With a warmer than usual summer behind us we are looking forward to the cooler nights and milder days that April and May have to offer. The previous month’s fishing has been a little slow due to some monsoonal weather patterns that have threatened our region, but when the weather stabilizes the fishing is back to usual.

I’m an advocate for fishing large, shallow flats with a depth of 3m and less but never rule out fishing deep water rising up to shallow ridges and points. However, barra love schooling on these flat areas as it is easier for them to hunt down baitfish as opposed to chasing them in deep water where bait balls have a lot more room to escape.

When fishing these shallow areas it is not uncommon to have large numbers of barra moving through for hours on either side of the boat in shut down mode. What do you do when this happens?

Rule 1 - cast until your arm falls off then cast with the other arm, more times than not they will bite.

Rule 2 - constantly change your lures from soft plastics to hard bodies and back again.

Rule 3- mix up your retrieve styles.

Rule 4 - if rule 1, 2 and 3 haven't worked, there can only be one conclusion the barra are in dam daydream mode.

It's easy to drift away and go into daydream mode yourself. You may be thinking about that piece of prime rib fillet or rump grazing along the shoreline and that ice cold beer waiting for you in the cool box back at the camp ground or you could be just checking out the beautiful wildlife around the lake. But be aware, barra have this uncanny ability to sense when you're off guard and will hit your lure when you least expect it, often resulting in a missed hook-up. In conclusion keep your mind on the job and persist.

110 and 130 Pro Range Slick Rig soft plastics have made an impressive comeback resulting in many barra boated lately, but they need a little tweaking before taking the plunge. One tweaking method is to place the back half of the plastic in the boiling water for 30-60 seconds. This softens the tail. But the preferred method is to cut the underside of the plastic using a nice sharp pair of braid scissors between the belly and the paddle tail, effectively halving the depth of the tail region. Both of these methods will allow you to retrieve the lure a lot slower while maintaining maximum tail movement. A slow retrieval has definitely been more effective than any other type of retrieve and as the water cools off, this trend will continue.

Don’t forget to check out our websites www.lakem.com.au for upcoming Easter Holiday Activities or contact us on 07 4157 3881 and www.lakemonduranhouseboathire.com.au for coming low season specials. But most of all, don’t miss out on the chance to get amongst some of the barra in Lake Monduran.