How to work large fizzers on barra in impoundments

[Big_Native]

G"Day All
Would like to know what is the correct technique for using surface lures (ie fizzers).
Do we just wind them in and pause or do we jerk them and if so how far is enough and do you let them sit , are they more likely to be hit while stationary or on the move.?
Regards
Damien webb.( Big Native).
PS whats the fishing like in callide and awoonga in early feb.?

[the_matrix]

Howdy there,
Depending on what topwaters you are using ie woodchoppers, dog turds etc etc, thats really what drives what sort of retrieve. Experiment is the key.

For Bills Bugs, Skitter pops and the like, the bloop bloop type of retrieve works well ;D. Just basically a steady wind with a stroke of the rod tip to get them sounding like that! ;D ;D
For dog turds (aka tango dancers etc) its entirely up to you but I do a lot of top water stuff when the wind permits and find that the Awoonga Barra like a fairly fast action.
Pauses definantly work well also, another good tip is to crank them in flat stick when they get within 6 ft of the boat. If you get a sixty plus boof your topwater that close to the boat, your heart will be no good to you any more. ;D

Also they have a habit of throwing the lure back at you at that close a range.
Great style of fishing, but like everything else, has its time and place. Sometimes they spook fish, and you wont get a touch until you tie on a shallow runner.

I caught a 126cm 64lb Barra two years ago on a Bills Bug in Awoonga,(that now resides on my wall) and until this day, nothing has come close to displaying the fireworks that fish put on. It was like a rabid dog on steroids that went absolutley ballistic in 6 ft of water, then went deep.
Trust me, you will NEVER forget the sound and sight of a 60 pound plus Barra boofing your topwater.
I reckon its as good as it gets.
Jas

[bc]

>>>PS whats the fishing like in callide and awoonga in early feb.?

Depends on what drunks are there at the time :o

luv pharlap

[Rob_Bartlett]

I can definitely vouch for strikes close to the boat giving heart failure. During the pre-fish for the ABT event at Awoonga last year I had a popper hammered only 4 feet from the boat only to be covered in water and shaking for a few minutes muttering "did you see that!!!!!"

Rob Bartlett

[whykickacatalong]

Damien webb.( Big Native).
PS whats the fishing like in callide and awoonga in early feb.?


G'day Damian, Alistair here, AKA 'two-bob'

I will be heading off next weekend for Kinchat dams near Mackay and heading back through Awoonga for a few days at least . I will be a home on the 30th so will send you a pm or something if I can remember re the fishing, assuming you have not left yet. I will be doing a bit of night fishing so Big Bills Bugs Fizzers and poppers will be on the cards if we can get the barra to come up and take them. Tried for them on the surface in October at the dam with no sucess then but plan to change that ;D

How you been anyway, still doing the same work?

[thumps]

i read that Kinchant is at 25%


after a trip up there last week...yep...its low


so getting them "up"...may not be a problem...they will soon not be able to go "down"

had some rain in the last few days...but it dropped from 37% to 25 in the rain period

[LoveLutjanids]

Fizzers are the most AWESOME way to catch barra.. bar none.

Firstly, I cant highly enough recommend the LUHR JENSEN 'woodchopper' fizzers - I have caught barra on the 4" and 6" versions. The best aspect of their design is being twin propped therefore maximum effect!

Working fizzers for barra requires a specific technique - cast the fizzer and let it sit for a few seconds (hopefully it will have attracted some attention), then work it - like most lures the maximum action you can impart on it whilst removing it the least distance possible from the strike zone is imperative.

How you get the fizzer to move depends on the type of rod and line that you are using, unlike most lures, fizzers are probably much easier to use with a softer action rod and/or mono - with that style of outfit you can give it a short sharp flick and, if successful you've only moved the lure about a foot but the effect creates is like putting your electric motor prop only halfway underwater and cranking it to full power - it really wakes up the barra!

A much different technique needs to be employed using your typical hi-modulus fast action graphite rod and braid (my style of outfit). With this rig if you employ the solid flick technique what tends to occur is the leader gets caught around the front prop fouling the lure. To counteract this you need to leave your wrists out of the equation, hold your rod at 45 degrees down angle and move the whole outfit back about a foot, as swiftly as you can, maintining rod angle - so essentially its your shoulders that do the work. This alleviates any creation of slack line during the working of the lure which allows the leader to get wrapped around the prop. Essentially what you are doing is dragging the lure in, in short bursts - be prepared to let the lure settle for up to 10 seconds between movements though.

Thats not all though. After losing a shit tin of barra years ago when I started casting lures to them with braid I worked out that you MUST give any lure some slack line immediately after working it. This is a specific technique for barra and is imperative to converting hits to solid hook ups. Alot of guys I know always whinge about the fact that they got about 15 hits in a session (or similar) but only stayed connected to one or two.

This is because barra DO NOT bite the lure, they INHALE it from up to a foot away, and with braid there is simply no stretch to allow it to be inhaled sufficiently to hook up solidly. How I combat this is as soon as ive worked the lure (usually with a flick of the rod tip) I immediately push the rod tip forward again, offering a couple of feet of slack line. I rarely miss a barra now. 95% + solid hook ups! (THIS ALSO REDUCES JUMP-OFFS ALSO AS THE FISH ARE BETTER HOOKED)

You need to do the same thing when working fizzers otherwise you just wont hook up very often - you'll still get the hits but most likely the fizzer will come flying out of the water.

Fizzers will turn on barra when they're not in a feeding mode. Sometimes you will see the barra come out and have a look at it but they're still not sure whether to eat it or not.. this is the time to have a second rod rigged with a conventional bibbed lure to put back in there (into the strike zone - if you havnt done any good with around 3 casts with the fizzer), this technique has worked well for me also - and works extremely well when tandem fishing with a partner (good tournament tip!). The front guy fishes a fizzer and the rear guy fishes a conventional lure.. very effective!

I hope what I have written makes sense, its certainly a proven technique from where im sitting. My best barra on a fizzer (actually my best barra full stop) is over 60 pounds & 1.4 metres plus!! A big salty in the Kimberleys! I've also done well at Lake Monduran also. Typically, early morning, late afternoon and at night are prime fizzer times!!

Cheers!

[LoveLutjanids]

Oh yeah .. forgot to add that you had better take your HEART TABLETS when working fizzers for barra!!! When they hit one its an awesome spectacle! White water, foam and a free shower if you're close enough!!! Have Fun!

[Big_Native]

G"Day ALL
Thanks fellas for all that good info, i will put it into practice and hopefully get a good result, heading up 310106 and returning 070106, will be at awoonga for a few days and then callide, we plan to do lots of night fishing, i know there will be no moon but thems the breaks.
Regards
Damien Webb.( Big Native).
PS. Alistair , still doing the same work, have been around but just been a bit quiet on some boards.

[McCod]

lovelutjanids .... top spiel there.... The slack line thing is very important.One thing you forgot to mention is to wear your brown jocks ;D LOL

Big_Native.... Last year Calide & Awoonga fished great in February.
Best of luck.

Cheers Les

[Mad_Barry]

Hey Damien, long time no talk. There's some good info in that lot above.

Don't go bringing any of those black opals with you, there banned up here in QLD ;D

(Plenty of mud crabs up this way though, enough to make the campsite a bit 'windy' ;)

[Mak579]

Lovelutjanids..awesome stuff. ;D
Cheers
Matt

[BigChiefBarra]

Hit the dam Saturday night (Full moon), at times Barra were active on the surface boofing bait-fish.

Got out the Tango Dancer for some top water action.

A mate & I where getting strikes off the surface while lure was stationery after landing, just the occassional twitch.

[A_DIFF_PERSPECTIVE]

LoveLutjanids,,,,
Great piece. Great description. Nothing beats a whole page of informative description. The point about slack line is very important, and also very easy to do with a fizzer. The visual aspect of being able to see the fizzer makes the whole concept about creating slack a whole lot easier to understand. Free moving baitfish aren't restricted by any connecting force. A lure, (this time a fizzer) should be presented in a similar, free floating mode, that on the strike can be inhaled without the restriction of the adjoining line! Tight lines, Missed strikes, or Foul hooked fish, More jumped off fish, oh so true.
Great Words Mate.

johnny m

[Sidecast]

Lovelutjanids - Thanks for the tips ;D ..... I am new to the Barra Thing and this advise is awesome. Cheers Mate!!

[fishsmith]

Lovelutjanids top info on the use of Fizzers there..I whole heartedly agree with the slack line technique for turning boofs into hookups.I fish with fizzers on average of two to three mornings and evenings a week, during the Barra season in the fresh water sections of the Ross River around the waterlillies, from the bank and by boat . I have noticed that when your fizzer gets boofed as you sweeping the lure forward 70% of the time the lure will come flying out off the water at you..When i pause it with the slack line method as you stated, the tables turn with a 70% hookup rate..The Koolabung bony bream and bills bug range work well for me....At any rate weather you hook up or not the strike with this style of lure gets the heart pumping its very addictive indeed..

[born2fly]

Guys, awesome tips here. I look forward to putting them into practice come the 10th Feb until the 14th. Hipefully the Full moon will bring the desired results. Will post up any pics then.

Cheers and tight lines