abt
Tournament Angler Guide
abt.org.au
The lure of the tour: the pull of big barra Tom Slater
The ABT BARRA Tour is a unique event for tournament fishing. A full weeklong immersion into barra fishing, ‘The Tour’ is a barra junkie’s ultimate adventure. For stalwarts of the tour, the barra road trip is an opportunity to rub shoulders with like-minded, competitive individuals and to experience the outstanding barra fishing that North Queensland has to offer. For anglers new to the tour, it’s an opportunity like no other to fast track your learning and knowledge of this iconic species. The last two tours in particular have produced fishing that can only be described as world class. If average catches of metre plus barra is your thing then the BARRA Tour should definitely be on your bucket list. GET PACKING Knowing what to pack, and the essentials you need to have with you for life on tour can be hard to summarise to the uninitiated. A seemingly endless array of lures, lines, tackle and electronics can make the tour (or any barra fishing excursion) seem daunting. This uncertainty isn’t unique to beginners either, with experienced barra anglers still puzzling over every new piece of equipment that comes to market. The BARRA tour doesn’t have to be complicated though; success on the tour isn’t limited to your
Scan this QR code to see how to modify Slick Rigs for barra.
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TAG 2016 abt
This is what the BARRA Tour is all about. Big fish and big smiles. performance on the score sheet. Nor is it indicative of the size of your bank account. To find, hook and ultimately land even metre long barra is the pinnacle of fishing for many Australian anglers. This article intends to provide some clarity to the enormous amount of options available on tour and to open a dialogue with successful and seasoned pros on the musthaves for a successful sojourn to the northern lakes and the BARRA Tour. SOFTY DOES IT ‘Soft plastic’ is a pretty generalized term for what is a very diverse style of lure. There’s a multitude of shapes and sizes, which can be perplexing on a shop wall. From flukes to frogs and everything in-between, soft plastics encompass some of the most effective and reliable barra lures we’ve seen on the tour. Let’s break down these
soft and squishy morsels and give you the hard facts on what to pack for your first tour. The Squidgy Slick Rig is like the forward defensive shot in cricket. It’s somewhat boring, but fundamental to prolonged success in the northern impoundments. Sure, there are other options, but no other lure has experienced the successes of the Slick Rig. Seasoned barra professionals modify the Slick Rig a fair bit these days. Craig Griffiths of the 2015 TOY (Humminbird/ EJ Todd) takes a soldering iron to his Squidgies to maximize their effectiveness on the water. You can watch a video of how Craig modifies his ‘Slickies’ by scanning the QR code. Let’s take a look at a few other options for the inner tackle junkie in all of us. Just like your favourite meal deal, don’t be afraid to upsize in search of giant barra
on the tour. Size definitely mattered for some teams on the 2015 tour, especially at Peter Faust Dam – the Mecca
of big barra. Lures of 7-9” were not uncommon on the decks of the top teams. Storm R.I.P. Shads gained key fish
for Team Humminbird/EJ Todd in their domination of the event. Large profile baits with strong action were the most advantageous lures late in the tour, when the moon was fading and light was low. Some creative rigging is necessary to throw a soft plastic measuring the best part of 20cm, and some of the most enjoyable time in the lead up to a tour is figuring this out. Westin and Castaic are two companies relatively new to the Australian market, and both offer some simple yet incredibly effective lures to fill those remaining gaps in your soft plastic box. The Westin Shad Teez is a great natural boney bream profile, and its large paddle-tail exhibits great action and body roll when rigged on a standard jighead. Castaic’s Jerky J Swim series of boot tail swimbaits are a little thicker in the body than their Westin counterparts, again featuring a thumping tail beat that draws barra in to have a look. Both are available in a range of different sizes from petite 3” versions to mega profiles of 7” and bigger, catering to every bait size.
No BARRA Tour kit is complete without one of these, a pimped and tricked Squidgy Slick Rig.