Winds picked up in the late afternoon as the tide rises towards its peak and makes it rather difficult to have a good long cast with our lures into the strong wind facing the bank. Bob decided to cast with the wind and have his lure into the open section of the port side, a few cranks into his retrieve he was smashed and was already into the fight with what we knew was a beast. 25mins into the fight, we see the massive 1.2 metre long Barramundi surfaced for the first time. As soon as the image of the monster Barramundi registered into the brain of the tired angler, things changed and adrenaline levels rises. Fight changes with the anxiety of landing what might be a record size Barramundi. After some photos, the beast was landed for a couple more pictures before release after a quick revival. Because of the hard fight, both fish and angler needed to rest, the Barramundi was then released and swam away feeling defeated but yet relieved that it was not the kill we were after.
Tag: Barramundi
Barramundi Fights Angler
Barramundi are not clean fighters…they don’t charge with just brute strength but often may shake its massive jaws to try to dislodge the hooked lure or even stretch them to break hooks. Leaping out of the surface to smash the lure across the surface of water and if all else fails will open its jagged blades on the side plates of its gill cover to cut the leaders which often are already frayed by its sandy-like lips.
Learn more of our decades long chase of this amazing sportfish School of Fish, Singapore
What’s a Catch Anything Lure?
School of Fish, Singapore with a random fishing session demonstrating that the DOA C.A.L range is indeed a catch anything lure. Ranging from predators like Fingermarks, Golden Snappers, Red Snappers, Mangrove Jacks and Barramundis, the DOA Shad Tails are favoured by a majority of lure eating fishes. Simply pick up some of your favourite colours of DOA 3″ Shad Tails or what you think might work and pair them with the DOA Jig Heads of various colours and weights. Simpler still is to just pick up one of those pre-selected sets and you should be on the right track to catching some of these targeted predators.
Fishing Lesson…Teach a man to Fish
This Fishing Lesson is a session of ~6 hours specialty-guided package, designed specifically for a child to learn correctly the “Art of Sport Fishing”. Our experts will provide guidance and use of our premium equipment to get him or her in sync with the specific sport fishing techniques required to kick-start them right into this lifetime sport.
Our instructors will illustrate with practical lessons from choosing fishing setup to learning how to cast the all-important bait-casting setup and also the all-time spinning tackle which is widely used. To make it also interesting, the session is an actual practical fishing session that will allow him or her to start fishing. They will learn to setup, cast, lure techniques, strike, hook-up, fight, land and handle the fish correctly. The instructors will always be at hand to educate the participant the A to Z of this sport. This is an intensive course to cover all aspects to groom them to acquire the right set of sport fishing skills and etiquette. With the techniques learnt, your child will be able to perform well in future fishing endeavors.
All the hassle of setting up is left to us. Lessons are conducted in safe location in our Singapore fishing parks. All you have to do is turn up or arrange our pickup service. In taking such lessons, your child can by-pass weeks or months of unsuccessful or frustrating outings and get right on with catching fish. We also offer you valuable advice on what to buy as soon as you are keen to take up the sport.
Fishing DOA Jerk Tails with School of Fish, Singapore
Fishing DOA Jerk Tails allows you as an angler to play a larger part in luring. The fact that the Jerk Tails need as much as you prefer or as little as it would entice a bite. The DOA Jerk Tail comes in 4″ or the 5.5″ to allow you to fish in accordance to the appetites of the predators. I usually prefer to fish these DOA Jerk baits with the DOA coloured Jig heads to create a contrast between the head and tail. Depending on my intention of contrast to increase or decrease presentation size or using red Jig head to present an injured bait, I would usually vary the choice of tails and Jig heads, also the weight of the Jig heads as well. Using a lighter Jig Head like the 1/16oz gives a good feel and you becomes in control of every movement of the Jerk Tail but it may compromise for those who wants a long cast. Variation is best to locate the strike zones or holding areas of fishes. My preferred presentation would be a cast into a fish holding area and allow the Jerk Tail to just fall erratically to the bottom. Leave the bait for 1-2 secs before I make a light jerk and allowing it to fall in case I am attracting the attention of predators near my bait, I want to allow time for the sneaky or hungry predator to hit me.
I would give it a couple of light twitch or light jerk upright and retrieve the slack line. Repeat this right up to the bank because you never know what predator is following this “sick” Jerk Bait. Always understand that you want to jerk to attract attention but not to run away from the target. I usually practice the “picture-it” techniques as if you can see through your lure…stay in contact. The jerks can also be side ways as if the bait is darting from rock to rock behaving like a scared bait, so worried bout being caught but we really want our bait to be caught so that we can strike our rods and have hook-on’s. The 6 colours set of 36pcs is a good way to start and get the 1/16oz, 1/8oz, 1/4oz Red or Chartreuse to create one of the most fun way I catch fish, like Barramundi, Snappers, Jacks. Think like a Fish…Tight Lines!
Barramundi in Jurassic Park
Over a few decades, we have been fishing off NT, Australia in specifically Barramundi Sportfishing Safaris provided by top guides in the region and in the area of Barramundi. We have had our fair share of hits, hookups, landings, misses and dropoffs of both large and small Barramundis. Fishing in runoffs in Mary River, Shady Camp to remote camps in Manigrada, remote islands in Endyalgout Island and on motherboats in the Groote regions. Continuous fishing pressures from commercial and recreational anglers have made the hunt for the “elusive” metre-sized Barramundi more and more difficult each season. Sometimes, we are faced with high seasons where many boats can congregate in small sections of the productive rivers and creeks. We decided to move away from the madding crowd and fish further into Queensland. We learn that these Barramundis are too found in good numbers and large sizes in this place. So here we are, in an almost Jurassic setting, the quiet waters with the mountain ranges and the Unesco Heritage Rainforest present us with an almost tranquil feel. At last, we don’t see another boat fishing alongside us or beating us to a favourite spot. It did not take long for Bob to hook onto his metre Barramundi, and also noticeably is the coolness of the guide in handling the fish. Instead of the urgency to net the fish, he did not even have a landing net…he was more ready with his camera to take footages for his Barra Basics course but then it is also he has landed almost 2000pcs of Metre-Sized Barramundi for his clients over his entire career as a sportfishing guide. Here’s a glimpse of one of the metre Barramundi. Enjoy!
AGONY Of Defeat
No matter how long you have been fishing and whether it is our intention to release our catch in the first place, losing a big fish or any fish can lead to some agony. In this video, Bob was casting with light 6-12lb G.Loomis/Shimano Alderbaraen tackle with 10lb braid on 40lb Flourocarbon leader…not expecting a metre Barramundi while casting into the shallow mud flats. Often you can get surprises as these predators too move in with the baitfish to feed on them on a low tide. No matter what it provided us with a shot of adrenaline on a wet day, armed with his camera, our guide was more into taking photos for his Barramundi lessons. Here is then the lesson…not to thumb the line unless you know it is the last resort. Often the excitement leads the angler to exert more thumb pressure on the spool far greater than the specified strength of the line. Anyway, its about fair fight and in this particular instant it is 1 up for the Barras!
Fishing the Mangroves
Fishing the Mangroves…Such are the areas…mouth of drains where predators would congregate. Understanding the anatomy of the estuary is of utmost importance. It pays to visually inspect the new area at both high and low tides and carefully survey using a depth sounder. Careful planning will make the most of opportunities. Occasionally snags may get washed off and changing the scene all together. Fishing The Mangroves…we continue our series on the anatomy of mangroves, we covered the topic of “strike zones” & now we should look at fishing techniques that vary with the tide. At High Tide, when fish are sheltering in the mangroves, accurate lure casting is often most productive. At Low Tide, when the tidal movement is slow, predators become inactive in the deeper holes. So you need to know these holes. Mostly, we experienced the bottom half of the tide as the best time to fish mangrove areas, Though, the last of the flooding tide also produce excellent fishing action if you can identify the productive spots. One of our best experience was in Manigrada pulling up 150pcs of “schoolies” Barras in a tiny area between 2 persons. So know the anatomy of mangroves and you are likely to find the Barramundis you are hunting. Accurate lure casting is the key to success in the mangroves. At School of Fish, Singapore…we always practice delivering our lure to the door (strike zone) & not the postbox. Sometimes seeing barras resting in fallen snags can be exciting and if you don’t understand the factors of water flow, wind and we may end up either spooking the fish with a big splash lure or present a lure not close enough to get its interest.
Visit http://schooloffish.com.sg to find our range of lures suited primarily for estuary fishing which we use ourselves. Be it a soft plastic on light jighead/slow sinking or chughead poppers or Reidy’s surface/slow sinking…you are bringing a knife to a gunfight b’cos the “bugger” will twist your lines around the snag & screw up. So hold on to you rod/reel and lock drags…Be ready! Tight lines!
Barramundi Safari Revealed
Its the dream of any serious fisherman to want to have the opportunity to take a break from the stressful routine of work or school life to fish in such a remote location such as Endyalgout Island, Northern Territory, Australia. It’s a chance of a lifetime to make contact with nature and to listen to surf of the beach and at the same time to be fishing with your best friend and sharing experience with them along with the experienced guides.
Hearty Chuckles and friendly rivalry can be enriching as we escape into this remote location trying to outfish each other but mostly ourselves as we participate in this more than act of fishing. The complete experience of arriving early in the morning via Jetstar or Qantas and meeting the eager guide in his 4×4 Landcruiser and flying further in on a smaller AirNorth plane into the remote plains if weather permits the landing of the propellor aircraft. The Check-in is impeccable as we get picked up by a tractor to bring us from the landing point to our land based camp. The mosquito netting of our camp in good condition to keep out any mozzies and the elevated tent clearly shows that we have to be higher to avoid possible crocodiles coming in for a snack as well.
Fishing is just paradise with multiple creeks and river systems to explore which constantly change with the tides and each new season will present different holes and holding areas as the large floods wash off the favourite spot of last year.
Throw in a few good size Barramundi and the plentiful casting opportunity not knowing when you will hookup a good one. Simply a sport with skills needed to bring your lures close into the strike zones and bringing the hooked fish out of the snags. Mud crabs makes good snack before our dinner beef or Barramundi steak.
Return in the late afternoon to relax by the “bar” over a few VBs or XXXX and enjoy the surf of waves as you watch the sea eagles pick up scraps from the beach. Chill out over chips and jerky as you await the sunset and a quick hot bush shower as you prepare for dinner and star gazing the milky way in the almost darkness surroundings. Celebratory stories and the misses as we look forward to the next 5 days of almost wonderful fishing holiday.
