.................Let's talk Sootys....................

[Hardb8]

Hi all,
I'm due for my annual trip to target a species I've never caught,In a place I've never been.And this time my target is the Sooty Grunter .

I have been researching the species,And have found a fair bit of info,But it's time to see what the Ausfishers can tell me about this Badboy.

I will be targeting them in three impoundments in the Mackay area (Kinchant,Teemburra and Eungella) in November.And I'll be using lures.

I plan on applying traditional Bass and Barra type tactics to get results.But if anyone has any secrets with regards to lure types,Specific structure to cast at,Or locations within these dams they'd like to share...I'm in school...

Advice on recommended line and leader strenghts would also be appreciated.I sort of have my arsenal ready,But I'm a little nervous.I've heard rumors of Sampson type fish,With freakish pulling power.I hear of guys gettin well and truly stitched on their Barra gear on a regular basis .

One of the things that make these trips so special for me,Is the not knowing exactly what I'm in for,The new encounter,And the new location.But I like to prepair myself as best I can.

Thanks in advance for any info you'd like to share.

If it's KGB type stuff P.M's are welcome.

Cheers. B8 .

[NAGG]

Sounds like a gr8 trip there ........ 2 well regarded sooty impoundments there!

My catches have been by catch only ........ but they do frequent the same type of structure - laydowns & weed

Dont treat them as big bass ....... These bad boys pull hard & play dirty ....
Light barra gear is better than bass gear (20-30lb) .... specially when fishing the timbered areas -

The old creek beds would be my target area

Lures .... small barra lures will work ( Flatz rap , River rats , Scorpions etc + throw in a spinnerbait or two !

I Might even throw a couple at Teemburra ...... when I'm there in 3 weeks time

Anyhow ...... From what I hear Eungella is an awesome place - Hope you do well!

Chris

PS ...Attachment 37110. This little Teemburra fella was taken throwing scorpion Skin deeps between the weed patches ( in the background) ....... we got a couple & missed a couple more amongst the small barra

[darylive]

Chris that's a stiff lookin leader you have on that outfit? It looks like a bent coat hanger?

[NAGG]

Chris that's a stiff lookin leader you have on that outfit? It looks like a bent coat hanger?

Hi Daryl ...... It would have been 60lb Penn 10X at the time ......... afterall we were fishing for barra ........ but the photo does give an idea of what structure we were fishing

Chris

[Dick Pasfield]

G'day b8

We got plenty in our dam across here but ours don't quite get to the size of yours, 45cm max. My best advice to you is not to go overboard on the equipment. Six kilo braid and lure 50 t0 75mm on a single handed flick stick gets me all the fish I want. Sootys will take much bigger lures but a hard rod, heavy line and big lures take fight out of them too quick and you don't appreciate what they have to offer.

One more bit of advice. Sometimes a fish's reputation becomes bigger then the fish itself. Just be aware of that, they're great fish and will pull a barra of the same size backwards but one twice its size might just eat it.

Enjoy them for what they are.

PS If I was chasing those 55cm models I might upgrade to 10kg braid

[wheezer]

don't use impoundment barra gear, you won't have any fun. as said earlier, take them for what they are. sure they are one of the hardest fighting natives we have, for their size. and their size isn't anywhere near an impoundment barra! i regularly target them up here in the wild in a rocky river, with plenty of nasty structure and current that the fish can use at their advantage. we use light spin outfits with 6lb braid and very rarely get done. that said the bigger models (45cm+) will give you a pasting so i reckon up the braid to 15lb-20lb max. for the dams...

[Jeremy87]

When i was up in darwin i was pulling up high 30's specimens pretty quickly on 8lb tackle in flowing water. They fight harder and dirtier than barra of the same size but not jack standards. If i had to describe their fighting style i'd say imagine a basses fight with the weight of a yellow belly. 15lb braid with 20-30lb leader would be what i'd run if i was targeting big bodied impoundment fish.

[Poseidon]

We fish for them regularly in Koombaloomba and use 3-5 kg baitcasters spooled with 10lb braid and about 16 lb leader and find this more than ample to turn fish upto 45cm. They go very hard around the snag but once clear generally co-operate pretty well.
Last weekend we went back to 2-4kg spin sticks with 4lb braid and had a far more enjoyable day clearing fish from snags, much more fun.
Go light.

Here is a few from Saturday.

[wamjam]

Gday b8
mate I cant help with the impoundment sooty's , but I did have the pleasure of catching 50 odd in a hour and a half while dodging scrub bulls and pigs up in the gulf early in september. Only seem to get one or two fish out of a school of 30 odd fish ,they learn very quick whats going on. Move along 30 yards and get another one or two. Ill post some pics when I get then.
wamjam