Barramundi Fishing Gear

There's a lot of aspects that go into landing the elusive barramundi: having the right gear, finding the perfect spot and throwing an accurate cast. Persistence is key too as lazy barramundi may take their time to strike. Most commonly found in rivers and creeks, hungry barramundi will be hiding among snags and in deep holes - anywhere they can wait to ambush prey. Adult barramundi tend to make their way downstream to estuaries and coastal waters during breeding season. When you think you've found the right spot, hook up some bait, soft plastics or hard bodies to a 6ft spinning rod or baitcaser rod paired with a fishing reel of the same type.

Barra are very much a predatory species and respond best to live baits. Ideal livies include prawns, mullet and herring. Lightly pin the live baits with a 4/0-8/0 octopus or circle hook on a running ball sinker rig. Use 40-80lb leader to avoid being rubbed off.

Soft plastics are a great way of getting connected to a big barra. Use large paddle-tailed baitfish imitations and work the plastic very slowly to keeping it in the strike zone longer. Plastics in the 4-6 inch (100-160mm) range are the perfect for the task.

Hungry barra respond very well to hard bodied lures. Any baitfish imitation twitched slowly through a snag will attract a hit. Similar to soft plastics, lures in the 100-160mm range will get the best results.