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Gearing Up for Heading North
By Justin Willmer
With Christmas done and dusted and the Queensland barramundi season open, many east coast anglers start to think about planning a trip north, as do those on the west coast, thinking about the cooling weather and those beautiful northern beaches. I’ve been lucky enough to do multiple east coast northern adventures by both car and plane, catching up and fishing with friends, while also helping anglers to get set up for their northern trips. I thought it would be worth sharing some tips that I have picked up along the way in terms of gearing up for a northern adventure.
The first time I headed north, many years ago, we took too much gear, too much of the wrong gear and way too much heavy gear, ready to take on the beasts of the north. If you are heading north specifically to target monster impoundment barramundi or pop GTs, then you will want to gear up specifically for that style of fishing, however, if you’re fishing the fresh and saltwater creeks and rivers, then don’t forget the light spin combos as they will ensure that you have a lot of fun and catch a lot more fish. There are plenty of fun size barra, average size jacks, grunter, pikey bream, trevally, flathead, fingermark, tarpon, jungle perch, sooty grunter and more to be caught on light gear.
In saying that, I generally take a handful of combos with me including a light spin combo, two medium spin combos and a heavy spin combo. If I am planning on some bait fishing then I will also throw in a baitfeeder reel, for fishing a live or dead herring of an evening. For those of you that love your baitcast tackle, then you may opt for a couple of baitcast combos, maybe a medium and a heavy combo. Before we get into the rest of the gear, here’s a quick look at what my combos may look like when heading north.
Light Spin –
Okuma Cerros Spin Rod 701ML 7’ 2-4kg or Okuma Cerros Travel Spin CER-703ML 7’ 2-4kg
Okuma ITX Carbon Spin Reel – ITX-2500
Platypus Pulse X4 Braid – 10lb
Medium Spin –
TT Rods Black Mamba BMS701MH 7’ 4-8kg or Okuma Cerros Travel Spin CER-S-703M 7’ 3-6kg
Okuma ITX Carbon Spin Reel – ITX-4000
Platypus Pulse X8 Braid – 20lb
Okuma Cerros Spin Rod CER-S-701H 7’ 5-12kg
Okuma ITX Carbon Spin Reel – ITX-4000
Platypus Pulse X8 Braid – 30lb
Heavy Spin –
Okuma Pressure Point Spin Rod PP-S-832M 8’3” PE 4.0 – 6.0
Okuma Azores Spin Reel – AZORES-6500
Platypus Bionic Braid X9 – 30lb / 50lb (if you have some heavy bluewater planned)
Bait Combo –
An inexpensive combo if you are just fishing creeks and rivers -
Okuma Barbarian Spin Rod BN-S-702SSL 7’ 5-7kg
Okuma DynaDrag Baitfeeder Reel DAXP-4000
Platypus Pulse X4 Braid – 20lb
An option if you are also bait fishing the bluewater -
Okuma Pressure Point Spin Rod PP-S-701M 7’ PE 2.0 – 4.0
Okuma Coronado Baitfeeder Reel – CDX-55 or CDX-65
Platypus Bionic Braid X9 – 20lb or 30lb
This combo is also a great backup combo for bluewater lure fishing.
Baitcast Combos –
Okuma Komodo Baitcast Rod KM-C-661MH 6’6” 4-8kg
Okuma Komodo Baitcast Reel – KDS-273
Platypus Bionic Braid X9 – 20lb
Okuma Komodo Baitcast Rod KM-C-661H 6’6” 8-15kg
Okuma Komodo Baitcast Reel – KDS-364
Platypus Bionic Braid X9 – 30lb
The light spin combo is more fun to fish for extended periods and will cover jungle perch and sooties, along with casting plastics for a mix of creek and river species, such as mangrove jack, smaller barra, trevally, cod, grunter and so forth. The lighter of the two medium combos can also cover this type of fishing and throw heavier lures.
The medium spin combos come into play for larger lures and larger fish, with the heavier of the two also my go-to impoundment barra combo and a light bluewater outfit for some headland coral trout or fingermark.
The heavy combo comes in for casting and trolling for larger pelagic species and dropping plastics for larger reefies. This combo is extremely versatile and is capable of throwing poppers and stickbaits, trolling a variety of lures and dropping heavy plastics.
Remember to check any airline restrictions in terms of rod tube lengths and where items like spare batteries and spools of line / reel spools need to be stowed… as far as I am aware you cannot carry spools of line or reels with line on them in your carry on.
Line & Leader
I have been caught out before throwing a flathead combo into the kit and not changing the leader when I arrive… 10lb leader doesn’t last long on a barramundi of any size. I will generally run 10lb leader for jungle perch and sooties, however in the salt where barra reside it’s a minimum of 20lb and more likely 40lb – 60lb if there are barramundi of any size around. For those larger impoundment barramundi it’s commonly 60lb and 80lb leader.
When it comes to leader selection, I run Platypus Stealth FC in 10lb and 20lb, however I find myself gravitating more toward the Platypus Hard Armour Supple Leader in recent times and will generally head north with 10lb, 20lb, 40lb, 60lb and 80lb. If you’re flying up to meet and fish with a mate then leader may be something that you can leave out of your kit to reduce weight and save space, as you don’t use a huge amount of it and can inform your mate that you will be pinching his leader. Another option is to pre-cut a selection of leaders, hank them and stow them in zip lock bags that are marked with the breaking strain. These can then be tucked away in your backpack or tackle bag, taking up minimal space.
Tackle Storage
When travelling and fishing I try to be organised to reduce time sorting gear when I arrive and when out on the water. The TT Deluxe ZMan Tackle Block and Binders are excellent for keeping things organized, whether it be a separate binder for freshwater, creek and bluewater, or everything stowed neatly in a Tackle Block. These storage solutions can assist you with not forgetting anything, make grab and go fishing a lot simpler and make it quick and easy to find things when you’re out fishing. You may have a small jighead tray, scent and leader stowed in each binder to suit the relevant application, or a binder just for leader and scent, with plastics stowed in a Tackle Block. The best solutions will come down to your individual adventure and your gear needs.
A couple of handy items that you can throw in your suitcase include an ultralight duffle bag and an ultralight backpack that fits in the palm of your hand and then unpacks into a full-size backpack. I started throwing these into the kit because they only weigh about 150g, however they allow you loads more freedom and the ability to easily transport items that are loaded into your suitcase. Wet weather gear, camera gear, random tackle, and accessories, for example that you would normally be trying to get out of your suitcase and shove in somewhere when it’s time to adventure. This again assists you in keeping everything together, carrying everything and not forgetting important items. The lightweight backpack can also be handy for trekking for sooties and jungle perch.
Soft Plastics
ZMan 10X Tough ElaZtech soft plastics are the perfect companion when travelling north as you are often limited for weight and space, so you need lures that are going to stand up to aggressive hits and toothy critters, landing you multiple fish per lure. The durability gives me the confidence to pack less plastics, while the lifelike actions and realistic feel is proven to catch fish. Instead of having to pack three or four packets of a go-to colour in one model, I can now include a few different colours or different models, maximising my chances of catching fish.
When it comes to selecting plastics, I keep it simple with some small, medium, and larger plastics to suit the species being targeted. I am predominantly fishing creeks and rivers, with a few plastics thrown in for fishing the headlands, reef, and rubble patches, however you can adjust the mix to suit your adventure. I also carry a selection of colours in my favourite models, ensuring that I cover a light / natural colour for clear water, a darker silhouette colour for dirty water and a fluoro colour to mix things up. My plastics kit may look something like this.
ZMan 2.5” GrubZ – Greasy Prawn, Midnight Oil and Chartreuse Sparkle
ZMan 2.5” Slim SwimZ – Greasy Prawn, Calico Candy and Space Guppy
ZMan 3” MinnowZ – Opening Night, Gold Rush and Sexy Mullet (Plus a few more no doubt)
ZMan 4” DieZel MinnowZ – Beer Run, Gold Rush and Calico Candy
ZMan 5” DieZel MinnowZ – Pearl, Gold Rush and Sexy Mullet
ZMan 3” Scented ShrimpZ – Holographic and New Penny
ZMan 3.5” EZ ShrimpZ – Natural and Greasy Prawn
ZMan 2.75” FrogZ – Watermelon Chartreuse and Green Pumpkin
ZMan 4” Hard Leg FrogZ – Watermelon Chartreuse and White
ZMan 3.75” GOAT – The Deal and Hot Craw
ZMan 4” Scented Jerk ShadZ – Beer Run, Shiner and Electric Chicken
ZMan 5” Scented Jerk ShadZ – Coconut Ice Glow, Shiner and Fusilier
ZMan 7” Scented Jerk ShadZ – Pearl, Nuked Chicken Glow and Fusilier
A selection that looks something like this has me covered for smaller, medium, and larger target species, from backwater to bluewater, both sub-surface and topwater. If you are also hitting the impoundments for some big barra, then you may want to include some larger paddle tails, such as a 6” SwimmerZ and 7” DieZel MinnowZ, utilising some of the jigheads that will match with your 7” Scented Jerk ShadZ.
Jigheads
That is one of the tricks with jigheads, ensuring that you take advantages of situations where the same hook size can be utilised across different soft plastics, to reduce the weight and bulk of your gear. I’m a massive fan of weedless rigging for a large percentage of my northern fishing, casting to snag piles, mangrove edges and other structure. One advantage of weedless rigging with the range of TT ChinlockZ, ChinlockZ SWS, SnakelockZ and Snake EyeZ jigheads, is that you can add, remove or swap head weights with different hook sizes to give you a stack of hook and weight combinations and an absolute arsenal of jigheads in a single small tray.
You can start with a TT Weedless Rig Value Pack and then add to it. I will carry 2/0, 3/0, 4/0, 6/0 and 8/0 hook sizes, with head weights 1/12oz, 1/8oz, 1/6oz, 1/4oz, 3/8oz and 1/2oz, covering an incredible number of applications and scenarios from topwater plastics to impoundment barramundi. I also add to this some SnakelockZ Finesse in a 1/12oz and 1/8oz #2 for fishing the smaller ZMan plastic into the drains when the mangrove jack are eating jelly prawns and small bait. You may have a favourite hook size that suits the bulk of the plastics that you will be fishing, so just build your kit so that you have more of the common stuff that you will be throwing and then thin out the rest accordingly.
The same basically applies for standard jigheads, carry more of what you are confident that you will be throwing, after doing a bit of research. For me, I will mainly be fishing ZMan 3” MinnowZ and 4” DieZel MinnowZ, so I will have more 3/0 and 4/0 size jigheads than I will others. The 3/0 will also fit my prawn presentations and the 4/0 I can also rig in the GOAT and 4” Scented Jerk ShadZ. A handful of smaller hook sizes and larger hook sizes to suit my plastics and I’m looking good. The TT HeadlockZ HD is a great starting point as the range is comprehensive, the hook is up to the fight and the ‘head lock’ keeper locks the ZMan ElaZtech plastic in place securely.
When it comes to jighead weight you have the same decisions to make. What is the main fishing that I will be doing and what is the best weight for this style of fishing? You can then select predominantly that key weight, with a few lighter and heavier options to make sure you’re covered. For example, if you feel that a 1/4oz will be your go-to weight, then have plenty of these, with a few 1/8oz and 3/8oz options to cover different applications. For your offshore plastics 1oz may be your go-to weight, so throw in a few 1/2oz or 3/4oz and some 1.5oz or 2oz just in case you encounter a different scenario. You don’t need to have packets and packets of these other options however a packet of a different weight may make the difference when it comes to getting the plastic where you need it to be and getting the bite.
Other Lures
I have found the soft plastics to be so simple, versatile, and effective that I rarely carry a lot of other lures with me. I will have a handful of TT Switchblades, for jigging on the headlands and hopping down the mud edges, as well as for targeting sooty grunter if the opportunity arises. I will also include a handful of TT Vortex spinnerbaits and Jig Spinners for stirring up the sooties.
Other inclusions may consist of a few Fish Inc. poppers and stickbaits, a handful of TT Hard Core metal slugs and a few ZMan ChatterBaits, just to mix things up a bit. Again, your planned mission and key target species may impact this lure mix.
Accessories
If you are flying up and carrying minimal gear then your accessories may be as simple as some scent, line snips, fish measure and pliers. If you are driving up or towing a boat, then you can load up on fishing related accessories and even throw in a cast net and few crab pots. When I fly up, I keep it simple, adding Pro-Cure Super Gel Scent in Mullet and Sardine / Pilchard flavours (personal choice) and a pair of line snips to my Tackle Block and I am ready to rig and fish.
Clothing
As fishos we are often so focussed on the fishing that we forget about the food, bug spray and clothing. Clothing is an important part of an angler’s kit because if you’re comfortable and feeling good, you’re more likely to put in the time, stay focussed and fish hard. I have had situations in the north where I have been hot, cold, fried by the sun and soaked by heavy rain for days. Consider the different conditions that you may encounter, select some clothes that will allow you to regulate your body temperature, stay sun smart and bug safe. Also, pack some decent wet weather gear if you can’t borrow a set up there. Other gear to take into consideration, depending on your adventure, is footwear, headwear, gloves, and sunglasses.
On Arrival
Depending on where I am travelling to, weight and space restrictions, and what is available in that region, I will sometimes purchase some readily available items when I arrive. For example, when I fly up to Townsville to fish the Hinchinbrook Channel with a mate of mine, we will do a grocery shop before we head to Hinchinbrook and I will often grab sunscreen, bug spray, batteries, and a few other items during this shop, that I will leave in the boat when I head back down to Brisbane. This will allow me to pack even more fishing gear and still make the luggage restrictions.
That’s a bit of a look at my kit and how I gear up for a northern adventure. I hope you get the opportunity to venture north soon and that there are a few tips in here that help you to get your fishing kit sorted for the trip. I have some amazing memories from my northern adventures and look forward to getting up that way again soon. Fish on!
See you on the water…
Justin Willmer