Is Monduran still fishing well?

[Rob_Bartlett]

Heading to Monduran Friday afternoon for my first look at the dam. Just wondering if the barra are still on the chew. Haven't seen any posts for a few days about the dam so was just curios.

Shall be having a troll to look around first then will be casting late in the afternoon into the night.

Also wondering if anyone has been fishing the Burnett down at the mouth for pelagics.

Thanks guys, hope your Christmas was good and had plenty of fishing gear under the tree.

Rob Bartlett

[still_water]

Rob,
As of today a few are still being rewarded with some nice fish. On average for us it has been between 2 to 10 a day.
Beware of the ramps , a lot of people pushing in to be the first to be on the water with no regards for anyone else, with a few cross words thrown at each other.
You will have to avoid the main areas due to 30 odd boats trying to tangle with the same fish, so move a bit higher up to be by youself.
The average size is between 80cm to 1m+.Water temp to 34 deg.
Will most probably see you on the water , have a safe trip and good luck.
Brett.

[black_sheep]

Brett,

Sounds like mayham brett, i know i'm about as keen as they get to be on the water as quick as possible but some tossers just don't have any boat ramp eticate. Is this carnage going on at the concrete ramp or the dirt ramp??

These are the sort of people you hope to see stuck up the dam as they've run out of fuel or something when you casually drive past and wave.

[still_water]

At the dirt ramp,
I was 3rd in line and 12 others stopped right behind me and instead of moving up to untie their boats they had a line up back up the hill untill they were ready and finished jacknifing their boats a couple of times and abusing the next bloke because they didn't have enough room to turn their trailers, poor buggers, should learn to bloody back up before buying a boat. The last car in line pulled up and asked me if I would like to put in before him, which I declined happily as I was having enough fun just watching and listening , then you should of seen the parade trying to get out of the channel and out trolling.
At the end of the day only one boat I heard of caught a Barra, we thought it was great as we drove out and done a quick troll straight down the middle and had a Barra jumping within 5 minutes of wetting the lure.
Ahhh holiday time , you gotta love it, tis the season to be jolly. ;D

[Rob_Bartlett]

Thanks for the tips Brett

We didn't hit the water until about 1:30 Friday afternoon and there was still a bit of drama at the ramp then. #It's good value just watching some people back trailers.

Anyway to cut a long story short we had a shocker. #Only three strikes all afternoon, all didn't connect. #Only one cattamundi even. #Had no real idea where to fish but turned right at the first turn up-river and followed the trees until there were no boats and we found some really good looking structure with lantana and other small trees after the third turn into the trees. #the area looked excellent but didn't get any result.

The water sure was warm. #Is it possible for it to be too hot for the barra to bite in the shallower bays?

Hopefully next trip will have not so much other traffic and we can pin a few fish. #We used vipers, classic barras and bombers all for the same result. #All these lures worked a treat at Awoonga in the ABt tournament for us but we couldn't pull a trick on Friday at Monduran.

There just seems to be so much good water up there that it would take ages to narrow down the better spots.

Rob

[powderfingers]

Hi Rob
I was there from 4am Fri. morning until 9am, boated one barra of 81cm at 7.50am and had one strike on Halco Scorpions in blue\green colour and gold\orange.,
there were about 40 boats trolling in the main basin and I saw one fish come out there
so I went a bit further away and got the fish in deeper water.

A few days before all the holiday traffic turned up most boats were getting 4 or 5 fish early morning
just trolling adjacent to the concrete boat ramp.

My lure was diving to about 4m which could be where they are hanging in the hot weather,
anyhow will be there early tomorrow again to have another go.

[still_water]

Rob,
I don't know if you had seen me at all as we were scooting around but we scored some nice fish from 86cm to 120 cm trolling and casting. One group had such a great morning session from 4.30 am to 1.00 pm they rebooked the next afternoon from 3.00pm to 1.00am and guess what , not a scale we had 2 bumps which I think were Bass. The next mornin {Sunday} another group hooked up in the first 10 minutes and fought the fish for 35 mins and it straightened 2 sets of Owner Stingers, I have never in my life seen this before, it had just came into view as it lunged back for cover straightening the rest. I have missed on 2 trips of late as the water temps have been going from 35.9 deg down to 28 deg, but as soon as it settles around 30 to 32 again you are back on the money.
Send me an e-mail next time you come up and if I get it in time I will try and help you out. Some great fish have been taken about 7 to 10 k's up, on the troll and casting away from the traffic. I am using the same lures and also a locally made one from Pristine Lures they are timber and float up fast and seem to bring the Barra up for a fast surface strike.
Good luck for next time.
Brett

[ads]

Hi there,

Sorry if I am hijacking your thread, but I am planning to go up to Monduran for the weekend of the 14th/15th and am after some advice. I normally fish the Kolan and off the beach at Moore Park, so I will need to update my tackle a bit. Can you suggest a line strength etc and set up that would not be destroyed by those monsters up there.
Also what is the campsites like. Is it packed at the moment.

Thanks for your help
Adam

[still_water]

Adam,
I avoid the campgrounds on every arrival , so you will have to get that info from someone else or ring Rob and Kelly at Monduran.Campgrounds are quite clean and comfortable and not a bad place to start to find the fish.
As far as Tackle goes, we use anything from 20lb Braid to 50lb with 50lb single leaders up to 120lb double leaders and you will be amazed how this size gear can be destroyed if you hook up to a decent Barra.
All Barra lures must be upgraded with stronger hooks,{minimum VMC 6 times but best is the Owner Stingers which can also be straightened}.
Rod size is personal , I use 8kg Live Fibres and Gl2 5 foot 4 12 to 25 lb Loomis,both Graphite,coupled with Shimano 100 Curado and 100B Chronarch,
but you can use anything in the Uglystick range and Crystal Tips as long as they are rated around 6 to 10 kg.
This could go on forever as I have about 23 complete units, Main thing as long as it has good strength with a half decent reel, Expensive Fishing gear does not catch the fish it only lasts longer and is easier to use.
I also use for some clients Shimano Aernos 3 and 4000 Threadline reels which have seen a lot of action over the years and nothing has given up on them yet.

I am sure there will be quite a few guys who may help out in what gear they use , any help will always come in handy.
Good Luck.
Brett :D

[powderfingers]

I drove through the camping grounds this morning on the way to fishing and it seems as if it has
quietened off, seemed pretty peaceful, it has good facilities with camp kitchen etc.

There is still a lot of barra being caught in the dam as of this morning,
Cheers
Clinton

[ads]

Excellent news all round. Both on the fishing front and the camping side of things.
Brett, thanks for the info. Bit daunting really but I am sure it will be worth it. I will be taking up an old set up of my Dads that he bought donkeys years ago but has hardly seen the water. It is a Diawa millionaire 6HM coupled with a Diawa 6' rod. (F5230-6)?? My Dad bought this ages ago particularly for barra in the NT, but never got there.
Just didnt know what sort of line to go for. I have some 25lb mono and 40lb leader but even this sounds a bit light.Well will have to see how it goes.
Thanks again for your help
Adam

[still_water]

Adam anything is worth a go, Rod and Reel is Fine but I would look at throwing some Braid on so you don't get wiped out in the trees.
Just a suggestion.
Good luck and give it your best.
Brett

[Wazza77]

Hello all i am new here so i am not sure how this all work but i do have a few questions for anyone who might be able to tell me.

I am thinking about coming up to Monduran the end of March or early April. Is this a good time to catch a barra or not???

And also what is the bag and size limits for barra at this time?

[McCod]

Hello all i am new here so i am not sure how this all work but i do have a few questions for anyone who might be able to tell me.

I am thinking about coming up to Monduran the end of March or early April. #Is this a good time to catch a barra or not???

And also what is the bag and size limits for barra at this time?

Gday Wazza77 ... Yep its still good fishing around then. Bag and size limit 5 per person from 1st February to 1st November and min size is 58 cm.... best of luck :)

#Cheers Les

[Wazza77]

Thanks Les,

Have never caught a barra yet and am hoping this might be the trip but can only hope. Well i will see what other tips i can pick up before i go to try and help me catch one or two.

What other fish are in the dam that i might be able to catch?

What are the best options to try trolling, casting, or bait?

[McCod]

Yeah Wazza…. Cast & retrieve should be the way to go for Barra around that time of year ….Plenty of Bass in Monduran also and they can be trolled up using smaller lures or casting Hard bodies , spinnerbaits , soft plastics etc. Bait fishing with shrimp etc will get ya some Bass and possibly some Barra. But there is a big population of Fork Tail Catfish in Monduran and they will usually snavel the bait before anything else. But they are supposed to be a good table fish. I’ve never tried eating them so I don’t know what there like. If you spent a bit of time and go back through the freshwater section , and the new freshwater reports section on this site there is a lot of info on impoundment fishing in places like and including Monduran Dam.

Cheers Les

[Wazza77]

Thanks for the tip i will have a good look through the other parts of this site, gee i wish someone had told me about this site ages ago might have had more success on my other trips around the place.

Thanks

Wazza