The search for Australia’s greatest Fish: Barramundi

I’ll never forget the first time us Southerners caught a barra, leaving behind a cold Tasmanian winter to travel to Darwin.

The very next day we were face-to-face with crocodiles, slapping away sand flies, downing the odd beer and reeling in the barra – a perfect mix that makes any trip to the Top End memorable.

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The first time we caught barramundi was in the Finniss River, west of Darwin.

We were trolling a rock bar with a fishing guide, and pretty much every time our deep-diving lures passed the spot we got a bite.

The barra weren’t big, but they gave us a taste of a fish that is now one of our favourites.

But there are much more exciting ways of catching them than on the troll.

Over the years we’ve caught barra from central Queensland right the way around into the Kimberley.

There’s no shortage of them in northern Australia and they live in a wide variety of waterways from freshwater dams and rivers to open ocean beaches and, of course, mangrove-lined creeks.

A couple of things make barra special to catch.

The first is that they grow big. The magic mark for a barra is more than 100cm in length – so far on Hook, Line and Sinker we’ve only managed an agonisingly close 99cm fish from Shady Camp in the Top End.

The second big tick for barra is the way they attack a lure. If you’ve ever seen one feed, you’ll understand that a bite from a barra is ferocious.

They fight all the way to the net as well, making them a very exciting fish to catch.

If lure fishing for barra, the biggest tip we can give is to give you’re lure plenty of action, but also plenty of pause.

It’s best not to just cast it out and wind it back in a steady rate. Instead, you’re much more likely to get a bite using the rod tip to rip the lure through the water, then pause for a second or two, and repeat.

The fish often will hit the lure on the pause.

If using soft plastics for barramundi, use a similar technique. Let the lure pause and slowly fall before giving it a good rip up with the rod tip.

Jig head size is important here, so ensure you use only enough weight to get the lure down to where you want to fish.

This sometimes can be in very shallow water, so very little (if any) weight is needed.

Barra will also eat a surface lure, and that’s probably the most exciting way to catch them.

The tip here is to fish low-light times of the day, and prepare to have something resembling a heart attack for each bite you get.

The best gear to the use for barra is either a baitcaster rod and reel, or a spinning rod and reel.

Braid line is best as it allows for great casting accuracy and, more importantly, helps you to stay in contact with the lure – just as quickly as they will engulf a lure, barra will also spit them out once they realise it’s not the delicious meal they were after.

Use a suitable leader attached to braid because these fish have sharp bits all over their gills.

We’d use anything from 30- to 60-pound fluorocarbon leader – learn the FG knot to attach it to your braid.

Barra love structure such as snags, pylons or jetties. If the snags you are fishing have bait hanging around, it’s a pretty good bet a barra won’t be far away.

Another big tip for finding barra is to use a sounder. These fish are made for fishfinders, and today’s side- and down-scan sounders can show where the barra are hiding, and even what mood they are in.

If they are sulking on the bottom, getting a bite might be difficult, but if you sound out barra sitting high in the water, you know they are in feeding mode – just keep casting.

Let’s see how they rate in our quest to find Australia’s Greatest Fish.

Barra are pretty accessible if you live in the top half of the country, from central Queensland right the way around the Top End, and down through the Kimberleys to, say, Exmouth.

Because they live in both fresh and saltwater you can catch them in various impoundments.

They eat lures, and also love a live bait such as little mullet. You don’t necessarily need a boat, but one will help and also stop you from becoming a snack for the crocs…

Similar to all other native fish, barra can switch on and off from a feeding perspective.

Factors such as tide and moon make a big difference – when they’re on, they’re on, but when they are not, they suffer a condition called lockjaw. No matter what you throw at them, you won’t get a bite.

They’re not the easiest, but certainly not the hardest fish to catch.

Score: 6.5 out of 10

Barra fight very well. They hit the lure like a freight train and fight all the way to the net.

The other big tick is they jump. This sometimes makes them hard to catch as they are prone to spitting out the lure.

The big tip here is leave your rod tip low to try and discourage them from leaving the water.

Score: 7.5 out of 10

Barra look great. The saltwater barra boast shiny silver flanks, while the freshwater ones tend to go a bit bronze, which isn’t quite as pretty on the eye.

Score: 7 out of 10

This varies. Freshwater barra can be a bit muddy, but the saltwater barra taste absolutely sensational.

Score: 7 out of 10

Apart from having to travel to Australia's north to find them, once there the barra are easy to spot and great fun to try and reel in.

You'll get some cracking photos, too, especially if you're pulling in a saltwater fish around the metre mark. River barramundi are a catch-and-release proposition, but land a nice-looking saltwater specimen and it will cook up nicely.

Barramundi bumps mulloway out of second place on our Australia's Greatest Fish leaderboard with a respectable 28 out of 40 – not far behind the mighty yellowfin kingfish.

Next time on Australia's Greatest Fish: Hook, Line and Sinker heads offshore for the king of all gamefish – the mighty marlin.

The latest season of Hook, Line and Sinker airs each Sunday on 7Mate. Check your state's fisheries website for bag and size limits, and closed seasons.