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Author Topic: Standing structure and Lakes for Barra  (Read 8373 times)

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Standing structure and Lakes for Barra
« on: November 29, 2010, 08:46:38 PM »
Just wanted to get everyones ideas on timber in lakes and how barra behave with them.  I read somewhere(I have been reading anything and everything lately) the barra like to hang around isolated timber structure in lakes.  I am understand that there are lots of variables but is it a reasonably common occurrence in most situations or is it just as variable as anything else.   I know from the limited salt experience with Barra that they like to sit in drains and wait for food to come to them among other things of course.

Cheers guys

Geoff



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Re: Standing structure and Lakes for Barra
« Reply #1 on: November 29, 2010, 09:31:09 PM »
Yep ..... those isolated trees / bushes or the ones at the tip of a bunch can be G spots ..... The amount of fish that get caught or you spook off these places virtually make it compulsive to cast to.
Spindly isolated tree tops can be great

Chris

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Re: Standing structure and Lakes for Barra
« Reply #2 on: November 29, 2010, 09:51:40 PM »
don't discount any brushy shrub either. We spent a lot of time dragging lures past every tree in the back of an offshoot of  C bay Mondy, only to have my son pull a 91 off a spindly looking shrub that you would normally associate with bass  ::)

Brad

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Re: Standing structure and Lakes for Barra
« Reply #3 on: November 29, 2010, 09:52:07 PM »
Geoff,

Hi mate. I found at Monduran points that have big trees (ones you cant wrap your arms around!!)  that have some good distance in amongst them (like 3-5 mtrs) are great spots. Usually there is stacks of splindly trees and tops of trees in the nearby creekbeds etc and the point is defined by these big scattered trees. I love these areas. I reckon they make good hiding/stalking trees as the barra move from one to the next searching, waiting..then hunt the bait into the open areas in between the big trees. any flat areas with these trees I also give a good run.

I also like trees that have bark hanging off them close to waterline (dead peeled back stuff)..there is a certain type that does it well but I dont know their name, but I can pick them if I see them...dunno why but barra seem to hang under them often, or at least used to before the water rise. Whether its the added shade for cammo or if its the bugs and stuff that  congregate around them...not sure.

I also like fishing around any exposed stumps or half chainsawed trees, particularly in B arm (cattle country), as most of them have the reminance of these cut down,  trees still not far from stump which makes for awesome laydown fishing. I actually think that is why B arm holds so many fish is the land clearing of the past has created awesome laydowns everywhere, even though I remember bits and piecse of what it looked like before the rise, the SI sounders still help find good ones that would be missed normally.

Thats just a few things I have picked up over the years barra chasing in timber here at Monduran. I could be way off the mark, and feel free to correct me anyone. I thought I would share it, as it seems everyone (and myself included too) have drifted away from the old timber fishing...I used to really love it. Some of my fav catches have been in tiger country, I got back in there again on the weekend, and no suprise my only hookup in all of the comp was in timber. Thus this topic was sweet to see and add too.

Cheers Steve

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Re: Standing structure and Lakes for Barra
« Reply #4 on: November 30, 2010, 11:48:22 AM »
I used to really love it. Some of my fav catches have been in tiger country, I got back in there again on the weekend, and no suprise my only hookup in all of the comp was in timber. Thus this topic was sweet to see and add too.

Steve,
As lakes fill and contours change, fish behaviour can change as well- just like Awoonga fish late this season- driven by the weather factor mainly. Monduran, HB lures and timber ( in the right area of course)- not to be ignored.
Heavy Timber- for skilled casters only, really. An angler who has the ability to cast, drive and steer a lure, and then control a hooked fish is advantaged, especially this time of year- with the annual migration of a lot of lake fish from basin/lake fringes to far reached quieter arms.

Geoff,
Light, moderate Timber- if in areas where other inportant factors align, can help draw barra- whether for stationing to rest, or hide in the shadows from bright lights, or to ambush prey.
Timber, bushes or heavy logs also create obstructions to current flow- flow that exists in all areas of a lake. Water turbulence, however small, or seemingly insignificant plays a major role in why fish will 'hang out' or feed in an area- an advantage given on numerous levels.
Water flow is not only created by pushing winds, but water is also 'pulled' by open bodies of water that flow a mile away. Light winds in hidden backwaters may not seem to move much water- but that pulling affect of moving bodies creates a lot of subsurface movement.
Movement equals accidents for food fish.
 It does seem that a lot of anglers have drifted away from HB lures, timber forrests and the like, but chapters come and go as anglers fill the gaps and learn how each year, and situation works. When we as anglers cross over in time and apply learnt material to different situations, an upward step occurs. We can only go forwards. I do believe that skilled anglers who can cast accurately will be rewarded in the barra lakes from here on in- as fine lines tighten- and every skill is called upon to extract fish. Newly flooded ground which is littered with years of re-growth timber has created tangled worlds for fish and anglers. Bare flats have turned into structure mazes- the barra wearing a suit to match that environment. One also has to look at the 'micro environment' created by the presence of a mini timber structure- weed may catch on the branches, moss and alge grows on the twigs- shade forms, fish feed on algae, tiny food fish find refuge. Predators can hang close etc.
That's barra- a constantly developing fish that will change at the drop of a hat to suit the scenario that lies before it- at that moment in time. Weeds die, algae comes on goes- food fish and barra move with the change, seasonally, and sometimes daily.
What'll happen on Awoonga or Monduran next month is yet to be discovered.
Fish the timber if your skills allow- new lakes are in front of us. We are almost 15 years down the track since Awoonga's original barra stockings- and we have a lake, water level and weather chapter never experienced on the waterway, Monduran the same.
Johnny Mitchell

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Re: Standing structure and Lakes for Barra
« Reply #5 on: November 30, 2010, 12:52:40 PM »
Many thanks all, very much appreciated.

JM:  Since I have seen you sometimes dive and check out the underwater environment,  do barra sit in timber certain ways.  By this I mean, do they sit on the outer fringes of a snag or really close in so they are protected and camo'd from prey.  As Steve B mentioned laydowns are good to target which is what I had heard also.  The times I have been after them in the salt I have been told "You have to risk it all to win big" meaning get the lure right into the snag so keep it there as long as you can while on the retrieve.  All this depends on what the weather variables are doing too as you have already alluded to.

Cheers

Geoff

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Re: Standing structure and Lakes for Barra
« Reply #6 on: November 30, 2010, 07:30:51 PM »
The simple answer to the question of barra on a snag is-
They sit all ways- close in, far out etc. Visible, not so visible. They do it all, depending on the situation. Some fish wander, coming and going from the snag itself, so there's no simple explanation that covers it.
If you are diving in clear water, (salt or freshwater creek,) you will have to ' stop and look' at a snag for some time before a barra or two is spotted. They blend in well.
Johnny

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Re: Standing structure and Lakes for Barra
« Reply #7 on: December 01, 2010, 12:54:54 AM »
IMHO, many wild fish (including barra), will sit close to snags to take advantage of the slack water or eddy created by a snag when there's a flow, current or tide.

I don't think that barra in lakes are overly prone to snag sitting, but some of their food sources could well be, thus attracting the food chain to them.  Lake Barra can be caught out in the open, mid water, on snags, around points, along weedbeds or on the move; anywhere really. In saying all of that, I often like to throw at a snag, just for a point to cast at.  :)

I wouldn't think barra are as snag dependant in lakes as some other species can be, eg cod or golden perch.

Interesting reading the great replies to this from others.  :thumbsup

cheers,


fitzy..

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Re: Standing structure and Lakes for Barra
« Reply #8 on: December 01, 2010, 09:32:24 AM »
Interesting reading the great replies to this from others.  :thumbsup

Yeah I agree Fitzy it is great info to store in the back of the mind. 

What I 'm trying to see is if there are any patterns to behaviour that are consistent regardless of what is going on up above.   It does seem though that due to the diverse and intricate system that lakes present, these consistency’s (as we see in some situations in salt water environments e.g. Tides) are diluted to the point where they blend in to all the other factors.

Either way it is fantastic information that other "noobs" like me can feed off.  :yourock

Cheers
Geoff

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Re: Standing structure and Lakes for Barra
« Reply #9 on: December 01, 2010, 09:53:27 AM »
One thing I've found, and it doesn't really matter what fish you're chasing, is that it can be pointless casting a floating lure at a standing snag.  My preference is to cast a few metres beyond the tree and have a diving lure at it's working depth when it reaches the structure.  Fast sinking lures which offer a vertical presentation can be dynamite in these situations, especially in dirty water.

 

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