Barra From page 11
strike zone. A larger profile paddle-tail soft plastic can be used for a very subtle and natural presentation when slow rolled; this is a killer lure and technique when faced with stronger currents or when searching, as it allows you to cover ground quickly. My personal favourite lure and technique, which
I find most exciting, is aggressively twitching and stalling silent suspended hardbodies. That strike on the pause or as you go to twitch the lure is hard to beat. I often upgrade the terminal hardware on my lures to heavier duty rings and trebles to withstand the punishment inflicted by large barra, giving me piece of mind. However, when doing
so, ensure the lure’s action or suspend rate is not affected by going too heavy-duty. It pays to have an assortment of different trebles in the box to work out which ones best suit the lure for optimal performance. Having access to a pool makes this job far easier as you can swap and change until you get the combination just right.
Mark ‘Bargy’ Bargenquast with a better-than-average fish that he caught off a rock bar with a vibe.
A selection of the author’s favourite barra lures; the majority have a base colour of white or pearl.
12
FEBRUARY 2018
My preferred outfit of choice is a low profile baitcaster combo and there are numerous good quality choices on the market. I have found the G Loomis E6X 684 BCMH matched to a Chronarch 150G spooled with 30lb braid very comfortable to use – it’s very light, which makes it easy to cast for long periods. This outfit has accounted for some quality fish. On one occasion I had a light northerly blowing from behind as I positioned myself down current from a rocky outcrop on the last of the run-out tide. This particular day I had timed it right as
there was still enough tidal influence to create the perfect back eddy and I observed what appeared to be a very nervous school of herring packed up tight to the rocks. I chose to fish my most confident technique in this scenario, twitching and stalling a suspending hardbody, aiming to keep the lure in the strike zone for as long as possible. Cast after cast I worked this back eddy for no result, so I made a slight adjustment to where I was positioned and the direction I was working the lure. That very next cast I presented the lure in tight to the rocky outcrop
and began to work it back with the exact same retrieve as previously. A few twitches in, I felt a solid hit. For a split second the line went slack before a solid barra came tail walking out of the water trying to dislodge my hardbody. My final message here is that there is no right or wrong in fishing, as every day on the water there are varying conditions to contend with. It is how you perceive them and adjust in that scenario that may just make all the difference between drawing that bite you’ve been working hard for or going home with a donut.