Updated 23 April 2024
People often ask me what are the best barramundi lures to increase their chances of success.
What many people don’t understand, is that different lures fit different applications.
Turns out, barra are not that hard to catch if you’re in the right place, at the right time, with the right tools (in this case the right lure for those conditions).
To put it simply, no point casting a 1 metre shallow diver over fish that are sitting in a 7 metre hole.
Testing barra lures through trial and error.
So how does one determine the best lures for catching barramundi?
As a charter guide for three + decades, with a reputation for big barra success, I learned what works and what doesn’t the hard way – hours, days and years on the water.
But even back as young as 15 when I was a poster boy for the now famous Killalure brand due to my success catching big barra with lures, I was beginning to develop a fishing strategy for trial and error.
So in the early days of my career, when fish were thick, it became my obsession to tie on another lure and test out what worked best where. All the while making note of conditions and what I could see on my sounder.
Once I started my charter business in the 90’s, it became easier – with a boat load of charter clients, I could trial different colours and sizes simultaneously. When one angler outfished the others, we all tied on one.
Eventually I worked out what works best under many different situations. Both environmental. And also retrieves.
So much so that I pretty much just use my favourites these days, which is the subject of this blog and video.
However please note: Knowing fish behaviour is actually more important than what kind of lure you use.
You can thrash the water to foam with any one of the great barra lures mentioned below… but if you’re not in the right spot for the conditions, you won’t get the results.
So after reading this blog, jump into our barra strategies workshop free training. It will explain exactly how I worked out barra movements over the years, so I could predict their behaviour. Using the same system, you can too.
OK, let’s talk barra lures.
There are seven main categories of barramundi lures I use to maximise my chances of catching trophy fish.
For the offshore fishos, we also have a blog on offshore fishing lures.
Watch the video for my favourites in each category and when to use them.
Sign up below to receive our gear and tackle cheat sheet for fishing Northern Australia.
Our best lures for barramundi are listed, along with my recommendations on rods and reels for both live bait and lures, hooks, line and leader. Plus the current electronics set up I have in my boats for both inshore and offshore.
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The best 7 types of barramundi lures based on where I use them:
You can use these lures anywhere inshore where barra are found e.g. estuarine areas (saltwater to brackish) and around island headlands from Hervey Bay to Western Australia, chasing quality fish like barramundi, golden snapper, threadfin and other tropical speedsters.
It is important to remember that big barra (over a metre) can make a mockery of the hooks on some lures. Our own RMF lures have had the hooks upgraded. We talk about upgrading hooks in a previous blog as you do need to be wary of upgrades affecting the lures action.
1. Shallow Hard Bodies
When it comes to open water and dirty water fishing, in fact my favourite type of barra fishing, you can’t go past shallow hard bodies.
I first discovered this method of fishing for barra way back in the early years of my charter days.
I was allergic to sandfly bites and was desperate to discover where to catch barra away from the mangroves and snags.
Turns out I discovered a gold mine. For charter clients, the fish are unlikely to get hooked up in timber. And I don’t get eaten alive. Plus it’s where the big girls (90cm plus) hang out.
Although for some fun with the kids, cast them around the sticks in the shallows for smaller school size fish, especially when you hear them boofing on the surface.
If you live in large tidal areas like Gladstone and Broome, you’ll definately need some shallow divers when setting up your tackle box.
The golden criteria to finding these open water, big fish holding areas is fully explained in my online fishing course Barra Basics.
See our Scaleblazers in action catching barra up the creeks.
2. Deep Hard Bodies
When it comes to inshore fishing lures in the tropics, the Halco Scorpion is my go to deep diving lures in both the 5m and 8m depths. Great for both casting and trolling during certain times of the tide.
These are best used when the fish are aggregating in holes. Sign up to our free barra strategies workshop to determine start and finishing times for barra in these areas,
3. Sinking Stick Baits
After being sent a sinking stick bait years ago by a mate, and loved them. I’ve used them extensively and now prefer them to vibes. In fact, when I had trouble sourcing them I began to import them myself. I call them our Pillager lures and you definitely need some in your tackle box.
Being a sinking lure, you’ll want to use them when the fish are hanging low.
4. Poppers and Surface Lures
Many inshore fish love smashing things on the surface hence why surface poppers work so well. Balista S-Pop has a flashing light perfect for night time.
The Drunken Mullet is great in calm water as it makes a good racket on the surface attracting fish. Reidy’s J Walker is a floating stick bait with a rattle and one of the best barramundi lures for surface strikes. We have been smashed next to the boat using these. So make sure you retrieve all the way!
5. Vibes
Once my go to lure for big barramundi in deep holes, vibes are still an essential addition to any inshore fishing lure collection.
I have used Quick catch vibes extensively on charter as they work great and are economically priced. Another favourite is the Nomad Vertrex.
So while I have moved from vibes to sinking stick baits in many applications, they still make the list for one of my top barramundi lures.
6. Curly Tails
No inshore fishing lure arsenal would be complete without the humble curly tail. The Berkley Powerbait Nemesis is one of my favourites. Rigged on a jig head they should be retrieved slowly. We have some great examples of the retrieve in our Proserpine Dam blog. We got about 25 bites in three hours and accounted for some nice fish.
7. Paddle tail plastics
Low and slow is how I like to fish my paddle tails with the Keitech swing impact fat being my favourite.
Fishing on the fish
The secret to using inshore fishing lures (or any lures for that matter) is to fish on the fish. Because obviously you won’t get bites from non-existent fish.
I never take my eyes off the sounder even while fishing because it shows me direction and depth of fish swimming past.
In our last Proserpine Dam trip we demonstrate a perfect example. Seeing the fish, modifying the retrieve and hooking up.
For a crash course in how to find barra in your system, check out our barra strategies workshop.
Three short videos and I lay out my strategy for working out fish behaviour.
So many people do not do this so do yourself a favour and watch the vids this weekend.
There’s also a follow up email series with 5 helpful barra tips as part of the registration so keep an eye on your inbox after you register.
REGISTER HERE FOR OUR FREE BARRA STRATEGIES WORKSHOP
For a cheat sheet of my favourite gear and tackle >> click here for the gear and tackle cheat sheet.
And to while away a few hours watching big fish footage from my charter career – check out our big barra series.