Melbourne-based fisho Dave Foster recently made the long trek to Lake Awoonga in south-east Queensland with big impoundment barra in mind.
With his Quintrex 400 Hornet Trophy and new 40hp Honda outboard in tow, and fishing solo, Foster typically had to spend quite some time to work out just where Awoonga’s barra were and what they were eating – if anything.
As it turned out Foster had most success fishing the waterway in the mornings. He also had most success trolling 130mm black/gold Squidgy Slick Rig soft plastics.
While he didn’t quite crack the magic metre mark Foster wasn’t complaining about his biggest, a 97cm football.
Interestingly, Foster fished the Slick Rig with an added stinger treble (an Owner ST-66TN) for better hookups. This was an extremely important addition to the rig as when used”standard” a metre plus barra was lost at the net as itturned and dislodged the single hook.
Used mainly on the troll, 70m back from the boat, in 3m to 3.5m of water the softie managed to avoid getting weeded up too often. The shallow points of the lake, rather than the bays, produced the most strikes using this method.
Dave used 50 to 60lb leader joined to green 30lb Platil Millenium braid mainline using a Bimini Twist and an Albright knot.
Other anglers Foster spoke to at Awoonga were also using soft plastics – either Slick Rigs or Berkley Hollow Bellies.
Foster fished for 7 days before having success, but says his persistence finally paid off.
He reports that Awoonga’s water level is very high which has created more snags and hiding spots for the barra, therefore making them even more challenging to catch.
