Tackle Tactics » Tips-Techniques » Pro-Lure-Fishing-Tips » The Barra Lolly
The Barra Lolly
Paul Chew
For the fourth time this morning, I unzipped my tackle bag, grabbed out my roll of Schneider and morosely started the well-practiced ritual of tying another leader onto my baitcast rod, while thinking about how ridiculous this was getting. Looking at the braid waving in the breeze, I was second guessing myself. Was the leader too light? Do I need heavier braid or do I just need to fish for something more within my capabilities on the yak.
The last wipe out was brutal, leaving me with shaking hands and 'good' mate Pete laughing once again at how quick and powerful these impoundment barramundi are in the skinny headwater creeks. I had always rated salties higher for speed, but these fish, now they had reached that 75-80cm mark, surpassed any fishing I have done as far as explosive bust offs go. Leaving even jacks behind, mostly due to their sheer bulk.
Gone are the days when you could just muscle them out of the timber, particularly on a kayak. There are few things funnier than our first Lenthals Dam trip, where Pete tossed a walk the dog lure out, up a creek that you are flat out turning the kayak around in. His lure disappeared in a boil of froth and foam, and his yak lurched onto the plane, rod buckling as the 80+cm barra lunged half out the water, headlong through the nearest big lay down tree. Pete made a few gurgled squeaks before the lure pulled free, thankfully before he ended up skewered on a broken off gum tree branch.
This scenario has now been repeated numerous times, with the few fish we have landed making the mistake of jumping clear of the water in an effort to relieve themselves of the troublesome hook lodged in their mouth. Recently, we have started using the newish ZMan 4" DieZel MinnowZ, more out of necessity than anything else. They are proving to be barra lollies, with a few colours proving to be standouts - Mood Ring, Sexy Mullet and Motor Oil leading the pack.
As far as rigging goes there are a few methods that we use and all involve rigging weedless. For slow rolling, the TT Lures Snake Head jighead is worth a run. For a slightly different action a TT Lures ChinlockZ rigged with a small ball sinker in the bottom of a loop knot gives the lure a slightly different body roll. When using either of these rigging types, the retrieve is merely a slow roll, with the occasional twitch of the rod to create a bit of a dip in the swimming motion.
The other rigging technique that has been successful for me recently involves using a 4/0 Chinlockz jighead, both in the weighted and TT Lures ChinlockZ SWS series, for two different situations. The ChinlockZ SWS I use after around 7am, once the barra have dropped a little deeper in the water column. This is just to get it right on their nose, while still being able to use a super slow roll/twitch retrieve to entice a bite.
The unweighted version of the ChinlockZ I use before sunrise and after sunset as a surface 'wake bait' style presentation. A slow roll retrieve is all that's required to give off a consistent tail beat and create the wake. Just on a tangent the ZMan 5" Pop ShadZ is proving a success at this also, however I cannot as yet show you a photo on this lure as I have managed to lose every fish I have hooked on one, for one reason or another... but that's a whole other story! The DieZel MinnowZ are accounting for more hook ups than hard bodies and at a quarter the cost it makes seeing your busted off braid waving in the breeze a little easier to take.
While I seem to moan and complain, it's an addictive way to fish. Probably the most exciting close quarter battling I have done, with most of the fight feeling like you are completely out of control! The barra, I don't think, are particularly trying to bust you off on a particular tree, rather they just burst headlong in any direction until you end up tangled or the leader knot jams in a sunken tree and they gain their freedom. Would it be easier to fish out in the open water? Probably, but it wouldn't be half the fun.
We are squashing our barbs, so hopefully the fish we lose will rid themselves of the lure quickly anyway. Interestingly Pete, after getting poleaxed again last trip in under two seconds on a surface offering, collected his lure a couple hours later as we were paddling back home. The barra had initially busted him off, taken off about 200 metres and commenced jumping in an attempt to rid itself of the lure. However, after about 3 or 4 jumps in a ten minute period we moved away, with the lure still rattling at every jump. As we passed the area later, the fish jumped again and Pete said "I think that was my lure that just went sailing away". So he paddled over and sure enough, it was floating. I am sure the fish rid themselves of the Diezel and ChinlockZ in a very short space of time.
If you are contemplating heading up into the backwaters of the impoundments chasing these fish, remember to take a bit of a first aid kit along as there is rarely any phone reception. A good supply of water is also a must. As mentioned earlier, it's an addictive way of fishing and even though we are on the wrong side of the scoreboard at the moment, we are still putting plans in place to level the playing field a little. So if you feel like something to get the heart rate going, grab a pack of DieZel MinnowZ, some HeadlockZ and a change of underwear, and head up the backwaters of one of the available impoundments.
The Wrap
Just as a side note, while out and about exploring these back blocks, please take out your rubbish. In fact even take out what you can that isn't yours. All too often I pull up to be greeted by broken bottles and empty cans. For the most part these areas are freehold lease access and we can so easily be shut out by the actions of a small minority doing the wrong thing. Just take a sec to have a quick look around and see what you can do to keep things tidy.
Tight lines
Chewy