Truer words never spoken = bl##dy barra.
There'd be a reason, more open equals bigger temp drops, and more susceptability to non-stable coditions maybe? I duuno, just rambling,I really need to go and have a look. If they would ever grade that road in, and open up some camping, Im there.
If they did that Brian I'd be there 3 times a week.As it is only having a sedan you have to rebuild the suspension every trip.As soon as its graded we'll get a post up.Camping was supposed to be up and running for last chrissie but its still only at Wongi and the road there are worse.
Paulo
It is the shallows that are both the salvation and the downfall of barra in the winter. They go there to warm themselves and will often get caught there during a sudden cold snap which, as we know, can kill them.
Dams like Lenthalls, which is on average very shallow (average depth 3.9m) don't give the barra anywhere to hide from sustained colder periods. In places like Mondy the deeper more stable temperatured water give them refuge.
If we have a long cold snap this winter though, I think Mondy will suffer fish kills as well as there are now many more shallow flats...
Just my two bob's worth...
Pete
Nice info Pete, I wasnt aware of that average depth, but that does point to rapidly cooling water in the evenings, and trouble for our finny friends.
while i love fishing tinaroo in winter, IMO it will always be harder. as the water cools the barras metabolism slows with it. they simply don't need to feed as much. love a challenge though, the dam is a beautiful place on a fine winters day. all the more reward when a pattern is cracked and some fish find their way to the net
Thank you guys for your great insights to Winter in Wonderland,ie Mondy in June.
I'll be up there for a week from the 6th. Have been there before X3 in Sept and done OK, but June obviously wiil be different.
Thanks again
Originally Posted by simply
winter certainly has its own special charm - and if you strike the right conditions the fishing can be pretty good - I know I enjoyed fishing through last winter & I'm keen to do it all again
Chris
Give a man a fish & he will eat for a day !
Teach him how to fish
& he will sit in a boat - & drink beer all day!
TEAM MOJIKO
When it comes to lure selection & the techniques used ...... well - its a personal thing ..... I saw & heard of many things that worked during the winter period.
What worked for me (best) ...... for the periods of sun up to late afternoon was to use hardbodies ( keeping in mind that my preferred locations were timbered bays / inlets)
I usually had one rod rigged with a diving lure ( stiffy diver - rigged to suspend) - this lure was thrown into deeper water on the edge of creek beds or steeper sided banks - the lure would be cast beyond the target location (spindly tree top or prominent structure - then quickly cranked down then stalled - usually the hit would come on the next movement of the lure .......... I found that a longer and slower actioned rod - worked like a dream with this technique ( the twitch was quite hard / banged - but with a rod that folded - the lure would not progress in a forward motion with any great distance but have nice lateral movement. ( other lures that would fit here would be Ritcho extractors , Tilsen barras , 90mm Scorpions , smith cherry bloods , koolabung boney barra etc - just as long as their buoyancy can be neutralised (after hook/split upgrades)
The other rod was rigged with a shallow running lure - and for me the Rapala X Rap XR & SXR 12 were my go to HB ...... this lure just simply outfished every other shallow runner on my boat.
After careful upgrading Attachment 57936 (Front #2 , rear #4 owner stn-66s) - tow point split removed and the occasional use stick on lead under the bib or tail area - to balance the lure out and suspend as level as possible....... cast over shallow flats or parallel the face of a bank or weed edge Attachment 57935 - the lure was fished with either an aggressive bang bang bang stop cadence or a more subtle twitch / pause technique. (others successful lures are the B52 , bombers , *Ecogear barra twitch baits* , lucky craft 100mm pointer , smith sauruna & stiffy twitch bait )
Other successful lures included Frogs (zoom horny toads & ribbit bull frogs) fished both surface & sub surface + hollowbellies & slick rigs)
I usually finished the day with a sunset fish in more open water ( with a deep creek nearby) - here the plastics seemed to offer greater success ( mostly fishing 1-2M over the flat and 4-5M in the creekbed ...... 100mm slick rigs , 4" storm shads & 5" hollowbellys gave consistent results .
Chris
Give a man a fish & he will eat for a day !
Teach him how to fish
& he will sit in a boat - & drink beer all day!
TEAM MOJIKO
hey nagg when you upgrade your xraps to suspend as described what split rings size do you use
From memory #5 (60lb) Owner Hyperwire ...... sometimes #4 (50lb)
Chris
Give a man a fish & he will eat for a day !
Teach him how to fish
& he will sit in a boat - & drink beer all day!
TEAM MOJIKO
over at lenthalls i had moderate success last year ,after reading some usefull info from you men and spending some precious sessions with trev burgess up at awoonga i put that advise into practise and it worked well ,the bays are shallow in our best spots with some deeper water right beside them ,slickies were best in 100mm with hard bodies picking up a few ,the water is really dirty out there at the moment so it will take a little time to settle, water is still going over the wall too the fish are over the 800mm size now so it will be interesting on how they handle it this year lets cross fingers it doesnt have a repeat of a couple of years ago
Hi Al ..... are you going to come to Mondy for Committee meeting ....... I would love to hear about Lenthals
chris
Give a man a fish & he will eat for a day !
Teach him how to fish
& he will sit in a boat - & drink beer all day!
TEAM MOJIKO
yes mate will definatly be there looking forward to putting a few faces to names
Gday Andrew,Challenging, yep for sure, beautiful place to be, yep for sure again.
The X Raps are good, another tuning method is Halco 4XX fish rings, and #2 VMC 6X trebles. No front tow split required. The VMC's arent as good as the Owners ST66, but the SXR 12 will hang perfectly every time, horizontal in the water, "stalled" for lack of a better word. Of couse, the fail point is in that rear treble attachment. There was a good post recently, and the posters name just escapes me at the moment sorry, about rigging the rear treble to the front treble attachment point with a "lanyard", and attaching the trebel to the rear with a break away system, something Im keen to try following another x rap rear treble attachment failure this week end just been.With the B52, double Halco fish rings front and rear, and #1 Owners, Ive got one that has perfect nuetral buoyancy, and it has caught a heap of fish, the day I lose it will be a sad day indeed. All my other B52's have stick on weight added. The double split rings add weight, as well as offering an additional pivot point for a thrashing fish. Deeper water, and an often over looked choice, is a Storm Mid Thunder, again with double splits and #1 Owners. These are a larger, more "active" lure in their vibration on retrieve, dive deeper than the shallow lures above, will suspend, dont have a rattle, and DO work, Ive lost a couple of these to rampaging fish in wooded bays in cold water.I think the key thing with suspenders is not decreasing the action of the lure in your bid to get it to hang in the water colum. Ive modded some Gaddens Classics to slow them right down, but they fish like dogs, and really arent a successful project to date.Nuetral buoyancy isnt the be all and end all I know, but in the cooler water, or on a tuffer day, the long paused/stalled presentation is often a winner.I know a bloke who has caught some absolute beasts from Mondy on Stiffy Boney Breams, with a more aggresive retrieve, who mite add more to this?
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