FOOLING AWOONGA'S BARRA

We are now reaching the time of year when impoundment barramundi fishing is greatly influenced by the weather. Colder days make water temperatures plummet and the result is lazy barra that are harder to tempt. On the other hand if you strike a run of warmer days, water temperature increaes and the barra will be far more active.

Recently, I visited the lake for the first time after it had risen about five metres. Most of my old spots were too deep even though patches of weed had survived and managed to grow almost to the surface. This deep, survivng weed could be found in six to eight metres of water. The better patches had weed about two metres from the surface. I'm sure that this type of weedy structure would hold fish but after plenty of casting we only managed one fish. We were tossing an assortment of lures but it was the ever-reliable Berkley 5" Mullet that tempted the strike.

We were unfortunate to have arrived when the action was slowing down. A drop of 4 degrees in the water temperature from the previous two weeks had seen the fish close their lips and refuse our offerings. After the first day on the water, a pattern was starting to emerge. The barra were holding close to the lake edges in shallow water. Warmer areas were preferrable although not crutial. The rising lake had spread the barra out so you had to be prepared to keep moving, casting and exploring. Some of the windiest areas with dirtier water in the main basin of the lake were holding more active fish.

On day two we started to slowly boat some fish. There were quite a few hookups but luck wasn't on our side. The hottest lure for the day was the 5" Berkley Mullet. It didn't seem to matter too much about the colour being used, it was more about presentation. We fished shallow tapering banks with the boat positioned in two to four metres of water. From here we placed long casts up to the grassy edges. The second the lure splashed down, the reel was engaged and the lure was moving fast for the first couple of metres to keep it out of the grass. As we slowed our retrieves down, the barra were whacking our offerings.

The Berkley 5" Mullet had saved our trip. In total we managed to land five barra and dropped at least that many after hooking up. It was great to explore so many new areas of the lake. The fish were so spread out and there was no secret to catching them. I imagine the fishing will be similar over the coming months. Anyone can have a go at it - just remember to take your Berkley 5" Mullets.