Fish Fact File, Barra

Coinciding with tomorrow, February 1 and now being able to catch one of Australia’s most sort after sports fish, barramundi I will do this write up on them.

FISH NAME: Barramundi

COMMON NAMES: Barra, Giant perch

DESCRIPTION:

Barramundi is an aboriginal term translated to be ‘large scale fish’. Barra are a prehistoric looking fish with large scales, Big Mouth, Wide humped shoulders. Barra also have a scooped forehead and close set eyes. Barra colouration depends on its environment. In murky dams or land locked billabongs Barra seem to have a rusty tinge but if they are found in clean water like some dams and estuaries they seem to have a metallic silver coat of armour. Also note that most fresh water Barra have darker tails and fins.

FEEDING/HABBITS:

All Barra are born male and if given the chance to get large enough turn into females. Nobody knows why this happens and marine biologists are still trying to figure out what made them have this genetic change. Barra also are able to change waters from fresh to saline and vice versa almost instantly, this makes them sought after by fresh water and salt water fishos the like. Barra in fresh waters eat shrimp, baitfish and fresh water crustaceans. Salt water Barra tend to put up more of a fight and they eat baitfish, whiting, gar, mullet, saltwater crustaceans and even squid. Barramundi suck their prey into their mouth along with large amounts of water which dis orientates the fish and then they swallow the whole, whilst doing so you will hear a swirl then a tremendous pop sound.

HABITAT:

Barra live around snags and make their own ‘holes’ to hide in by brushing silt out of an area with the fins and tail. Sometimes you can even see the tip of their dorsal fin sticking out of the water if their home is in a shallow position like mangrove roots. In creeks or rivers Barra will hide themselves in low visibility areas like the white wash turbulence created as water flows past a bridge pylon or dead tree. Occasionally in salt water Barra will hunt in weed beds but that is more for fresh water dwellers. These beasts and their offspring live in the one location and generally only stay in the one area they were born in for example if they were born in the Fitzroy River they will stay in the Fitzroy River. In each area Barra will have a different genetic structure, slightly altered to help improve them for the environment of the particular area.

SIZE:

Barra are fat fish and grow fast in fresh water places like dams and billabongs. Barra size is more known in weight then length because when you catch a 130 odd cm Barra it could be anywhere between 30 and 50 kg so major articles and even papers use their weight because unless you know this 44 kg sounds better than 130 centimetres. Barra can grow to over 50kg and over 140 centimetres but most are caught around the 50-60cm margin and can be anywhere between 2 – 10 kilos.

FISHING TECHNIQUES:

BAIT:

Barra can be fished with bait and this will generally only be live bait. For fresh water the best bait is a fresh water shrimp hooked through the tail on a running sinker rig. For salt water either a paternoster or running sinker rig should suffice and the bait of choice would be gar, whiting or large herrings.  Whether it is hunger or over territory Barra should strike these baits with no second thoughts.

SOFT PLASTICS:

Barra will literally tear the tails of your jig head so be prepared to lose a few either from them jumping or head thrashing but most the times it’s from them over powering you or swimming for the snags. The best soft plastics in clean water is natural colours like mullet or pumpkin seed and for dirty water or tea coloured water high vis colours like fluoro pink and white work great. The best tail style is a paddle tail but almost any tail will work. The most effective retrieve for Barra on softies is a simple lift and drop and try multiple speeds of this. The best outfit for Barra on soft plastics would have to be a 4-6 kilo medium action graphite bait caster rod. The reel should match the rod, balance well and generally feel good to cast and play your lures with. A great hint for this is asking your local stores if they have Barra combo because most stores in my area do. The spool should have 6 kg backing with 4-6 kilo braid depending on how big you Barra are.

HARD BODIES:

For hard body lures any large diving lures and crank style lures in natural colours would be fine during the day and at night surface lures and sub-surface lures are the best as Barra use the silhouettes of the fish swimming above them created by moonlight or artificial light to target and attack their prey. Keeping this in mind lures I would use during the day is a koolie minnow ml 136 and a magic swimmer 125 both of these lures are made by Sebile and their quality is unbeatable. These lures should be chosen in colours of your local baitfish or whatever you think will work. At night I would use a Sebile magic swimmer 85, Sebile splasher and even a small lip koolie minnow in this occasion use colours like sea chrome or white lady just to make them stand out more at night.