long trips I do ...... I felt a bigger / spacious tow vehicle was the go ......... an besides the GT didn't go down Snowy Mountain fire trails that well
Now where were we

Chris

The newer subaru's have the strongest roof pillars (especially the B pillar) nearly impossible to cut, even with the heavy cutting gear. Adds upt to quality and safety ++. Sorry, bit off track!!

[flairj]

Just to cut back to the plastics rigging and hookup/drop rate with jumping fish........ maybe someone should look into "break away" heads. They use plastics for huge Tarpon around bridges in Florida and as soon as you hook a 100lb Tarpon they come straight to the surface and explode and if you have 60 grams of lead it will be thrown about 100 metres from the jumping fish. The answer, break away heads.

Just a thought. Josh

[Whitto]

This is directed at the_matrix and it has nothing to do with the present thread, All I have to say is "The Bowwave" "The Bowwave" unbelievable had to have a lie down after viewing the footage 10 times....Thats all I have to say.......Whitto PS: Thanks for that

[the_matrix]

This is directed at the_matrix and it has nothing to do with the present thread, All I have to say is "The Bowwave" "The Bowwave" unbelievable had to have a lie down after viewing the footage 10 times....Thats all I have to say.......Whitto PS: Thanks for that

Whitto,
Thanks mate, its wicked alright. Just got back from Monduran where I have been doing similar things today........crikey if I continue Im going need Steve B's hotline for a defib for clients and myself.
All I can say about Monduran is #$%^!!!!!!! Hows the size of these kegs, how many is there in there!!!!!
Some of the most insane visual action today and last week I have seen since filming the toad segment.
Cheers
Jas