Whether you have memories of heartbreaking disappointment or jubilation that comes from metre plus monsters, the biggest woe of fishing Lake Monduran is there are no constants in the techniques used to catch barramundi.

One thing we can bet on for sure is that techniques used last year probably won’t work this year, even if the conditions are the same. But hopefully with a bit of local knowledge and lots of practice we can start to untangle the muddle that is fishing Monduran.

I believe that boat traffic has a direct impact on fishing at Monduran. On weekdays you can definitely find more fish as opposed to the weekend’s onslaught of boats on the lake.

As for tackle, as far as I’m concerned I’m a soft plastic convert. Some anglers argue that soft plastics are just another fishing craze and we will return to hard bodies again once the craze has run its course. But with so many anglers catching fish on softies it’s hard to go past the confidence that comes with this successful lure.

Whatever your preferred tackle, a day of fishing with a local guide will keep you up to speed with what’s happening on the lake. But be wary of advice from guides who have sponsors names all over their boats, as they will probably just push one product. Another great source of information are local anglers. Talk to people who are catching fish or the local tackle store employees. Local knowledge is a gem.

I personally don’t have any sponsorship affiliations, so I base my opinion on exactly what works for me in Lake Monduran. Hollow bellies are my favourite and give great results, with Slick Rigs a second option. But it’s all a matter of personal choice, I have seen varying results between Hollow Bellies, Slick Rigs and Power Mullets. If you have a favourite lure and it works, then that’s great. But if your favourite fails you frequently don’t be afraid to change it – your favourite may be holding you back.

So far this year soft plastics have been fishing well on the Lake Monduran. Try to fish points and bays, landing your lure right in the shallows against the weeded edge. Then crank the reel as soon as it hits the water, as most of the hits are in the first three winds.

On the whole the dams don’t seem to be fishing as consistently as previous years, which may be due to a cyclic change. Guys fishing Peter Faust and Lake Awoonga have similar speculations, as both lakes also seems slow. But don’t let that deter you, there are, as always, great fish to be had. Persistence and patience is the key.

Perhaps the stocking group at Lake Monduran MASA need to take stock and readdress their methods. For starters they stock bass every year, but bass are rarely caught, as they are probably too scared to stick their heads out among the big barra tearing up the baitfish.

It was suggested to me that stocking mangrove jack in Monduran would be a good idea. When I spoke to MASA they said that it couldn’t be done. On a recent trip to the hatchery at Gladstone I was shown the successful hatchlings of jacks and the brood stock. The mangrove jack fingerlings have been a complete success for the hatchery but they are limited by the DPI Fisheries regulations on where they can stock these fish. I’m told the DPI will not stock jack in Lake Monduran because they believe there would be too many apex predators and they could not co exist in the dam.

I believe the introduction of jacks to Lake Monduran would be very favourable with anglers. I would also like to hear from other anglers on their opinion on bass stocking in Monduran. Do you think bass should continue to be stocked or not? I plan on joining MASA this year to become involved in the stocking and I’m sure MASA would love to see more anglers involved in the great volunteer work they do in stocking the dam.

Offshore the fishing has been great this year with a cracker run of small black marlin. The sailfish have also been plentiful this year.

The southern edge of the 13 mile crossing is the place to fish. This spot plays host to a large school of bait and has consistently held fish for months.

The reefs have been fishing great for all reef species and with the great weather over Christmas people took advantage of our prime position on the coast to enjoy some fantastic fishing.

We hope to soon see you in Gin Gin to fish Lake Monduran or get in on the offshore action. Be sure to stop in and say G’day at the Gin Gin Hotel.

And finally, please don’t turn up to fish Lake Monduran with just a bag of toads or you will only leave disappointed, if you need any advise on any of the fishing up here feel free to call me on 0427 590995.