Casting the creeks for barra by David Hodge

Working in at Akwa Pro Tackle, it's easy to see the build up to the barra opening, especially in the enthusiasm of the local fishers, and this season is set to be a good one if we get some decent rain.
Opinions have changed dramatically over the last three to four years of research as to what the big girls need for a spawn to be successful, and even without a wet last year there was still a small percentage of barra that got the opportunity to spawn.
The science says they need a very specific dilution of runoff and salt water, and this is the catalyst for a good spawn, so here's hoping for a great wet. There are so many locations that will attract and concentrate barra to baitfish buffets, and tributaries that have links to inland billabongs and lagoons will distribute their bounty as the wet swells them to flooding levels and the landlocked bait heads downstream to run the gauntlet of bucket mouths.
For shore-based anglers, this is the time of year that gives them the best opportunity to catch big numbers of barra from land-based locations in the upper reaches, and flooded causeways, weirs and creek junctions are all prime spots to bend a rod.
The majority of sporting anglers see this time of year as pretty much catch and release, especially as many of the fish from the landlocked populations don't fare too well on the table. Those that have resided in the fresh have a very easily distinguished colour, and are not sporting the chromed up sides and yellow tail of a high table quality salty barra.
There is nothing at all complicated about targeting barra during a wet though, and casting hardbodies and plastics into likely locations is likely to be eaten by a barra as it gorges itself in an attempt to put body weight back on.
Most of the year sees fairly standardised barra practises used around rivers, drains and headlands though, and some of these locations are extremely tide specific if you want any significant result. Some of the best fishing is had when certain locations are only inundated on the bigger tides, and the baitfish try their hardest to push back in tree lines to escape the hunting predators. Areas that usually only get a meter or so of water over them during smaller runs, become bait gathering Meccas on the bigger tides and all sorts of predators follow them up for sometimes only a couple of hours while there's sufficient water.
Both the run-in and run-out can be hot bite periods. Having a pair of top notch sunnies is absolutely imperative to be able to identify the shade changes of both fish and snags. I use the Copper lens Tonics, and have found them to be the best I've used yet.
As the water recedes from these flats, anglers have to get the timing right or risk being stranded for a tide cycle in sand fly and mozzie infested areas exposed to the sun and elements. I generally fish with my son, and at only eight years old, the mentioned risks can be pretty dangerous for a kid, so I use my electric motor as an indicator of when to get the hell out of there. Once the leccy starts to chew sand or mud, we know it's time to get ready to bail out of there.
HARDBODIES
For me, hardbodies are the best bet for these flooded mangroves. The dirty waters that are sometimes part of bigger tides require a more strong actioned lure to be quickly locatable by a fish in the murk. I also find that the average size of barra is better on the hardbodies.
Visibility can be as little as a couple of inches, and it would be a reasonable assumption that an extra noisy rattle would be needed to get their attention, but I have never found this to be necessary. The hooks and split rings emit enough noise to get a response, but as they say, you use what you have confidence in, and if a rattling lure makes you feel confident then that's important.
If you're not comfortable with your lure, you won't work it thoroughly and put all the finer details into the retrieve - you'll just go through the motions.
The most important attribute of a hardbody in the deep flooded mangroves and snags is having the guts to withstand the required drag and extra thumb pressure to stop a decent fish in the sticks. Hooks, split rings and even body material all combine to hold up under some serious forces.
There are a couple of stand out hardbodies that these days, are in just about every barra anglers' box, and the Halco 105 Hamma has quickly become one of those. The colour range is quite expansive, but I really only use a handful of these available, and are my 'confidence' colours. The gravy train, mullet, white with red head and lime green cover just about everything I come across when using this lure.
Just a couple of years ago Halco re-released the 120mm three hook Laser Pro, much to the joy of barra and jack anglers missing this important tool, and it was all due to public demand. Being of a smaller profile, it sometimes draws more strikes than the Hamma, depending on what the major food source is at the time. For instance, when you see small gar in reasonable numbers wherever your casting, then the Laser Pro is often more effective, and when it's the mullet getting attention the Hamma seems to be more appropriate.
The difference in retrieves varies between the two though, and the old expression 'bombering' is descriptive of the constant twitching and tweaking necessary to get an appropriate action out of that lure. Mind you, it's more of a generic term describing the retrieve action required to get results, and for me, the Laser Pro's design and body weight is the best there is for this particular twitching retrieve style. My three favourite colours in the LP range are the gold with black back, the mullet colour and the good old gravy train.
Whichever you decide on, it has to cast true, and if your lures gliding off on its own indiscriminate path, it's going to be useless in tight cover, and this is the other reason I use those mentioned.