Impoundment Barra – the future

With the popularity and growth of impoundment barramundi fishing, the future is sure to hold many changes.

One of these most noticeable changes will be caused by angling pressure - fish getting trickier to catch. This is already becoming evident in Lake Awoonga where anglers are finding fish a little harder to catch each year.

Lake Awoonga has easily been the most trafficked and recreationally fished stocked barramundi impoundment over the past 3 years and this has made the captive fish wiser and fussier with their feeding.

Maybe the most important way of dealing with this issue in the future will be changes in tackle, rigs, techniques & strategies.

Particularly, increased finesse in all aspects of barra fishing could be an essential change for harder-to-catch fish – lure presentation, lighter lines, leaders and terminal tackle, boat positioning, stealth and finesse in choosing fishing locations can all be ways of adapting.

The future will also see changes in barramundi lures & rigs – with influence from USA and Japanese Bass tournaments. The largemouth bass and barramundi are very alike and the techniques used to catch bass will no doubt, work to effect over here.

One bass-style technique that is already working on impoundment barramundi is a technique called ‘frogging’ where soft frog imitation topwater lures are cranked back over the surface at a fast pace for incredible strikes.

A very popular fishing style for top bass anglers who compete in the FLW Outdoors Cup, the biggest fishing tournament series in the world, it shows how proven bass techniques can become thriving barramundi-catchers.

One type of lure that is sure to keep changing is the soft plastic. They are so versatile and can be formed into so many shapes & sizes, with different sink rates and fish attracting features. Some even float! They really are an amazing lure type.

With the popularity of S/P’s, new types should emerge on barramundi with all different types of rigging. There is already a massive amount of different soft plastics out there and there is sure to be more.

Another change that is happening is the types of boats used to fish for barramundi. Many barramundi anglers are making the change from aluminium tinnies to imported fibreglass bass boats. This gives the angler opportunity for improved stealth, speed & comfort and more space and stability for fishing.

Electronics are also changing and getting better for barramundi fisherman - fish finders now provide exceptional displays of bottom soundings, cover and fish which makes finding barramundi a little easier with every new feature released.

With these present and future changes, impoundment barramundi fishing will surely be a very interesting form of fishing – and one to be involved in!

Written by,
Cy and Kerrin Taylor.

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