With the cooler weather moving in reports of Barramundi captures are nonexistent. Barra are tropical fish that respond to the temperature of the water they are living in. Barra will feed in cooler conditions but eat very little in temperatures under 25 degrees Celsius. Watch out when the temp gets up to 29 degrees and above, Barra have evolved to eat and grow in higher temperatures and will hit and run on anything that resembles a live fish be it a hard bodied or soft plastic lure. Moondarra Barra are more active early mornings before sunrise and after sunset.
The cooler weather doesn’t stop other fish in our dam from biting. With the right bait or lure Sooty Grunter, Sleepy Cod, Longtom and Archer Fish or Rifle Fish can be caught. It has also been said that you’re not a fisherman’s rear end if you can’t catch a Catfish. Sooty Grunter, or Black Bream as some people call them, can be caught on baits like prawn, beef heart, mutton, cheese and mussels when fishing rocky bottoms. Sootys will also take small hard bodied and soft plastic lures when presented around logs, lilies and weed banks.
Sleepy Cod will bite on much the same baits as Sootys and will take the bait when presented near the bottom where they lurk in ambush. Sleepys can be caught on the same lures as Sootys and can be caught in almost any spot in Lake Moondarra. Sleepys are more active at night and early morning. Longtom will take baits like prawn live fish and lures presented at or near the surface under floats to a depth of one metre. Archer Fish also feed at the surface and are best caught with fly lures or insect baits.
All the best with your cold weather fishing, be safe and take you’re fishing trash home with you when you leave.