barra down deep

[tonofffun]

talking to a local tackle shop today about barra beening down deep at monduran at the moment beening 20 to 30 feet deep i would think they be in shallow water at the moment for the warmer water got me thinking as i fished it last week and there was a lot of fish on the sounder at that depth what do u think

[A_DIFF_PERSPECTIVE]

It seems you have not had any replies on this topic, so I thought I would respond to your questioning. I have never been to Monduran, but can speak of barra habits in general. The same happens in the salt this time of year in our CQ district, with many barra heading to deeper water in the natural system as well as to outer coastal headlands where they often hang in bundles of 5 to 50 mature fish where they are often observed and sometimes speared. Commonly they just sit idle in these tight schools in depths from 15 to 40 feet. The same happens in the impoundments with many barra staying deep in stable waters. The whole theory of barra always being in the warmest water is cods wallop,(crap) sure it can happen at certain times for various reasons, but it surely isn't the case at Awoonga and other barra lakes at this time of year. They can still be caught in June, July, but it takes a lot more persistance and understanding of the barra and the waters that they are forced to live in. Barra are a nomadic fish species, and everything they do is done for a reason, not for the hell of it!
A whole page could be written on the winter barra movement topic, but I hope this helps you a little.
Regards,
Johnny M

[Fitzy]

Shallow water can & often does heat up quicker in the mornings, however it cools off faster in windy conditions and at night. Looking for pockets of warmer water, even half a degree can make a difference at times. As can the opposite happen when the water gets too hot & doesnt hold O2 as well.
Some lakes can become stratified. Have you ever seen a thermocline on a fish finder or swum down in a farm dam & felt the water temp change at a certain point?
The water below a thermocline can be warmer OR cooler than the water above. Generally in windy conditions, particularly in winter, the surface water cools down considerably & can stay that way for some time until either the lake "turns over" aka "rolls over" or the weather changes things back to normal.
When a lake rolls or turns over, the warmer water below will come to the surface & the cooler surface water will roll to the deeper water. A roll over often spells disaster for some fish species & generally put all fish under stress. A hard time for anglers as well!!

When bass, barra and many other fish sit in deep water it can mean they are looking for a comfort zone or simply chasing food. A thermocline often holds its own small food web of algae & microscopic organisms which attracts bait fish, thus being a great place for predatory fish to go for a feed. If they are there to be in their comfort zone, they can be simply going into passive mode, sulking, looking for suitable DO2 levels or looking for a prefered water temp.

The hard part is working out which of these reasons is the one (or combination of) that is making the fish sit in the thermals at any given time.

Hope that helps,

Fitzy..

[A_DIFF_PERSPECTIVE]

Yep, there above is a good page written by a man with the right history and the experience relating to the topic. Thanks Fitzy for adding a more detailed response.
So often, misleading information is presented to the public, something that has annoyed me for years. Very often, those who you think should know better, certainly do not! Many topics, as simple as they may seem, really do have a lot to offer. The more questions you ask yourself about a certain topic, the more you either realise you do know, or don't know. And the more you learn, the more questions it should create. For each new piece I learn that relates to fishing, I discover that it actually creates 2 new questions. In time you can usually discover those 2 answers, only for another 2 questions to follow those new answers. Eventually, a whole network of information lays before you that helps you piece together a bigger picture.
Many bricks build a solid foundation! Start questioning yourself again as to why barra school deep in Winter. Often you know more than you realise, its just that you have not asked yourself the right questions.
Johnny M

[McCod]

Gday tonnufun..... can't ad any to what Fitzy and Johnny's said. But can say that most of the Barra & Bass were down deep @ Monduran yesterday. Very quiet on the water with only 3 boats on the whole dam.
Some of the Barra were down around the 50 feet mark.
Get a week of sunshine on Monduran and ya should see a few more Barra move into the warmer bays.

Cheers Les

[still_water]

tonofffun,
The Barra and Bass we found today all came from one stretch of bank, we were sitting on a 30 to 40 foot drop off and all of our fish came from using shallow lures working no deeper than a meter.
We did try deeper divers with no success, Soft Plastics also worked quite well today.
The water temp was averaging 18 deg to 20 deg .
With the water temps being pretty much the same all over the Dam and not much Sunshine, we Fished on the Leeward side of the Dam where the bait was working the surface more than the windward side.
As Fitzy had mentioned about the thermocline, I had picked one up Today in the Main Basin around 30 feet where the Bass were schooling up with bait and a few Barra arches hovering around beneath them waiting their turn.
To much information can never be enough as each days fishing is a learning curve for everyone.
Every time you think you have it worked out something else pops up, temps , wind, thermoclines , lures and techniques.
Put together what the other lads have written in and utilise what you can and you will eventually be on to a winner.
Good Luck
Brett

[barramad.]

Tonofffun,
#Theres certainly some good info above there mate.
No matter what the condition, there will ALWAYS be Barra doing something completley different to the rest.
Finding the most active Barra is the key, and in these cold months, obviously Brett is on the money targeting fish using shallow runners.
You can find things very tough fishing deep for Barra this time of year. Thats not to say they cant be caught, but you need some time on the water to suss them.

Last summer was a prime example, fish holding below or near the thermo in 30 feet of water, everyone catching the shit out of them trolling.Just around the next corner, Im catching them in 3 feet of water.
In a hot dam, Barra are not going to be in the warmest water. Its about comfort, food and a number of other factors.
In winter, not all the Barra will be in the warmest water.
The difference is, the ones in the warmest water will be more active, therefore easier to catch.
Keep in mind that they will also be much more on the ball with their environment,meaning that most times they will know your there long before you do.
Stealth is the key.
Good luck.
Jas Wilhelm

[tonofffun]

thank u guys for all the information it all helps to understand this fish more cant wait to try and catch one this winter but dont care just love to be on the water