Fishing Tackle
Fishing Tackle We Provide
We provide quality Shimano tackle for Barramundi fishing which includes Shimano Curado or Chronarch reels mated to Shimano Barra Raider of Barra Raider Magnum rods. In some instances, Shimano T-Curve Tournament rods are also used. Reels are spooled with reputable brands such as Power Pro, Platil Millenium or Fins PRT.
For pelagic fishing, we once again use quality Shimano spinning reels such as Stradic or Saragosa reels matched to Shimano Rods. Braided Lines of 15-20kg are commonly loaded on these reels.
Guides will have a selection of locally-proven lures.
All quality fishing tackle is supplied on a replace if lost or damaged basis.
We don’t supply fly fishing tackle; however, if you wish to bring your own equipment, we suggest you check out our recommended tackle list below.
Fishing Tackle We Recommend
Barramundi
Rods: 6 foot (1.8m) Medium Heavy/Heavy action graphite baitcaster rod rated for 6-10kg line. We suggest Shimano Barra Raider, Barra Magnum and T-Curve. For convenience, it’s hard to beat Shimano’s Zodias Travel, Revolution Inshore or Raider 3-piece travel baitcasters. Shimano Expride one-piece baitcasting rods are the ultimate.
Barra Baitcasting Reels: Shimano Exsence, Calcutta 200, Chronarch 150 or Curado 200.
Barra Spin Reels: Shimano: Stella, Stradic, Sustain, Vanford or similar in 4000 size.
Spin Rod: Shimano Zodias, T-Curve, Raider Barra Spin or Raider Travel Barra Spin. Line: Good Quality Braid Line 30lb (15kg) is ideal – Power Pro and FINS. Leader: 50 – 70lb (25 – 30kg) monofilament or flurocarbon.
Lures: Saltwater-grade lures: Bomber Long 15A; Classic Barra 10+ & 15+; Classic Barra Suspending; Classic Manta Ray F18; Killalure Needlenose & 2Deadly; Atomic Shiner Double-deep; Jackall Squirrel; Reidy’s Goulbourn Jack and B52. One or two surface popper and fizzer-style lures are also handy.
Soft Plastic Lures: Soft Plastic Shads 75 -120mm such as Squidgies, Berkley Powerbaits, ZMan Minnowz and Swimmerz, DOA Shrimp or Zerek Live Shrimp, Storm and Reidys Rubbers all work well. Scented softies like Gulp Shrimp or Jerk Shad also work well. Soft vibes such as the Jackall Transams and Zerek vibes are also very effective at times. Soft plastics can be rigged on traditional weighted jig hooks or on wide-gape worm hooks for weedless presentations.
Note: Heavy Duty hooks should be fitted to all barra lures.
Blue-water Species
Rods: 7 foot+ fast-action spin rod; medium heavy/heavy action graphite to suit 20-30lb line; eg Shimano Terez, TCurve Revolution Inshore Spin or Raider Snapper Spin.
Reels: Threadline reel – Shimano Stella, Saragosa, Sustain or similar in 4000, 5000 or 6000 sizes.
Line: Good Quality Braid Line 20-30lb is ideal (Power Pro or Fins PRT).
Leader: 50-70lb (20-30kg) monofilament or fluorocarbon; also single strand wire trace 50- 70lb (20 – 30kg) for mackerel.
Lures: Saltwater Grade lures; eg Classic Bluewater, Rapala X Rap 20+. Soft Plastic stick or jerk shads such as Squidgies, Gulps and ZMan in 4-7” are also effective on jig heads such as Tackle Tactics or Nitro. Metal slugs such as the Spanyid Raider or Gillies Pilchard for casting at tuna schools and jigging are good value.
Note: Heavy Duty hooks and split rings should be fitted to all lures.
The guides will have stocks of locally-proven lures and fishing tackle.
Fly Fishing
We don’t supply fly fishing tackle; however, if you wish to fly fish, we suggest you bring a 9 or 10 weight outfit with a saltwater quality large arbor disc drag reel that holds at least 150m of 15 – 20kg backing.
For barra, an Intermediate Weight Forward line is very useful line and having a spare reel/spool with a Hi Density WF fast-sink-tip line such as Rio’s Leviathan will allow you to target barra in deeper water.
Out on the blue water, a shooting head line will assist when targeting fast-moving pelagics. A fast sink tip line is ideal for targeting reef dwellers as well as deeper schooling species such as golden snapper . A floating line is a handy addition to your kit for targeting fish on the flats and for working surface popper or slider flies. If you are going to fish IGFA-style leaders, you should start with 8-10kg tippet section with 25-40kg mono or fluorocarbon bite tippet; substitute single strand wire if targeting mackerel.
As far as flies go, make sure that you have some Clouser Minnows on 1/0 – 3/0 hooks, Pink Things 2/0 – 5/0, Wild Things (chartreuse variation of a Pink Thing), Black & Barred. For variety, add Surf Candies, Deceivers, Fat Boys,Barra Bunnies & Bendbacks plus some surface-style flies in assorted sizes. If you have your own favourites, pack a few of them as well. We suggest you incorporate weed guards on some of your barra flies as this will save you a lot of grief when targeting these fish around heavy snags, timber structure and weedy areas.
Good colours for barra include all white, chartreuse over white, grey over white and fluoro yellow/ White, fluoro pink and white, all black, yellow and red, chartreuse over yellow, fluoro orange/black. Make sure that you incorporate some flash material into your flies as well. Having a selection of flies that incorporate a “heavy weighted” as well as a “light” construction is useful depending on whether you are targeting fish in the shallows or in deeper holes.