Barramundi Dams

[Sparky89]

Hi guys,
I'm going up QLD for a few weeks in December and gunna try catch my 1st barra, can someone recommend 2 or 3 dams worth visiting that'll give me the best chance

[Rodman]

Depends where u r staying mate. Mondurun Dam, Peter Faust Dam to name two.

Ken

[Sparky89]

Just gunna go to where ever the dams are but no where further north of Peter Faust

[gunna]

Kinchant would be my favourite. Camping on the shoreline. Very small lake so no need to travel far. Plenty of big barra.

[mitc69]

if u end up going all the way to the north! you cant go wrong in tinaroo for freshwater barra always 100% if your going sunset or early morning, otherwise lucinda / townsville are +1 for saltwater barras if you want to compare... i feel saltwater barras put up more of a fightand taste better than freshwater

[rainbowrascal]

Kinchant or Proserpine.

[Sparky89]

So if heading to kinchant chasing barra for the 1st time, whats a handfull of must have lures to take?

[StevenM]

So if heading to kinchant chasing barra for the 1st time, whats a handfull of must have lures to take?

weedless rigged soft plastics

[NAGG]

So if heading to kinchant chasing barra for the 1st time, whats a handfull of must have lures to take?

Being a predominantly shallow water dam - the barra are switched on to surface presentations . X walks (XR13s) , Tango dancers , fizzers. We catch more than enough on swimbaits (slick rigs , hollowbellies ) - Those new Happy Rock Softies would also be worth a go . ...... fish those pocket waters (open water in the weed beds or weed edge drop offs) .

Kinchant is well worth spending a week there ..... & there are more than a few really big fish in there.

Chris

[StevenM]

Hard bodies

any shallow Diver with no more than 2 meters depth

Differrent sizes from spoonbills bills to as big as you dare

lots out there what ever looks sexy to you cause the fish don't really give a fork.

Good split rings / trebles are the secret more than the lure.

you boating ? Kayaking ?

night time is always good and less idiots out on the water. Miss the middle of the day and just sleep through it or reject rigs etc.

learn to do a loop knot for both soft and hard lures.

have fun

[scottar]

Provided your rig has an electric so you get in around the weed beds and lilly pads, IMO the early mornings are best spent with surface lures - we stuck predominantly with various plastic frogs, hollow belly's and squidgies on heavy duty weedless hooks. It becomes addictive. I like frogs that will float with an unweighted hook - they wont cast as far but you can leave them sit after splash down for a bit. We also mess about with various weights with the slick rigs and scallop out a bit of material from the section just before the tail of the lure so they sink really slowly but will still get a paddle and nice body roll going. Make sure you work them all the way to the boat - watching a barra smash the lure mere feet from the rod tip is pretty cool.

There are some good heavy duty weedless hooks available now - I like the ones with the corkscrew attachment to secure the plastic. If you are taking plastics, take a supply of super glue as well - it can be used to not only secure lures to hooks but also to repair torn lures. We have found that with the unweighted plastics, a sightly less grunty rod is the best for distance - anything with too much strength in the tip won't load properly during casting and about 30lb line seems to be the max before distance really starts to suffer. Anything lighter though and the fish will do you in the weed (the big specimens still do at times). Personally, I don't worry about letting them run in these areas - drag maxed out and go for broke. If they break the line, they were going to stitch you into the weed anyway in my experience.

[Sparky89]

Thanks for the help guys, i'll just take a mixture of shallow running hardbodies, a few surface and plastic to cover all basis, i'll be taking a boat and probably kayaks aswell.

[scottar]

Being a predominantly shallow water dam - the barra are switched on to surface presentations . X walks (XR13s) , Tango dancers , fizzers. We catch more than enough on swimbaits (slick rigs , hollowbellies ) - Those new Happy Rock Softies would also be worth a go . ...... fish those pocket waters (open water in the weed beds or weed edge drop offs) .

Kinchant is well worth spending a week there ..... & there are more than a few really big fish in there.

Chris

Is there much/any laid down timber in Kinchant Chris?

[Sparky89]

Any certain colours in hard body or soft plastics that work well in Kinchant?

[NAGG]

Is there much/any laid down timber in Kinchant Chris?

very little ..... if any
There is one standing tree in the dam & a few fence post ...... there is an old quarry that has sleeper piles that are under when it is full

The main features are a little island that is exposed at lower levels , a couple of points & a deep channel ...... but honestly some of the best fishing has been found on the flats ..... open muddy flats

Chris