The Ultimate Barramundi Fishing Guide: How To Catch More Fish With The Right Lures (2024)

FAQs

The Ultimate Barramundi Fishing Guide: How To Catch More Fish With The Right Lures? ›

Firstly, barramundi are attracted to bright colours, so make sure your lure is brightly coloured. Secondly, they prefer plastic fishing lures over live bait

Barramundi are a popular sport fish in Australia that can be caught with a variety of different lures. The most effective type of lure to use when targeting barramundi is a plastic or glass lure, as they are attracted to bright colours.

Casting and jigging are the most popular techniques when going after Barramundi because they're the most fun and productive. You can cast from a boat or from land, though from a boat is usually more successful. The most important thing to remember with casting is to change up the speed of your retrieve frequently.

Bright colours such as chartreuse and yellow are good choices since they're visible in the water and attract barramundi. Natural colours such as green and brown are also good options, especially in clear water or low-light conditions.

Line: Good Quality Braid Line 20-30lb is ideal (Power Pro or Fins PRT). Leader: 50-70lb (20-30kg) monofilament or fluorocarbon; also single strand wire trace 50- 70lb (20 – 30kg) for mackerel. Lures: Saltwater Grade lures; eg Classic Bluewater, Rapala X Rap 20+.

Barra will eat almost anything in the water as long as it fits in their mouth. As babies (fingerlings), they eat plankton (microscopic plants & animals). As they grow they eat larger things like insects, crustaceans (such as prawns - a real favourite), frogs and other fish including other Barramundi.

Full moons at night are always a favourite time for barra anglers through spring and summer, and travelling anglers will often try to time their visits with a full moon.

Catching barra

One of the most appealing things about these fish is how receptive they are to a range of techniques, but that doesn't make them an easy fish to catch by any means. A good understanding of different presentations, as well as where and when they work best is key when learning how to catch barra.

The trick to hooking fish in the corner of the mouth, especially barra, is to fish the rod in gear and let the fish inhale the bait. Don't strike at the fish like you see on TV. Another tip is go up 1-2 hook sizes to what you usually use in a J hook or suicide hook, when live baiting with circle hooks.

Barramundi are generally most active at dawn and dusk, so these are the best times to try and catch them. The best time to catch Barramundi is during the early morning or late evening when the sun isn't too bright. They are also more active during high tide.

What is the best hook for barra? ›

I normally like to use an 8/0 size hook when targeting barra as this gives greater hook clearance and the best chance of a solid hookset.

Half tide out to half tide in is the best time to fish. The bottom of the tide really concentrates bait and can be the best time to fish, especially for barramundi.

My go-to lures for chasing Barramundi are hard bodied lures, poppers, soft frogs and soft t tails they have all given great results at different times, one thing to remember is that trial and error is only a learning pahse.

Best lures seem to be traditional minnows and soft plastics. Bouncing a frog lure across water lilies is also productive for catching barramundi. At night-time slowly retrieving surface popper lures to simulate mullet cruising around on the surface seems to be productive.

Lures like the 4 and 5 inch Paddle Prawn are perfect for barramundi when rigged on a conventional 3/8oz jig head and 3/0 or 5/0 hook. Alternatively they can be rigged weedless on a worm hook to avoid snagging in heavy timber or weedy areas.

Most common weights and size for these jig heads will range from 3/0 to 7/0 depending on the size of soft plastic used. Weights will range from 1/4 oz to 1oz depending on depth and water flow. There are a few alternate brands that have created quite the reputation for catching stonker Barra.

Sub-surface: When it's windier, or there is a bit of chop on the water and surface fishing won't be an effective option, night-time barra can still be caught running either hardbody lures or paddle tail soft plastics. My go-to lures here are the Bagley Rumble B's and the 6" ZMan SwimmerZ.

Type of feed

L. calcarifer may be fed with several types of feeds, viz. trash fish, pressed pellets and high-energy, extruded pellets.

For Barramundi we generally recommend a minimum of 20lb braid, ideally you would want 30lb braid with a 50 – 60lb monofilament leader.