Tackle Tactics » Tips-Techniques » Pro-Lure-Fishing-Tips » Penetrating the Weed Barrier for Barra

Penetrating the Weed Barrier for Barra

Dave Brace

On a recent trip to a northern Queensland barramundi stocked impoundment, fishing from kayaks, we were met by some horrendous conditions, mostly due to the relentless heat that was near debilitating. Air temperatures reached in excess of 45 degrees in the shade of our camp from mid-morning to sunset. Consequently the water surface temperatures soared to a ridiculous 37 degrees on most days.

Now you may think this scenario would have been ideal conditions for targeting these barramundi, however it was these unforeseen conditions in the weeks leading up to our expedition that lead to massive environmental changes within this body of water. ?A game changer that saw us quite bewildered and in turn made us think outside the square in the hope of subduing a few of these large scaled silver fish.

Water levels of the lake dropped extensively, falling below 60% capacity and even visibly dropping while we were camping on the water's edge. These substantial water losses were not only from evaporation, but in fact predominantly due to farmers allocating water to maintain their crops that were just surviving through these dry times, along with nearby coal mining companies who were keeping their coal stock piles wet to avoid combustion.

What this meant for us as anglers was that submerged weed beds were very much being exposed, clearly reducing the areas that we were once able to target. Instead of this weed standing tall, it now began to lie down upon itself creating a large mess of congested weed. Below the heated surface amongst this weed, water temperatures were much more stable and surprisingly a whole lot cooler. We knew barramundi were within these large weedy structures after visually witnessing their tailing antics while feeding in the cool of the morning prior to sunrise.

A number of smaller barramundi were caught using ZMan 4" Hard Leg FrogZ rigged on 6/0 TT Lures?ChinlockZ jighead?during these early morning periods. This was also a dead giveaway and an indication that these fish were within the vicinity of this aquatic weed. During the day these fish gained cover in the weed, where they lay in a sleep like slumber, digesting any morsels they had engulfed earlier. We were very confident though that there were many more fish deep within this intertwined green vegetation that had not fed and it was these elusive barramundi that we set out to conquer.

In past trips to this same location the ZMan 6" SwimmerZ in the colours of Pearl, Red Shad and Gizzard Shad had worked absolutely fantastically, so why invent the wheel and change what had previously been so successful. The problem was penetrating this extremely dense aquatic weed, without any of it fouling on any part of the lure presentation, also remembering that this once standing structure was now matted together and lying flat on the surface.

After hours of trial and error, it was the tag end of the loop knot that attached the jighead (TT Lures 1/4oz 8/0 Snake Head jighead) that was the most problematic, causing for this strand like weed to continually foul. Thoughts of binding this tag end to the leader soon proved to be very time consuming and after further reflection thoughts turned to encasing these extremely effective 6" SwimmerZ in a squid skirt. It may have been the heat... but this out of the box idea was sensationally fruitful, covering the knot in its entirety.

More importantly, amongst this weed the new lure presentation retained its paddle tail action, sending sonic vibrations through the sub-surface layers of the water within the small pockets of water that were free of weed. It was like switching a light on and instantaneously we were catching hungry fish that were taking this lure presentation without hesitation.

By utilising the 4" Hard Leg FrogZ and the 6" SwimmerZ, rigged weedless on ChinlockZ and Snake Head jigheads, continually applying a generous layer of either Pro-Cure Garlic Plus Super Gel Scent and/or Mullet Super Gel Scent and fishing short sessions early within the day and during low light periods of the evenings, we were now able to extract quite a good number of these fish laying deeper below the surface and within this exceptional structure. Incredibly a 50cm sooty grunter also took a liking to the 6" SwimmerZ, aggressively striking the lure with a vengeance. We had persisted, changed tactics and overcome adversity, and the relief as a result was totally overwhelming.

The 4" Hard Leg FrogZ were cast and retrieved at varying speeds with high rod tips, leaving a bubble trail, with the trademark blooping sound that it creates, as this lure presentation somewhat sacrificially dances on the surface. It was when these FrogZ were swum in close proximity to these smaller pockets in between the weed that explosive eruptions of water were observed, leaving us in total awe upon hooking up to these majestic fish.

In contrast to the techniques used when fishing the FrogZ, the 6" SwimmerZ were commonly trolled closely behind our kayaks, allowing us to view the lure and meticulously monitor and ascertain its free swimming abilities. We were also targeting the edges of these weed beds, where they had almost formed a submerged hedge. Barramundi were backed in and positioned in ambushing predatory mode just below the surface within these hedges and with most trolling passes we were being rewarded for our effort and persistence. On one occasion I managed to get a slight glimpse of a barramundi unmistakably engulfing my lure and launching itself entirely from the water, displaying the acrobatic skills of a Russian gymnast.

This trip north bound was one of those expeditions where a less than average number of fish were caught and the quality was down, however it was unquestionably one of the most rewarding. Without the use of our go-to TT Lures weedless jigheads, ZMan 4" Hard Leg FrogZ, the ever faithful 6" SwimmerZ and Pro-Cure Super Gel, I can strongly stipulate that our trip would not have been as successful. A battle hard fought and won, and a trip that will be talked about for some time and never forgotten.

Dave Brace