|
Free Stuff!!
|
For a limited time, you will receive a free Stealth or
F111 lure with every order over $50-00.
|
|
|
| Troll For Big Barra...Tips Of The Best Spots In The Cairns Area |
|
|
The start of the barra season is always eagerly anticipated by keen lure fishos, and, we would all like to catch one
of those really BIG barra to kick off on the right foot. Here’s a few tips to help aspiring anglers target mega sized
barra, however the most important tip I can give is to be patient as these fish havn’t become that big by being caught
before!!!
The start of last barra season was slow in the Cairns region. The weather pattern didn’t help neither did the apparent
lack of commitment by local fisho’s. Get keen and enthusiastic and you will score that huge barra you have been looking
for which from my perspective will most likely be taken out the front near or on the rocky headland or perhaps the
river mouths close to rocky walls or outcrops.
Trolling is the best way to cover ground and likely barra hide outs. Using lures such as the Tropical Rogue, Barra
Classic Pro’s. RMG Scorpions and Manns Stretch series will dig them out so long as you fish the right part of the
tide and troll really slow. Best time is the hour either side the turn of the tide…when there is decent, (not excessive),
current run. Troll at around 2 knots and keep ‘ripping’ your rod tip forward to activate your lures rattles or just to
wake up lazy fish.
Use braided lines where possible as they allow ‘instant feel’ and a much better hook up rate when trolling, not to
mention their thin diameter allows you lures to swim that extra 10 to 20% deeper. An ideal scenario in say 3 to 4
metres of water is to have your lure ‘tripping’ the bottom, this not only finds the crevices and gutters when barras
lie in wait the noise also zaps them into action, alerting them to this bait imitation that is floundering in their
strike zone.
Don’t set your drag too high! If you give a big barra too much of a ‘leverage’ factor he’ll use this when jumping to
throw the hooks. Much better to have a medium drag setting so there is ‘give’ in the system to keep him connected.
For those without a boat there are just as many opportunities to target big barra using the same / similar lures as
mentioned. I often have a couple of hours before or after work on the rocky headlands. These are the areas where big
barra, and some smaller males hang out after breeding. Bait activity is a sure sign that there are feeding barra
around so cast to this, or if there is no surface activity cast alongside near shore rocks working your lure over,
beside and through the middle of them. Target fish the likely looking areas and keep your lure in the water, slowly
retrieving with a ‘rod twitching’ action. If it’s low tide use shallower diving lures such as the Leads Hijacker,
Gold Bombers, Gold Bullets and Mad Mullet. Metallic / brighter coloured lures will work best especially as the water
clarity is usually not too good on these headlands.
Places to fish for BIG barra in the Cairns area are detailed below:
LAND BASED
- Yorkeys Knob - The Groin (southside) and The Rockwall beside the ramp (north side)
- Trinity Beach Rocks (south side)
- Taylors Point
- Buchans Point
- Suicide Bend (Just north of Buchans Point)
- The Oaks Rocky Outcrop (Just north of Ellis Beach)
TROLLING
- Barron River
- The rock wall near the airport
- The deep right hand bank (looking upstream) just in from the mouth before the airport.
- Thomatis Creek
- The rock wall on the left just upstream from the ramp at Holloways Beach past the first creek on the left.
- Any rock walls (man made) that you see working upstream where there is a depth over 2 metres.
- Mowbray River
- The mouth right hand side near big timber snag piles.
- The rockwall on the left near the ramp
- Any deeper banks where snags are showing on the bottom
- Daintree River
- Deep banks upstream from the ramp on the left hand side on same stretch of river where tourist boats are moored.
- Deep left hand bank near the mouth, check sounder for rock piles and deep timber snags
If you are not sure where these spots are ask the boys at Bransfords Tackle Shop, Clifton Beach.
 |
| This is the quality of barra you can expect with patience and enthusiasm. Adam White took this
one on a rock bar near Karumba just before the end of last season. His tips for catching these bigger barra are
"Observation, patience, commitment and good quality tackle" |
|
|
|
Fishing News