Tackling Teemburra Barramundi

Author: Carl

Category: Trip Reports

Created on Friday, 12 February 2010 23:28

Written by Carl Holland

Well this trip report has been a long time coming simply because it has taken a lot of effort to get any real results. The fishing in the dam has been very sketchy at best with many barra fishermen saying that they have had poor if any sort of result. However through sheer persistence and the making of suitable sacrifices (2 graphite rods) I finally was able to get a barra on board.

I have a love/hate relationship with Teemburra. I love it because it is a beautiful fishery and it does hold a significant amount of fish both Barramundi and Sooty Grunters. The hate part comes in because when I first fished here I could do no wrong and rarely had a fishless trip, however these days its more doughnuts then anything else. Why my success faltered is hard to pin down: could it be more 'educated' barra, a change in the submerge habitat or some other factors that has reduced the activity that has been seen in the past.

My last session is a classic example: the weather, conditions and water temp on the dam were perfect yet after several hours I did not see or hear one feeding barra. I have fished the mornings, afternoon and into the night over the last 3 weeks and have not witnessed any significant action that usually accompanies this time of year. When I first fished here it was a regular occurrence to have barra busting up in the snags, chasing bait or even see them sunning themselves in the shallows.

This lack of result has now motivated me to get a sounder to better hunt down where the barra are actually holding and to be more targeted in my approach. Although out of the five lots of boaties I spoke with last outing I was the only one to actually boat a barra and they commented that they could find the fish (with their sounders) but not get them to attack the lures offered. I am developing a keen and cunning strategy for this and will report the outcome in future articles.

For lures I have tried a wide range of soft and hard bodied options and have found that in Teemburra the Squidgy black and gold coloured soft plastics get most attention. The black and gold coloured lures have accounted for the majority of my fish and has always been my 'go to' lure when nothing else was working. When trolling I do so at a very slow pace to ensure that the lure stays deep and I ensure my path leads past or through the snags to keep the lure in the strike zone. If the trolled lure gets a hit but no hook up I immediately note where the hit occurred and turn back and start casting. This is a very effective technique especially for me and has accounted for both sooties and barra.

Casting is mainly towards or along the bank since this is where the barra tend to feed most. The saying 'if you not getting snagged you are not getting close enough" applies here with many barra getting hooked with 1 - 2 metres off the bank. The banks around the dam range from heavily wooded through to grassy edges so there are numerous chances of catching your lure on something. About every few casts I make hooks some sort of weed, lilies or sticks.

The video I have put together was accumulated over several trips and highlights some of the difficulties when fishing in the snags. The sheer amount of places to cast is daunting. I mean there are thousands upon thousands snags that could be holding fish that it can make it hard to know where to concentrate your efforts. My last trip I stayed out of the timber and focussed on the grassy edges that had recently been submerged after the rains. This turned out to be a fruitless and frustrating exercise as there was a heap of floating weed constantly fouling the lure and the lilies provide a significant barrier making it hard to get close to the edges. So off I went back into the sticks which turned out for the best when I caught my first barra in months.

Night fishing Teemburra has always been a successful strategy in the past but these days most of the activity seems to be focussed in the late afternoon - dusk rather then in full darkness. Fishing with the moon is important consideration with my most successful trips being around the full moon especially if it rises as the sun sets. I have missed the last couple of full moon opportunities and will be making an effort this one to get out as much as possible. I have also found that the lead up to the full moon is better then when it is waning.

So to conclude I will be intensifying my efforts when I get the sounder installed and hope to be able to bring you regular reports that actually include fish being caught. I will also being hitting Kinchant Dam as well since I have heard reports of active barra and catches over the metre mark. Teemburra will always be my favourite freshwater destination and I will continue in my efforts to 'break the code' to these finicky fish.