The benefits of staying flexible

TOWNSVILLE

Dave Hodge

While it’s been a tempting few months to cast at the forbidden barra, the restraint shown by so nobody should be upset by accidental captures.

With barra season open now, the gloves are off. Wherever you can find barra they’re fair game, and that may be deep in snags, sitting in open water ledges, like the Tilsan Barra, the Laser Pro 125mm and then Halco Hamma, the plastics also drag their fair share of fish in these environments. Luckily, on the open flats, weedless presentations don’t matter, as the hook-up ratio is more consistent. most anglers has been admirable. Of course, there are a few fishos who think the law doesn’t apply to them, and who think there’s no harm done by catching and releasing barra, but most people know better. There is hard proof that barra re-absorb their eggs or up on flats. Regardless of their location, you’re going to need a calculated approach if you’re to be successful. A bit of runoff still exists at the time of writing this, and with the forecast of more to come, who knows where we’ll be hunting them.

The old, ‘big lure, big fish’ thing doesn’t really ring true with me. We catch the majority of our fish on 4” Atomic Prongs and 5” Halco Paddle Prawns. Usually a 1/4oz or 1/6oz Atomic Seeker Jig head with a 4/0 to 5/0 hook seems about right for bucket mouths. 20lb braid and 30 to 40lb leaders are also right in that sweet spot. Baitcaster or spin doesn’t matter really, but I use spin where extra-long casts are needed to reach distant fish.

The stormy season can be unpredictable sometimes, but if there’s no lightning then it’s just a bit of rain really. If the drains run with fresh then sink a plastic at the mouth of the drains for big jacks.

It’s fair to say that not everyone loves barra, and there are plenty of other options around this neck of the woods. Queenfish are an absolutely fantastic sport fish, and plenty of people eat them also, although they’re not to everyone’s taste. The Halco Roosta Popper is a cracking option for the surface, and can be fast received or slow blooped depending on what the fish are responding to on the day. Sometimes you have to try both techniques or another. a cast or two on the way past is one way of telling. They move heaps of water when they strike, so keep an eye out for that as it’s hard to forget (giant trevally are a common bycatch with this pursuit). A barra casting combo is about right for the queenies, as long as the drag is nice and smooth.

Coral trout are always good on the plate, and we after the physical stress of a fight.

Sorting through the colours that may or may not work brought Tannhym to the conclusion that the grey blue Atomic Prong skipped in amongst the spindly timber worked the best.

Of course, the bycatch factor is just part of fishing,

I love the flats at this time of year, and casting at bow waves is a spectacular way to bend a rod. Apart from the old faithfuls and unless you need the belly weight to make your lure swim straight, I’d suggest a J styled jighead to see which works the best. River mouths, pylons, channel markers etc all hold queenies at one stage have been targeting them during the barra closed season – just for something different. We have been heading into the bay or up off some shoals to see what we can find, and most times, we accumulate a reasonable feed in a short session. Again, Atomic Prongs and Halco Paddle Prawns are our go-to. My favourite colours are electric chicken, radioactive rooster and rainbow bass. I recommend dipping your jigheads in powder coat paint, such as Protec Powder Coat, to add appeal. 20 to 30lb braid and 30 to 40lb leaders are usually enough to stop most fish, but you can still expect the odd bust-off.

Jacks have been down deeper of late under the