Barramundi are a mysterious and thrilling catch wherever you encounter them, and the larger-than-life specimens found in our reservoirs are no exception. Any angler who dreams of landing their first meter-plus barramundi would be foolish not to consider one of the numerous dams scattered across the northern part of the country. These fish are massive, demanding, and they go absolutely berserk when hooked on the line.
Don't be mistaken; despite living in a confined environment, these fish present a steep learning curve. Even though they don’t face the challenges of the wild, they remain a formidable opponent—both mentally and physically! Diving into the world of reservoir barramundi, you'll soon realize that landing big barra consistently isn't reserved for locals alone. However, there are a few crucial things you need to grasp about reservoir barramundi if you want to tip the odds in your favor.
If you're not close to a barramundi reservoir and need to travel, it's vital to gather as much knowledge and intelligence as possible before your visit to maximize your time while you're there. In this article, we'll cover the fundamentals of locating and catching reservoir barramundi.
Wild vs Stocked Barra
Barramundi in reservoirs are stocked, meaning they've been introduced specifically for angling purposes. Barramundi cannot reproduce in still freshwater, so continuous stocking is essential to maintain a population in a reservoir.
Wild barramundi inhabit estuaries, coastal regions, or natural bodies of freshwater like billabongs and oxbow lakes, so their food supply depends on environmental conditions and fluctuates accordingly. Reservoir barramundi, on the other hand, typically enjoy a steady surplus of prey such as bony bream, crayfish, garfish, barred grunter, and even recently stocked barramundi fry! Because of this, reservoir fish can gain weight rapidly, sometimes reaching a meter in length and exceeding 20kg in just four years!
Pursuing large fish that never lack food is part of what makes reservoir fishing challenging. But once you identify the areas where they like to feed and when they prefer to do it, you can drastically cut down on aimless casting and self-doubt.
Seasonal Habits
Reservoir barramundi will move within the reservoir to seek either food or comfort. If they're not capitalizing on a feeding opportunity, they'll be hanging out somewhere comfortable, staying relatively still, and preparing for their next feeding session.
Barramundi are lazy fish, but this doesn't mean they won't cover distances if necessary. If they need to cross the reservoir to find an area where baitfish are gathering or where the water is just a degree warmer, they will.
Summer in the tropics is usually scorching hot or drenched in rain—or both! During extreme heat when the surface water exceeds 30°C, barramundi tend to seek out deeper, cooler waters. At night, they might move shallower to feed, or they may remain deeper if it's still too warm in the shallows.
After heavy rains, barramundi often gravitate towards areas where water flows into the reservoir. Here, they can soak in cool, oxygen-rich water. All barramundi instinctively seek out flowing water, and in the wild, these areas can bring an influx of food.
As it begins to cool in autumn and winter, barramundi start seeking warmer water. Sun-warmed shallow bays and banks tend to be their favorite spots, especially if the wind is pushing slightly warmer surface water into them.
In winter, a barramundi’s metabolism slows down, yet they still need to eat. Finding these fish can be straightforward, and anglers often spot them with the naked eye sitting in the shallows. Getting these fish to strike a lure can be a maddening experience, though there will be narrow windows when they will bite.
As it warms up into spring, barramundi become more active as their body temperature rises. Spring is widely regarded as the best time to target reservoir barramundi. This is due to their willingness to eat a variety of presentations and the regular occurrence of 'bite times'. Bite times are events such as moonrise, high moon (when the moon is directly above your location on Earth), under moon (directly beneath), a tide change in a nearby saltwater system, sunrise, and sunset. Full moons at night are always a favorite time for barramundi anglers during spring and summer, and traveling anglers often plan their trips around a full moon.
When the water temperature exceeds 25°C, barramundi will seek out areas where bait has congregated, often influenced by persistent northerly winds that create currents in the reservoir. Wind-driven areas like points, bays, and creek beds become popular spots for hungry barramundi. During this time, the fish prefer shallow areas with nearby deep water. Barramundi like to be able to retreat to cooler temperatures during the hottest part of the day and venture quickly into the shallows when it cools off a bit.
Fishing for Dam Barramundi
Finding barramundi is key to catching them, and an understanding of their seasonal movements is a great starting point. However, barramundi aren’t always predictable.
A good sonar with side imaging and/or 360 live imaging is fairly standard equipment these days and is a fantastic tool for filtering through barren water.
When you arrive at a reservoir, you need to decide on a few areas you wish to target. In autumn and winter, these may be sun-warmed areas in shallow water under 3 meters. In spring, wind-driven points (with wind blowing either onto or across the point), bays, and creek channels are the places to look, especially in the 2-5-meter depth range. Through summer, you may want to search out deeper waters, and trolling can be very effective.
Identifying areas to slowly cruise around with the sonar on and hopefully marking fish is a great way to get started. If you start noticing fish in a general area, you should begin fishing.
Anglers with side imaging tend to position themselves in areas where barramundi are likely to pass or hang out, such as the tip of a point, the back of a bay, or near a small channel in the weeds or timber that the wind is blowing into. Structure such as weeds or dead timber is beneficial but not essential, as some reservoirs don’t have abundant amounts of either. Finding a natural ‘choke point’ is helpful when fishing this way; this could be a small gap through the weeds, a channel through some timber, or the very tip of a point where the water is very shallow.
Using an electric anchor, traditional anchor, or tying off to a piece of timber is crucial for holding your position. During this time, you should be casting continuously at the choke point, watching the sonar for any fish moving through, and taking note of any activity, such as bumps, follows, fish feeding, or other boats nearby catching fish. Make a note of any bite times that will occur while you're out on the water and ensure you have lures in the water during those times.
If you don't register any activity within half an hour or so, it may be worth finding another promising-looking area to station up and repeat the process.
Anglers with 360 live imaging can cruise around in these same areas and cast lures at fish they can see moving around on the sonar in real time! You may need to present a lure to many fish before you get a bite, however.
What’s important to remember is that if you find numbers of barramundi, whether on the sonar or with your naked eye, be sure to stick with them. Presenting different lures at various depths is a good way to figure out what they want, if they want anything at all. Chances are, if they're in a likely-looking area, they will bite at some point throughout the day or night.
Reservoir Barramundi Tackle
Barramundi can grow to enormous sizes in reservoirs, so it’s important to fish with appropriate tackle.
Spinning and baitcasting outfits in a medium-heavy rating (approximately 4-8kg) are probably the minimum standard, with braided lines between 30-80lb and leaders between 50-80lb depending on the size of the fish and the type of terrain you’re fishing.
Daiwa’s Tatula XT series are excellent spinning and baitcasting rods, and paired with a Tatula 200 HD LTD or TD Black MQ (3000 or 4000 size) respectively, they make a great all-around reservoir outfit.
Shimano’s Curado series of rods and reels are also up to the task, with Curado reels being a trusted tool for catching barramundi for many years.
For lures, reservoir barramundi will eat most anything, and anything between 100-250mm is considered a good snack size. Some favorites include the Lucky Craft Pointer 100XD, Zerek Fish Trap in 95 and 110mm, Bait Junkie Kikker Curly, Rapala Skitter V 13, and Squidgy Slick Rig 130mm, with the latter having caught countless barramundi over the years. For trolling, you can't go wrong with the Halco RMG Scorpion Double Deep 125, a valuable weapon when it gets too hot to fish in the shallows. The trick is to cover your bases from the top of the water column to the bottom, and be prepared to cycle through them to find what the fish are looking for on the day.
Make the Trip
The only way you’re going to master reservoir barramundi is by getting out to a reservoir and giving it a shot! There are many reservoirs that hold barramundi, such as Lake Tinaroo, Lake Proserpine, Teemburra Dam, Kinchant Dam, Lake Awoonga, Lake Monduran, Lake Callide, Manton Dam, Lake Kunanurra, and more.
The rewards from this style of fishing make all the time and effort entirely worthwhile, and once the reservoir barramundi bug bites, it’s hard to shake it off!
Article by Bob Thornton.
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