BARRA TACTICS (Drag Pressure)

[vet]

The only safe spot you have when barra fishing is once the fish is in the boat, for this reason I don't back the drag off at all. Solid weed beds are much more dangerous and easier to lose fish in then around trees. As many people have said you just free spool once the barra has you around the trees and more often then not you can unknit them. Try this in the weed and see how often it is successful. Smart big barra just plough through dense weed and clog the line with weed and the main line snaps or the lure is ripped from their mouth because of the extra drag from the weed. Most of the times that I have free spooled in this situation to reduce the drag has ended up in a long time untangling the weed from the line and finding no fish on the end of the line. It's much easier to untangle a couple of trees from the line than a pile of weed. For this reason I am of the opinon of go hard or go home. Having said that though, I know use 20lb line around weed beds as I have found really thin line under a lot of tension cuts the weed like a knife and doesn't foul the line as much. I still use 50lb line in the trees for it's extra abrasion resistance and there's nothing quite like the experience of 50lb braid going crack when you've gone hard on a fish. Some you win and some you lose but it's the fun you had along the way that counts. cheers scott.

[nipsta]

ill put my 2 cents worth in i reckon it has to be based on the situation as i have had good lesson in my time and i learn evey time i connect with one, but i was fishing in thick tree area and i got smashed by a barra she ran me into one snag which i lucky enough got her out of (with a bit more drag pressure) to help him along but then he decide to go into the oppisote direction and i was down to 3 winds of line on the spool i quickly cranked the drag and drove into to her i reckon that is the only time you need to do that i reckon if its the last resort i belive more pressure put loads every thing up and eventully a weak point will be found under strain and bang fish gone
just my 2 cents worth

[Barry Ehsman]

Thanks to you NAGG for bringing up this subject, & to all the boys for ther great replies & information.

This should hopefully help us on our trip to Teemburra & Kinchant next month.

Baz

[NAGG]

Just to answer Jeremys question on actual drag values ........ I use the time honored system of screwing up the drag till I can just pull line off the reel without cutting my hands ........ now believe it or not - this is pretty accurate for me & equates to around 3.5-4 kgs (tested) I consider this to be light / medium .......
Once you push 5-6 kgs ........ you start to overstress jig heads & the line starts to bury itself in the spool ........... Here my reels are at their limit & rods will fail with a quick barra that runs under the boat (high stick)

Chris

[NAGG]

The only safe spot you have when barra fishing is once the fish is in the boat, for this reason I don't back the drag off at all. Solid weed beds are much more dangerous and easier to lose fish in then around trees. As many people have said you just free spool once the barra has you around the trees and more often then not you can unknit them. Try this in the weed and see how often it is successful. Smart big barra just plough through dense weed and clog the line with weed and the main line snaps or the lure is ripped from their mouth because of the extra drag from the weed. Most of the times that I have free spooled in this situation to reduce the drag has ended up in a long time untangling the weed from the line and finding no fish on the end of the line. It's much easier to untangle a couple of trees from the line than a pile of weed. For this reason I am of the opinon of go hard or go home. Having said that though, I know use 20lb line around weed beds as I have found really thin line under a lot of tension cuts the weed like a knife and doesn't foul the line as much. I still use 50lb line in the trees for it's extra abrasion resistance and there's nothing quite like the experience of 50lb braid going crack when you've gone hard on a fish. Some you win and some you lose but it's the fun you had along the way that counts. cheers scott.

Thanks for that Scott
I'm also using 20lb for my spin outfit ( surface presentation over weed) ..... something I learnt from my bream fishing amongst weed + the advantage of casting further & improved lure action

Your point of weed is a good one & reminds me of my first metery at Faust which saw a prolonged fight & 10-15kgs of weed as the fish ploughed through the weed bed ....... In the end - it equated to a fish that could not be revived We do have to keep in mind the health of the fish ........

Chris

[2manylures]

You barra blokes need to get into some serious cod fishing.

Wack 4kg-5kg of pressure on a big cod & it'll bury you & bust you, no questions!

Drop back to 1kg-2kg & 9 times out of 10 you get a runner.

Chase the fish & success is sweat on 8kg, no leader in heavy timber lure or bait.

Just make sure your hooks are up to scratch, weekest link for so many weekend anglers.

[Dick Pasfield]

Further to my previous post and carrying on from what others have said.

I find wild barras, big ones will most always back themselves to escape from danger by outrunning it initially, be it a shark or croc.

Only when plan 'A' fails do they go to plan 'B' that being find the timber and smash through it to the other side. Note, it's my experience that barras go right the way through a snag back into clear water so they can assess their options but to have put something substantial between them and the threat. If you look at a barra's head and large scales they're ideally suited to hit the timber at speed and remain unharmed compared to sharks and crocs.

This means a number of things, first is the initial run, if the fish thinks that plan 'A' is a winner it'll go with it, if plan 'A' takes it away from timber the longer it's convinced its working the better for the angler. I've had many fish fun past timber whilst I followed with the boat keeping the pressure at a minimum.

After an interval plan 'A' from the fish's point of view starts to suck, when that happens plan 'B' gets a bit more attractive and they look for the timber, often this will involve a sudden change of direction. It at this point when the fish is at its furthest point from where it wants to be that I go from a moderate setting to something a bit crueller. I'll even head the boat slowly in the opposite direction to the one the fish is taking to ensure she does not pull the boat with her. On this run she is committed to a target and is at her most determined by far

If the fish hits the timber I back off, if I'm lucky and the timber is horizontal I can pick my way through and renew the acquaintance on a locked drag on the other side since the fish by then is about buggered. If the timber is vertical and she's gone under it, too bad one lure lost. If the fish has smashed the timber and the lure lodged in it, once again too bad.

Barras run on their instincts learnt from previous generations, although predators of big barra are nonexistent in impoundments I'd suggest this sort of strategy would still be used in many cases by barra in dams. Same angling strategy and associated drag settings could be applicable?

[2manylures]

Jesus Dick, They're bloody scared shitless like all animals under the same circumstances.

I don't think I'd like to be put in a similar situation buit from what you say these so called almighty Barra are similar to the Almighier Murray Cod.

[Dick Pasfield]

Yes probably right about the similarities but make no mistake the animal that stays uneaten the longest is the one that has the best escape strategy rather than one that just bolts any old way

Been chased periodically with the view of being a meal is probably a common occurrence for all fish

Same applies for the smartest hunter

[NAGG]

Dick .... That was a great insight into that trials & tribulations of a wild barra = Survival
Those behaviors / instincts are embedded in their genes - & would also go for impoundment fish ( like the head shake to dislodge something in their mouth) ...... The only thing the impoundment fish lacks is actual practice dodging crocs & sharks ....... Though I hear there are Crocs in Burdekin Falls dam

Good stuff

Chris

[Whitto]

This thread is a beauty Chris......some years ago if u caught a metery u were concidered very lucky indeed...At that time in a 2 day period of about 4 hrs at the height of summer and trolling along Pelican Island at the top end of the Basin on the Eastern side I raised 8 Barra running a Barra classic very short and deep 0830 in the morning on both days all Barra in the 90+....sounder showed no structure at all in that area.....what does this all have to do with Drag pressure...not much when your out in the open with no trees to content with......my drag is always set at about 3kg's....I let the Rod and the Drag tire the fish out rather than skull drag the fish to the boat......and strange as this might sound I do exactly the same thing in the timber with mixed results....and I generally put that down to "Thats Fishing" Im suppose Im a big advocate of Keep It Simple Stupid {KISS}...deal with it at the time..nothing in the timber is the same as it can be in the open......Just my thought for what it's worth......Whitto

[NAGG]

This thread is a beauty Chris......some years ago if u caught a metery u were concidered very lucky indeed...At that time in a 2 day period of about 4 hrs at the height of summer and trolling along Pelican Island at the top end of the Basin on the Eastern side I raised 8 Barra running a Barra classic very short and deep 0830 in the morning on both days all Barra in the 90+....sounder showed no structure at all in that area.....what does this all have to do with Drag pressure...not much when your out in the open with no trees to content with......my drag is always set at about 3kg's....I let the Rod and the Drag tire the fish out rather than skull drag the fish to the boat......and strange as this might sound I do exactly the same thing in the timber with mixed results....and I generally put that down to "Thats Fishing" Im suppose Im a big advocate of Keep It Simple Stupid {KISS}...deal with it at the time..nothing in the timber is the same as it can be in the open......Just my thought for what it's worth......Whitto

Kiss - maybe Whitto , but what it does is allows you to know the limitations of your gear You can concentrate on playing a fish - without worrying about knots , hooks etc failing ........... something that you have to - when screwing up a drag

Chris

[Whitto]

Kiss - maybe Whitto , but what it does is allows you to know the limitations of your gear You can concentrate on playing a fish - without worrying about knots , hooks etc failing ........... something that you have to - when screwing up a drag

Chris

I guess I should have also said is I pay alot of attention to detail such as knots and having my drag set at around 1/2 to 3/4....I actually like the Barra to take line if it wants too allowing the Rod and the Drag knacker the fish on it's own terms....if u know what I mean sorta....I want to have alook at your twisted Nitlon leader when I see u in November...Im looking to go back to twisted leaders as these things are not getting smaller (was using Erskine twist)

[Tropicaltrout]

Hi all

Drag is another topic of which is a each to their own thing. Mine is tight I can pull the line off but the drag is tight anymore comes from the thumb but I have yet to put that much pressure on... I don't no anyone that will skull drag a substancial barra in unless their fishing with a cable tied to the boat

I belive in what Steve said about the fish being not the fittest so to speak, the differeance though I tend to have my drag wound up and put what I can into them on the thinking that if they are un fit they will run out of puff quicker like a man will run harder without resistance put a tyre round his guts and it will pull him up pretty quick.

Impoundment Barra are aggressive and are the top of the food chain in the dams and they lack stamminar a short hard fight will see them with less build up af lactic acid and i hope better chance of a healthy release IMHO.

With all that aside drag also must be set to other styles, people different circumstances..... I know blokes with troubles in areas of their bodies that cant possibly fight a fish with a heavy drag some cant use overhead and some arnt strong enought due to size and weight etc.....also drag must also be looked at for those rod holders the trollers use I have herd of locked drags breaking them and worse still the rod... So I would take all these into accound when chasing these wonderful fish.

Cheers Nath

[Dick Pasfield]

Here's a 'Ripley's Believe it or Not' -

It's possible to stop a big barra on only a few metres of 30lb braid coming off the reel. Done it before with a cost and would do it again because of the rush.

Circumstances need to be pretty specific for it to work. a baited single hook is best. Drag set as high as you dare and only pull the thumb out from between the spool and reel's frame when you have no choice. Hit the fish hard from the first instant to get a couple of turns up on the reel and stop the inevitable turn and bolt as long as possible. If the fish gets air pull it down off balance and up it before it regains any composure. The fish dragging the boat and anchor helps a bit with the stress applied.

The tactic breaks rods eventually but to have a big fish to the boat well inside a minute is heady stuff. Trying to deal with a green fish boat side is also a bit of a mission.

Why would you do it (apart from the rush) terrain sometimes dictates it. Fish in the pic got that sort of treatment, (took a live mullet) and one later got similar treatment (took a fillet of mullet). Out of the shot was the timber we were fishing, nasty trees sitting horizontal to the water and only a few metres away from the boat.

Cost in this instance was a broken ferrell on the bait caster where the rod fitted into the pistol grip. Previous rod broke on that spot doing much the same thing.

I'm sure others have had similar experiences.

Incidentally the second fish gave me one of those mental pictures you don't forget easily. Visibly larger then the first fish it jumped/lunged/head-shook full out of the water a boat length away. The 80lb leader got abraded all the way through on the head shake and flew back at me. At that stage the fight was finely poised but I liked my chances, went to 100lb leader after that incident




Here's a pic of the snags taken just a few metres downstream, lens on wide angle