Episode 463: Lenthalls Dam Barramundi With Luke Opelt

Luke’s Lenthalls Dam Fishing Tips

• Lake Lenthall is a small impoundment near Maryborough that holds some good stocks of barra. The lake is a day use only area from 6am to 8pm, but if you’re staying at the campground you can fish overnight as well. The road in is all weather but is a bit rough, so take it quietly going in so as not to break anything.
• Having the right profile lure is important. Luke finds that his results have improved since he’s been using larger profile lures.
• During the summer months the barra move up into shallower water and take surface lures, so search for reed islands, shallow reed beds, especially on wind blown points. Wind is good from any direction, but especially northerlies because they don’t cool the water as much and tend to push the fish into one area. The temperature of the water can be a little higher in these areas also.
• The leadup to the full moon and the leadup to the new moon are the pick of the lunar phases for Luke, but especially around the full moon as it gives a little bit of light if you’re night fishing. The first week after the new or the full moon has been quieter in Luke’s experience.
• Once you’re on the lake, spend some time being observant, watching your sounder and looking for places where fish are aggregated.
• Immediately following periods of extreme rainfall the temperature can drop, water clarity is poorer and the fish are often a bit quieter. Once the rain stops and the lake stabilises the fish will come back on the chew and you’re likely to find numbers of them in the main basin.
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Luke’s Impoundment Barra Tackle

• Luke favours baitcast tackle and goes for a 6-8kg rod, Abu Garcia Premier reel, 30lb J Braid and a 50-60lb fluorocarbon leader (80lb for trolling).

Luke’s Top Lenthall’s Barra Lures

• The 5″ Z-Man Diesel Minnow rigged on a size 7/0, 3/8 to 1/2oz Jig Head from Sharp Point Jigheads on the Sunshine Coast. These are great along the timbered edges where the water drops off steeply, casting it close to the bank and slow rolling it as close to the structure as possible. It can also be used on the reed islands and lily pad edges in the middle of the main basin, keeping the rod tip up a bit higher to keep it above the weed.
• The Jackall Squirrel 79mm Hank Tune is a great suspending jerkbait that is fitted with terminal tackle suited to barra fishing and the Samaki DS80 is another good example of a suspending jerkbait for this system. From the boat ramp, the timber along the right side of the dam wall is a great place to fish this lure, especially through the middle of the day. Cast as close to structure as you can, rip the lure down to depth and then fish with a series of twitches followed by pauses of up to 10 seconds.
• Molix 140mm Shad is a pre-rigged swimbait, but it’s worth upgrading the hooks to Decoys. This is a great lure to troll while you’re looking for fish. It’s best trolled at 2-3 knots until you find an aggregation of fish, then you can anchor up and make casts to the school.