Most people who fly fish for barra did not wake up one day and decide to try it because it looked simple. They found their way to it through airports, long drives and a bit of sacrifice, chasing something exciting, challenging and beautiful. Some come from a freshwater trout background. Some come from years of bait and lure casting. Either way, it tends to be the next step in an angler's evolution.
The picture most of them carry in their heads is the same: one fish, spotted, cast to, followed and eaten. Even a modest barra of 53 centimetres, sight-cast in a little colour change, is the whole point of the exercise.
The fish you are looking for
With any luck, at some point you will find yourself staring at a big barra cruising in water so shallow it is almost swimming on its side. That fish is there for one reason only, and that is to feed.
All you have to do is make the shot count. That is where most of them get away.
When to go in the salt
Fly works best in the salt when there is a bit of run in the tide. The days building from the half moon up to the full or new moon are your best bet.
Within that, what we look for is the morning run-out, about three days into the building tides. With a high tide around 4 in the morning, you are still catching the last hour or two of the run-out once it is light enough to see. That is when it is best.
Sneak along the edges of the mangrove flats on the falling tide and see if you can spot a cruising fish to target. Our pieces on mud flats and on tides go into why those edges fish so well as the water drops.
When to go in the fresh
Not all fly fishing up here is in the salt. Some of the most amazing scenery and freshwater fishing in the world is right here in the Territory. Dozens of freshwater rivers are fed by vast floodplains, largely untouched, and all of them hold barra.
In the fresh you can target them on any given day. As with most freshwater fishing, the low-light hours at dawn and dusk are usually best. Check the bite times in your fishing prediction app to plan the days and times to have a crack.
In the build-up, keep the hot-water pattern in mind too. As the shallow backs of the bays heat up, bait moves out to deeper water, and that can switch the barra on in the middle of a hot afternoon. There is more on that in our piece on warmer water.
Rattling snags with big flies
Sight-casting is not the only way to do it. In the small creeks, we fish flies the same way we fish lures in snaggy country at the bottom of the tide: rattling cages.
That means heavy rods, 9 and 10 weights, and 8-footers if we can get them. Big flies, such as big bendbacks that ride hook-up and come through timber. You roll cast them into the snag, give them a couple of big twitches, and if a fish is in there it will eat it. If not, move on to the next one. It is not elegant, but it works, and some solid fish over 80 centimetres have come out of snags that way.
The strip strike
This is the thing that catches out almost everyone who comes up from a trout background. When a fish takes, their instinct is to lift the rod.
A standard 9-foot fly rod is soft. Lifting it simply does not put enough pressure on the hook to drive it through a barra's hard mouth. You could lift the rod as far back as you can reach and still not push that hook through someone's thumb.
So we do it differently:
- Point the rod straight down the line, low and in line with the fly
- Strip to work the fly, with the rod doing nothing
- When the fish eats, strip strike: keep the rod pointed at it and pull the line back hard until you come up tight
It is the same principle as pointing the rod down the line when you are slow-rolling a soft plastic. You come up tight straight onto the strip, or straight onto the drag, without the give of a soft rod tip soaking up the strike. Only once the fish is on do you bring the rod into it.
Get the drag right beforehand
Because the strip strike takes the give out of the system, be mindful of how tight your drag is. Set it before you start fishing, as firm as you dare, and do not fiddle with it once a fish is on. If you must change it during a fight, back it off. Tightening it mid-fight is asking for trouble.
What to take from it
Fly fishing for barra rewards the same things the rest of our teaching does: the right tide, the right edge, and fish that are there to feed. Pick a morning run-out on a building tide, sneak the mangrove flats, and when the shot comes, make it count. Then strip strike, and do not lift.
Common questions
What is the best tide for fly fishing for barramundi?
In the salt, you want a bit of run in the tide, so the days building from the half moon to the full or new moon are best. The pick is the morning run-out about three days into the building tides, when you can fish the last hour or two of the falling tide in good light.
What weight fly rod do you need for barra?
For sight-casting on the flats a standard 9-foot outfit will do, but for rattling snags with big flies we use heavy 9 and 10 weights, and 8-foot rods where we can get them, so we can roll cast big flies tight into timber and pull fish out.
Why do anglers miss barra on fly?
Usually because they lift the rod when the fish eats, the way they would for trout. A soft fly rod does not set the hook that way. Keep the rod pointed straight down the line and strip strike, pulling the line back hard until you come up tight.
Can you catch barra on fly in fresh water?
Yes. Freshwater rivers and billabongs right across the Territory hold barra, and you can target them on any day. Dawn and dusk are usually best, and in the build-up a hot afternoon can switch them on as bait leaves the warm shallows.
Rather learn it on the water?
This is what the safaris are for.
Three to eight days, one guide, and the same water you have been reading about. Everyone fishes with Watty.