Targeting Barramundi in the cooler months
by Rapala VMC Australia 19 Aug 2024 02:46 PDT
Fishing northern estuaries during the cooler months with Ben Barker © Rapala VMC Australia
How did you get into fishing and where did you start?
I started fishing from a very young age chasing bass and tilapia in Africa with my dad. After moving to Australia in 2008 my neighbor at the time took me sooty grunter fishing at Teemburra Dam and I've been hooked on lure fishing ever since.
What is your favourite species to target and what style of fishing?
Australia is full of iconic species and there are so many to be found near Mackay from Saratoga and sooty grunter in the fresh to barramundi and threadfin in the salt. Of all the species the barramundi is at the top of my list. They hit and fight hard and their aerial jumps gets the blood pumping. Targeting these fish with lures is by far my favourite style of fishing as it provides a challenge and is ever changing.
When fishing during the cooler months where do you start looking?
People often pass on fishing in the cooler months as they believe its too hard or the fish do not feed when the water temperature falls below a certain point. This is not 100% correct and by following a few key points you can turn the cooler weather into a hot session.
Generally, I like to keep an eye on my sounder and look for warmer water pockets. During the cooler months I have found that these warmer water areas will often concentrate fish making them easier to target. The mouths of creeks or areas near shallow water tend to hot spots when looking for active fish.
What is your go-to combo or combos when fishing the estuaries?
I tend to run 3 main setups.
The first combo is my heavy swimbait / big hardbody combo. I use the 13 Fishing Omen Black rod and have my reel spooled with 40lb Sufix 832 braid.
The second combo is my light plastic / small hardbody combo. For this combo I use the Muse Black rod as they are a little crisper and run 30lb Sufix 832 on this one.
My third combo is a light spin combo, I prefer the Muse Black rod for this as again it's a little crisper and more sensitive and allows me to feel the bites increasing my hook-ups. I run a 2500 size reel on this setup spooled with 10lb Sufix 832.
What style of lures do you like to throw in the cooler months?
In the cooler months I predominantly throw soft plastic lures especially prawn imitations. The new CrushCity 4.5inch Imposter has been resulting in a lot of captures since I started testing them for Rapala Australia over the past few months. The subtle action and colour range is amazing for targeting shutdown fish.
What style of lures do you throw in the warmer months?
In the warmer months I like to target active fish and by far my favourite way to target barramundi is with top water lures early in the morning and late afternoon. Walk the dog style and poppers like the Precision Extreme Pencils and Skitter Pop Elite 95 or small timber hardbodies like the Shad Rapa Elite 75 or 95. During the day when the barramundi are hiding in the structure or up in the mangroves I will throw soft plastics like the new 4.5inch Imposter or 5.5inch Heavy Hitter rigged either lightly weighted or weedless.
Since the introduction of forward-facing sonar how has this technology changed the way you fish?
Through using forward facing sonar it has allowed me to understand more about the fish's behavior than anything else. The amount of times barramundi in particular will follow a lure to turn away at the last second surprised me a lot. I was able to change retrieve pattern and swap lures more confidently to get a more positive reaction out of a fish. Also using this technology to choose a lure that will stay in the strike zone is key. There is no point using a vibe or fishing the bottom in 10m of water if the bara is feeding near the surface.
What's one piece of advice you can give to someone heading out into the estuaries in the cooler months?
Don't be afraid to mix up your retrieves, slow your retrieve right down in winter. Stay persistent and keep going, the more time you spend on the water the more you learn.