Barramundi caught near Burdekin River, Australia
Barramundi
Lates calcarifer
Barramundi Description
Barramundi are Australia’s most iconic sportfish. Found primarily in the northern half of Australia and in coastal areas from the Persian Gulf throughout Southeast Asia and into Papua New Guinea, Barramundi are highly sought after for both their sporting qualities and their taste. They live in a variety of freshwater and inshore habitats including lakes, rivers, and in coastal areas. They can survive and thrive in fresh and salt water but can only breed in saltwater. The ones living in lakes tend to get heavier and have more girth relative to their length than their saltwater cousins.
Barramundi can be fished a variety of different ways in a variety of different habitats, which probably explains a lot of their popularity. They are a popular food fish and are harvested both recreationally and commercially.
Barramundi look and act very similar to the Snook of North America. They attain a maximum size of over 100lbs although fish that size are extremely rare. Any fish over approximately 15lbs is likely to be a female as these fish change gender as they get older in many cases. They can be handled with relative ease as they do not have large teeth but you do have to watch out for the spines they have both on top, near the anal fin, and near their gills.
Barramundi Pound for Pound Fight Rating - 6 out of 10 on the Saltwater Scale
Barramundi put up a spirited fight, with many violent gill-rattling leaps. They occasionally wrap you up in cover as well. A worthy adversary on medium tackle.
Barramundi Culinary Rating - High
Barramundi are a popular food fish and are both fished and raised commercially for food. They are found in restaurants all over the world.
Barramundi Tackle
The type of tackle that you use will depend on how you are pursuing them. When fishing for larger fish close to timber or other cover, obviously heavier tackle is in order. If you are fishing for them in sandy areas near a river mouth with no snags then you can get away with Largemouth Bass type tackle. A leader of at least 30lbs is recommended in most instances as their small raspy teeth can wear through a lighter leader during the course of a fight.
Barramundi Techniques
Barramundi can be fished successfully with bait, lures, and fly. I have not fished for them with bait, but from what I understand it generally involves using either live or dead bait (prawn and mullet are popular) and casting into likely spots around the turn of the tide (obviously that time is not as critical in lakes although some speculate that it still could have some effect).
However you fish for them, you want to fish where there is moving water so plan your trips around tides. They are kind of lazy and want to feed with the least effort possible, so they position themselves where food is going to drift by them. Also, once you find a school of them it is worth continuing to pepper them with lures or bait as they can sometimes turn on after being cast at for a long time. Wind sometimes shuts them down and they do not like rough conditions.
Casting into snags in mangrove creeks is a popular way to fish for them. They will not chase a bait far, so you have to be pretty accurate with your casts and get your bait or lure right up current of the snag and let it drift past with small twitches. Then let it hang right in their face and wait for them to boof it. If a fish bites you will need to pull it out fast before it tangles you up in the timber. If the water is too high, the fish become difficult to catch because they retreat into the mangroves and cannot be reached. Plan your trip accordingly. If you are forced to fish in high water, you can try poppers or Zara Spooks fished at the edges of the snags and you may coax some fish out with the commotion.
Trolling is very popular for Barramundi. You can increase your odds a lot by trolling slowly and giving lots of twitches and pauses to the lure, especially when you think it is in the zone the fish are in. Many times fish cannot resist a lure that is twitching right in front of their face.
Barramundi Lures
A whole host of lures work in different situations. I had some success with the Zerek Prawn, the Heddon Zara Spook, the Barrra Classic, and the Halco Scorpion. Whatever lure you use, make sure you give the lure some pauses and Barra will not typically chase a fast moving lure for any distance.
Barramundi Bait
I have not fished for them with bait but I understand that they will take live or dead prawns, mullet, or other baitfish. For big ones a live mullet is popular. Prawns are a good choice for numbers.
Where to Catch Big Barramundi
Australia obviously has many legendary spots all along its northern coastlines. Papua New Guinea has some big ones although they are much harder to reach.
These guides can put you on them:
John Campbell http://www.jcsfishing.com.au/
Clint Isaac www.oznbeyondsportfishing.com.au)
Lates calcarifer
Barramundi Description
Barramundi are Australia’s most iconic sportfish. Found primarily in the northern half of Australia and in coastal areas from the Persian Gulf throughout Southeast Asia and into Papua New Guinea, Barramundi are highly sought after for both their sporting qualities and their taste. They live in a variety of freshwater and inshore habitats including lakes, rivers, and in coastal areas. They can survive and thrive in fresh and salt water but can only breed in saltwater. The ones living in lakes tend to get heavier and have more girth relative to their length than their saltwater cousins.
Barramundi can be fished a variety of different ways in a variety of different habitats, which probably explains a lot of their popularity. They are a popular food fish and are harvested both recreationally and commercially.
Barramundi look and act very similar to the Snook of North America. They attain a maximum size of over 100lbs although fish that size are extremely rare. Any fish over approximately 15lbs is likely to be a female as these fish change gender as they get older in many cases. They can be handled with relative ease as they do not have large teeth but you do have to watch out for the spines they have both on top, near the anal fin, and near their gills.
Barramundi Pound for Pound Fight Rating - 6 out of 10 on the Saltwater Scale
Barramundi put up a spirited fight, with many violent gill-rattling leaps. They occasionally wrap you up in cover as well. A worthy adversary on medium tackle.
Barramundi Culinary Rating - High
Barramundi are a popular food fish and are both fished and raised commercially for food. They are found in restaurants all over the world.
Barramundi Tackle
The type of tackle that you use will depend on how you are pursuing them. When fishing for larger fish close to timber or other cover, obviously heavier tackle is in order. If you are fishing for them in sandy areas near a river mouth with no snags then you can get away with Largemouth Bass type tackle. A leader of at least 30lbs is recommended in most instances as their small raspy teeth can wear through a lighter leader during the course of a fight.
Barramundi Techniques
Barramundi can be fished successfully with bait, lures, and fly. I have not fished for them with bait, but from what I understand it generally involves using either live or dead bait (prawn and mullet are popular) and casting into likely spots around the turn of the tide (obviously that time is not as critical in lakes although some speculate that it still could have some effect).
However you fish for them, you want to fish where there is moving water so plan your trips around tides. They are kind of lazy and want to feed with the least effort possible, so they position themselves where food is going to drift by them. Also, once you find a school of them it is worth continuing to pepper them with lures or bait as they can sometimes turn on after being cast at for a long time. Wind sometimes shuts them down and they do not like rough conditions.
Casting into snags in mangrove creeks is a popular way to fish for them. They will not chase a bait far, so you have to be pretty accurate with your casts and get your bait or lure right up current of the snag and let it drift past with small twitches. Then let it hang right in their face and wait for them to boof it. If a fish bites you will need to pull it out fast before it tangles you up in the timber. If the water is too high, the fish become difficult to catch because they retreat into the mangroves and cannot be reached. Plan your trip accordingly. If you are forced to fish in high water, you can try poppers or Zara Spooks fished at the edges of the snags and you may coax some fish out with the commotion.
Trolling is very popular for Barramundi. You can increase your odds a lot by trolling slowly and giving lots of twitches and pauses to the lure, especially when you think it is in the zone the fish are in. Many times fish cannot resist a lure that is twitching right in front of their face.
Barramundi Lures
A whole host of lures work in different situations. I had some success with the Zerek Prawn, the Heddon Zara Spook, the Barrra Classic, and the Halco Scorpion. Whatever lure you use, make sure you give the lure some pauses and Barra will not typically chase a fast moving lure for any distance.
Barramundi Bait
I have not fished for them with bait but I understand that they will take live or dead prawns, mullet, or other baitfish. For big ones a live mullet is popular. Prawns are a good choice for numbers.
Where to Catch Big Barramundi
Australia obviously has many legendary spots all along its northern coastlines. Papua New Guinea has some big ones although they are much harder to reach.
These guides can put you on them:
John Campbell http://www.jcsfishing.com.au/
Clint Isaac www.oznbeyondsportfishing.com.au)
Barramundi love prawns and a good prawn imitation cast into the mangroves is a good bet to catch some.
Another big Australian Barramundi; if you look closely you can see this is a different fish than the one pictured at the top.