Monduran barra fishing fantastic

HI all, Lake Monduran has been fishing well, with loads of good Monduran barra put on the deck.

Many of my clients have caught plenty of barra on their charters. I’m still using B52s, Happy Rock Softies, Maria and Saruna lures. Each lure needs to be worked in its own way as not all lures swim the same. The wind and barometer are the two things I use to determine where and how to fish.

Water temp doesn’t mean that much to me as we catch barra in winter as well as summer. However, the lower the barometer, the harder it gets to catch them.
The other thing is the longer the weather stays consistent, the easier it is for you to catch these fish. In a southeasterly wind, look in places including Insane Bay, Heart Bay, the point going into Heart Bay, the Two Mile, the top of Bird Bay and Jacks.

If it’s blowing a northerly, try Cow Bay, the bottom of the South Arm in the little creek on the left, Barra Ally and Turtle Point. I look for wind direction to tell me which part of the bay I need to fish and the barometer tells me what type of lure to use (running depth) and colour. Then you need to work out what retrieve the barra want.
I’m finding a very slow retrieve with stops and starts works well.

I believe the lake will keep fishing very well. The only thing that may change is the weather and how much rain we do or don’t get.
I’m looking forward to the cooler months because as well as being more comfortable on the water, I really think we’ve seen some of the lake’s best fishing during this period.

One question I get asked often is whether barra stop feeding in the colder months. The answer is no. They must eat or they will die. They don’t change how or where they feed, it’s just like looking for them in the hotter months.

Wind is your best mate on the water, so use it to your advantage. It’s easy to drive around until you see people catching barra and go back there when they are gone but that is not learning how to catch barra. I believe you should always try to work out how to catch them.

It costs nothing to ask me what is working and I will tell people the areas where I have been catching barra but not the exact spot, so you will have to try to figure that out. My phone number is 0407 434 446 or drop me an email at jamiebein@bigpond.com

Barra can be very hard to work out. Your best bet is to go to where the wind is blowing into a bay or point. Sit in about 3m of water and just sit and watch your sounder.
I like to look for as long as an hour, just counting the barra coming through and watching for bait moving around, working out at what depth they are moving through and how far apart they are.

Then I get up and have a few casts to try to work out what they want. I have four rods all with different lures on them. One with a Happy Rock Softie and the others with varying depths of hard-bodies. I like my lures to be slow rising or horizontally suspending. I never fish with my drag tight because this can pull hooks and a tight drag will find the weakest link in your gear.

I have a few spots that fish well on the same wind. It is important to do so because the barra may feed at one spot but not another. This takes time to work out, however, I find it’s more rewarding to find barra on the sounder and then work out what they want. I don’t go racing into any bay with my petrol motor, rather I use the MotorGuide electric.

The electric gives the ability to quietly go in and tie up to a snag or tree. I have been here for many years as a guide and have made a lot of friends who keep coming back to fish with me. I have owned Lake Monduran Barra Charters for a long time and have seen many changes since I began fishing here.

Time on the water is something that helps you work out where the fish will be in different winds. I have made Lake Monduran Barra Charters and Lake Monduran Barramundi Charters Australia my own. I can take four people on my boat and I am the only boat on the lake that can do so. I would like to thank everyone who has fished with me over the years and I look forward to seeing you all again soon.

Finally, I hope you had a great Christmas and New Year and may we all catch more barra together. Please be safe and tight lines. You should begin planning for your Easter vacation at Lake Monduran now.

For any more information, give Donna at Barra Havoc a call on 0427 880 826 or find the store between Tyrepower and the fire station in Gin Gin.