As the year slowly ticks along there are changes in the fishing with different species becoming more prevalent and others tapering off. March produces some top fishing, allowing many varieties of fish to be targeted and successfully caught.

The 2013 barra season has only just begun and the fishing is red hot at the moment with quality fish getting caught from all areas. Anglers that are casting lures into the many fallen snags that are littered through the creeks and rivers have not been disappointed.

Good numbers of barramundi are turning up and certain snags that are in the right area have produced excellent numbers. Look for large snags that are situated with deep water close by. Where there is ample current flow and also plenty of bait around, you will have all the ingredients for a top barra snag.

Fishing areas like this can be very rewarding and using weedless rigged lures can allow you to truly get the most out of the area. The advantage of a weedless rigged lure, whether a paddle-tail shad or flick bait, is that you can cast it to where other bibbed lures that have trebles simply couldn’t go. Generally this is where the actions is, with the strikes coming hard and fast so have a tight drag and also a well-stocked tackle box; you will lose a few lures for sure.

Anglers that have been targeting the deeper holes of the river systems have been coming across some truly remarkable fish with a number of large barra over the magic-metre mark caught. Use large live baits if you want a good shot at a big barra; mullet are a proven favourite. You can definitely catch these bigger fish on lures but go big, this means large soft plastics that are 120mm plus and big hardbodies that can either be trolled or cast.

The offshore scene is still pumping with most of the prized reef species getting landed from those willing to put in a bit more effort and fish hard.

Fishing slightly deeper water can produce surprisingly better results than the shallows. Quality fish such as red emperor, nannygai, coral trout, cobia and red throat emperor are all being encountered. If you are really on the money then you can catch all these wonderful species from the same spot.

Different species will bite better at certain times of the day so it is a good idea to give a productive spot a few good looks throughout the trip. Generally you will do better on the coral trout and red throat emperors in the morning and fish like red emperor and nannygai in the night and late afternoon.

March will herald some great fishing for all 31 days of it so stay keen and keep on fishing as there is a fish or two out there with your name on it.