Fishing Australia

Over the final few days of fishing at Lake Monduran, the weather came in from the south east which cools off the shallows and which along with other factors makes impoundment barra fishing tough.  It was a race against time but I had help: I was joined by kayaking experts Steve Fields and Mal Gray from Hobie. 

Even under the less ideal conditions we got more bites from the kayaks including some during the day which is no doubt due to the small craft's stealthy nature. 

One beast around the 115 cm mark made a spectacular leap well above my head height and then towed me out into the open.  The hooks pulled on this fish and the leader was un-chafed suggesting a face hooked fish (which often get off) but none the less this was right up there with any fishing experience I have ever come across in my years travelling around this country.

That same night Steve fought and landed a ripper around the meter long mark.  The action was caught by the Fishing Australia Film Crew and it was mission accomplished for all involved. 

Despite the adrenaline, Steve was quick to credit everyone for doing a great job, that’s some real sportsmanship and it was a pleasure to be part of this capture; I could watch it a hundred times over. 

I brought back a lot from this trip and it was all about relaxing; treading lightly, moving slowly and being confident and doing the right thing for a long amount of time.

Banging a hard body lure sharply for extended periods is hard work and when slowly rolling a softie is working better I know what I’d prefer; especially from a kayak. 

The Monduran barra are like smelting trout at the moment; they don’t want or need to chase a large energetic baitfish when they are surrounded by small baitfish they can pop down at will.  This is one reason why small subtle softies have worked so well in the current conditions.   

One huge tip I can give you is to keep your rod tip to the side or up high (perfect in a yak) so there is around 75 degrees between the line and the rod.  This means when the barra boofs the lure it will actually go down their gob more often. I have polaroided way to many barra with people pointing their rod straight down the braid and the barra is left sitting there wondering why they are not chewing on what they tried to suck in!  Unless you luck across a rare hot bite there is simply not enough chances to stuff this up.  The tournament fishing Americans are also well onto this with some species and they have it right I can tell you. 

With hard bodies this is a tad less important and some barra swim towards the lure and scoff it regardless of the slack however a measured slack works best over time.  Rest assured when you get the clunk you will lift the rod and wind; it’s an automatic reaction that sets the hook and is as reliable as any method.  Bonus is you can do it for hours on end without trying to be quicker than a fish that is faster than you to start with.

Another tip I nutted out is to trim the wrist of the paddle tail plastic from each side rather than the top or bottom.  The Storm Bait and Switches I used already wiggle better than any other shad tail but this adjustment makes the tail wiggle at even a super slow crawl and is handy when you need to walk them past a snag or weed bed.  That and grease them up with some stimulate barra gel.  You’ll lose a few more tails to catfish using these tricks but it is a small price to pay given the end results on the big barra.

Finally when you do hook up stay calm and use just enough drag to put a strong bend in the rod.  Try and guide a barra out away from a snag sure but if she’s under full power and near the timber ease of the drag follow her and de weave the line rather than breaking something in panic.  There is no rush when you eventually her in the clear; they will go belly up in under 3 minutes when using the above tackle after which you can take your time and savour what is a truly memorable part Australian Freshwater Fishing.

Special thanks to BCF Bundaberg www.bcf.com.au for travelling info check out www.queenslandholidays.com.au   For fishing info and accommodation in the region, check out www.hotelgingin.com.au.

See you on the water.

Rob Paxevanos.

Robs Column Proudly Sponsored by the Hellenic Club of Canberra.