How to Catch Barramundi on Soft Plastic Lures - The Hard Facts About
Soft Plastics
By Bob Ives
A lot of Australian fishermen would tell you that you’ve never been
fishing until you’ve been Barramundi fishing in Australia. That may not
be far from the truth because Barramundi are a very large fish
(averaging 15 to 20 pounds in the moderate range and getting up to 40
pounds or more on the large side and a reported record of around 83
pounds), and they are determined fighters and quite showy with the
acrobatics. Simply said, they are a tremendous amount of fun for any
angler looking for some good freshwater or saltwater action.
There are a lot of baits that work well for catching these ‘show-offs’
and one of the most popular is soft plastics. They work well because the
very closely resemble the natural forage in the area where Barramundi
are found, such as minnows and other bait fish.
The question is, what soft plastics work well for Barramundi? There are
a bunch and it gives you plenty of options.
For starters, the most common sense soft plastic is going to be one that
resembles what the Barramundi eats: a minnow. These have a lot of action
and can be used to fish all the water columns; surface, intermediate and
deeper. Some fishermen like to put jig heads on these to get them down
closer to the bottom, which is fine if it’s working, but typically your
soft plastic minnow baits are going to work better in shallow waters
anyway.
Among others, some good soft plastics to use are the Storm Wild Eye
Shad. It truly looks life-like and has incredible action in the water.
It can be fished in all of the water columns depending on the speed of
the retrieve and the action you put into it.
Other good soft plastic baits are Squidgies, particularly the wrigglers,
and Berkley Power Minnows. Again, everyone has their own fishing style
and bait they are comfortable with, so you should go with what you like
– as long as it works. Suggested colors would be watermelon,
pumpkinseed, motor oil, baby bass and anything that is natural. Use
lighter baits in clear waters and darker baits in muddy waters.
Barramundi are also very fond of eating other critters, not just bait
fish. So if you have a soft plastic frog in your tackle box, give it a
try for some good early morning/early evening surface fishing. They will
also eat dying birds and lizards, so try something that resembles those.
One thing to keep in mind when fishing for Barramundi: if you get a
strike, but not a hook-up, throw back to that area. If the Barra didn’t
feel steel, you might get another chance at it. This is when your
casting skills are going to be tested. If you‘ve not yet sharpened them
up, put in some practice time in the backyard. |
