TIME TO THINK BIG ON BARRA LURES
WARMER water means bigger barramundi and that means you need larger lures.
That’s the advice of Dave Hodge from Fishing Warehouse, who is also known as the Barefoot Fisherman.
“Things are starting to fire up now with the water temperature rising,” he said.
“Barra are still taking prawn imitations but because their metabolism is rising they’re taking bigger food.”
Mr Hodge recommended anglers use larger lures like minnow and shad imitations.
“The prawn imitation lures will catch you fish, like smaller barra and mangrove jacks but the bigger minnow and shad lures will catch you bigger fish.”
He said the fish became more dispersed throughout the warmer waters.
“They hit harder and they fight harder,” Mr Hodge said.
“There’s enough water in Townsville that you can spread out so you’re not fishing on top of each other.”
Although the weather is getting stickier, Mr Hodge said that was conducive to catching good fish.
“The more humidity you get the more uncomfortable it is but the better the barra fishing,” he said.
For those looking to catch a big barramundi, fishing somewhere a bit quieter was the go, Mr Hodge said.
“You want to look for areas where there’s not as much boat traffic,” he said.
“Anchor chains are a killer too, electric motors have revolutionised fishing.”
Another good option for lures is soft plastics.
Mr Hodge said adding Pro- Tec Powder Paint to the top of jig heads was the latest trend in fishing. The paint makes jig heads bright and stand out to fish.
Mr Hodge said Fishing Warehouse could barely get enough stock.
For anglers not into flicking lures, Mr Hodge said live bait was still probably the most popular technique.
“Like with the lures, when you chuck big bits like six inch or bigger mullet you will get bigger barramundi,” he said.