FAUST BARRA

[Chris.Y]

G'day people
Planning a trip to Faust late September & need some tips on best Fly's & lines to get em down with (heard that gold bombers go orf!).

Fly'n'hi Chris

[Brett_Finger]

Chris,
12# a clear inter/med line and 60 - 80 lb fluro carbon leader,sink the fly around the deep trees (30/40ft, find on sounder) slow strips (lift and dip) get bite LOCK line to corks and start to reverse out on the Minn-kota,
it's full blow knuckle street fighing but the best fun..
Hookin,Brett

[Jack_Lives_Here]

DANG!!! Gotta luv that. [smiley=2thumbsup.gif] I'm up there on the 16th Sept myself to try for an extraction from the timber

[Chris.Y]

G'day Brett
Thanks for the advice mate. Sounds like it's full on Wrastlin to me! 8). Do you think a 10# is a bit ambitious or should I save me penny's & get a 12#.I got hold of one of Shaun Ash's dirty water bombers , they look great , I'm tryin to copy some before me mate Peter notices it's missing . Hope to see you on the water some day, hav'nt seen ya since you were at Springwood, (I've still got that famous white Deceiver )

Fly'n'hi Chris

[vince]

Hi guys where is this faust barra lockated?
and Brett how strong is the fly line to use 60-80 pound leader it is nice to know.
thanks and good fishing.
vince.

[lordy]

I think the fly lines are about 35lb. The heavy leader is for wear as much as anything (ie trees, gill rakers etc).

[Brett_Finger]

Lordys got it in one !
the guru of faust barra is George Voisey,this man is bordering on insane with his wild Barra antics in the dam.
and i might add not far behind him is a madder than mad local fishing guide up that way by the name of Andy Thompson,Andys nailed his share of good fish on the wand/barge pole out of the dam,i'll see if i can get him to put something more detailed up here.
Hookin,Brett

[Jack_Lives_Here]

I looked at the previous posts of swano's from last year HELLO!!! and figured the 10wt is not going to handle them - maybe if I rigged a valium onto the fly MMMMM????

[Chris.Y]

A mate of mine has seen George's madness 1st hand!.
Said another bloke had been bricked by a good fish on a big lure ,so George dives in & grab's the barra by the jaw & swims out with the guy's fish & lure in tact .
I want some of what George is on

Fly'n'hi Chris

[lordy]

Your 10wt could do the job, from everything I've heard rod weight is close to irrelevant once you have cast since you will effectively be hand lines and NOT fight the fish with the rod. Point rod tip at the snag and hold onto that line, and try not to get pulled in!

[Jack_Lives_Here]

One consolation of falling in at Faust is I know I'm not gunna end up croc crap

Lordy - I'm hearin' ya but taking a 12wt as well to be sure [smiley=2thumbsup.gif]

[andy_thomsen]

Hi Chris,

Don’t let Brett scare you. The fish will do that.
I personally think a #9wt rod is all you need for the barra in the dam. Provided you don’t abuse your rod by hi-sticking it. The suggestion of heavy leader is a very good one. I never use less than 50 pound. For two reasons, to stop the barra’s gills cutting the line and when you get stuck in the timber you need every bit of help you can get.

I use clear or dark lines in weight forward and intermediate sink. I have found that fast sinking lines tend to pull the fly, thus making it hard to achieve a start-stop retrieve. I prefer bulky flies that are lighter in colour, white, silver, and chartrouse. Flies like my Barra Boffers, which are available on line are excellent.

Tip: When you do hook a big fish 1m+ and he takes you into the snags, ease up on him. If you pull too hard you can bust even 60pound tippet (been there done that), instead tire him out and slowly pull him out. I’ve caught a few fish up to 120cm like that!

Best of luck
Andy.

And Brett, I have heard of a rumor that someone caught a 1.7m at the dam, apparently there are pictures too! But I want to see them before I make it public knowledge. There are some truly big fish in there, I have seen a couple over 1.5m.

[Brett_Finger]

Andy,
yah mate i got mail last week stating someone had nailed a 1.7,as for those other big bastards,bouth Bomber and i got slain by some in the "Oh Shit!" class up there last year.

thanks for you valuable words of wisdom on this subject, i respect the sucess you have had on fish caught out of that hell hole on the fly.

looking foward to more mango madness and redclaw in oct mate.
Hookin,Brett.

[Chris.Y]

Thanks Andy, I'll take what you say as gospel mate (save me some money too ). Interested on your thoughts on rattles in fly's , is it worth putting some in & do you put weedguards on your fly's or not.?
What sort of fly's do I use so I DON'T catch those big mumma's ,I'll have to clean the boat if I hook one THAT BIG

Fly'n'hi Chris

[andy_thomsen]

Hi Chris,

Always ready to help someone get hooked on a Faust Barra.

Rattles are a good idea, but not essential. Weed-guards save you hooking little branches, and let you fish right in heavy timber. Rod Harrison showed me a mono guard that is very effective, simply just a single strand of 60pound tied under hook and bent down wards.

As for a fly that big fish will not eat, sorry. The average fish caught in Peter Faust at the moment is 70cm-100cm, with many over the meter. Big fish still eat little flies, my advice is to use heavy leader and buy a couple of spare flies...