Unravelling Trophy Wet Tropics Barramundi In The Spring

Brodie’s Tips For Wet Tropics Barra In Spring

• In Far North Queensland’s wet tropics region, spring doesn’t follow the traditional calendar but marks the time when barramundi become more active. Rising temperatures and warming water lure anglers to rivers and estuaries in search of barra.
• Water temperature is a key factor in barramundi behaviour. Even slight temperature variations significantly impact their activity levels. Monitoring temperature changes is crucial for successful fishing.
• During cooler months, barramundi tend to be more active later in the day as the water warms up. Anglers should look for pockets of warmer water, often found near weed beds and timber, or shallow water with less flow, where barra congregate.
• Fishing on neap tides in estuarine areas is advantageous. On bigger tides the higher flows and dirtier water can make it hard to get a lure down to the fish and for the fish to find it. Brodie prefers to head well upstream and fish the sweetwater on the bigger tides.
• Barramundi follow specific routes within river systems and stage up in particular areas. Anglers can increase their success by identifying these hot spots and intercepting the fish during their journeys.
• Strategies differ between freshwater and tidal areas. In freshwater reaches, quiet navigation using electric motors and adopting a “run and gun” approach work best. This involves firing a few casts at likely spots and then moving to the next likely looking spot and repeating. In tidal areas it can be more productive to sit in wait at big S-bends in the river and intercepting fish as they move through or stage up.
• If you’re seeing crocs it’s a good sign. Barra are favourite food for crocs.

Brodie’s Barra Fishing Tackle

• Brodie recommends a spin rod in the 3-6kg range for freshwater or 4-8-kilogram range in the estuaries. A 3000 size spin reel with a smooth drag system offers a good balance of line capacity, drag and power to handle barra.
• Line: Brodie suggests using 30-pound braided line as the main fishing line. It provides the necessary strength for battling barramundi while allowing for long casts.
• Fluorocarbon leaders such as Daiwa FC Rock are best for the freshwater reaches, where water is clear. In the estuaries Brodie switches to Schneider leader for is knot strength and abrasion resistance. In clear water, he goes lighter (down to 20 pounds), but he may increase the leader strength to 55 pounds in murkier conditions.

Brodie’s Lures For Sweetwater Barra

• 3-7” Paddletail soft plastics are great in the freshwater reaches. 4” is a good all-round size, but Brodie will reach for the big Hollow bellies when he’s seeing quality barra in the clear water. Tilapia colours are a good option due to the large numbers of small tilapia commonly inhabiting the sweetwater areas. Rig these weedless so they can be cast among the dense stands of ribbon weed and other aquatic vegetation.
• The humble Gold Bomber is another must-have lure in the freshwater reaches. If you’re fishing two-up it’s not a bad strategy to have one angler casting Bombers and the other throwing plastics. Often the Bomber will wake the fish and it will then take a plastic.
• Later in the season as the water warms it’s worth throwing soft plastic topwater frogs around. Often trophy barra will come from a foot or so of water to eat one of these lures.

Brodie’s Lures For Saltwater Barra

• Soft plastic prawns are the go-to lure for saltwater barramundi during the Wet Tropics Spring. Zerek Prawns, Squidgy Prawns, Holt Production Prawns, Chasebaits will all work in 4-5.5” sizes. When fishing snags these can be rigged on a weedless worm hook with a tiny ball sinker in the loop knot. Increase the sinker size in higher flows, but always keep it as light as you can possibly get away with. Over sandy flats and snag-free areas soft prawns can be rigged with a stinger in the loop knot or under the tail. Brodie like the Owner Beast hooks for this style of fishing. They can also be fished as a drop shot rig, casting up-current of the barra and holding the lure on its nose.
• Brodie always has a second rod rigged with a large paddletail plastic, ready to go. These are bulletproof and ever reliable in barra country.