I know it has been too long between fishing trips and posts, so I had to spend my birthday on the water 😉
The last rain event sent Lake Monduran over its spillway. Luckily, it appears we didn’t lose many fish over the wall. Lake Awoonga rose by more than 4.5 metres vertically in less than a week, and some mates said the fishing was going off – so I booked a cabin on the dam at The Lake Awoonga Caravan Park, and loaded the boat.
I have fully committed to learning live sonar and have been running Lowrance Active Target 2 on my HDS Pro units since the middle of last year ( 2025 ). I know there are some who suggest that using live sonar is like “cheating” or even “shooting fish in a barrel”; to those, I will say, you have not used it!
Using live sonar certainly is not easy; firstly, you have to interpret what a fish is, and they often do not stand out as you would imagine. You’re not looking for a clear image of a fish with fins and a tail, but more often a solid blob or a bright return on the screen that doesn’t behave like all the other stuff on the screen. Once you have identified the target species on your screen, you now have to be able to cast your lure so that you can intercept it on the retrieve. I know this sounds easy, but I can assure you it isn’t.
You need to adjust your transducer so you can see the lure land on the surface on the screen on every cast. I have my Lowrance Active Target 2 transducer mounted on a Fish Obsessed Dominator Mount, on a Transducer Poles Australia Carbon pole with an ultra-free bearing mounting block and a D-ball base mount. I have found that having the transducer one click down on the Dominator mount when in “Scout mode”, and approximately 5-6 inches (150mm) below the surface, with the pole as vertically plumb as possible, appears to give me the best starting position. The beauty of using a pole rather than mounting the transducer on your electric motor is that you have much better control over steering the transducer, and you can easily push the pole forward and pull it back to track a fish’s depth as well.
I have found that using the range grid lines on my HDS Pro screen also helps me see where I have cast and track the lure back on the screen. Another tip I was shown by Jake Fairweather from “Impoundment Barra Sportfishing” (see my previous post for that trip’s highlights 😉 ) is to position yourself and the boat so that the target species is as close as possible to the centre of the screen. This helps determine where to cast, with the bow of the boat at 12 o’clock. Next tip – cast well past the target, so long as you can see the lure land on the screen – you can always wind the lure back quickly to intercept the fish. I have been blown away by how many fish spook on the lures’ splashdown – which I would never have seen/know if I was not using live sonar.
I have always said – “I am only ever as good as those I am fortunate to surround myself with – and you can’t buy experience”. There is simply no substitute for fishing frequency or time on the water…. While I have invested in fishing with some of our country’s most respected fishing guides for more than 30 years, I was one of the first to sign onto Jase Wilhelm’s “Impoundment Barra Mastery” course and I have completed Johnny Mitchell’s “Leopard Trail” – you still need to put everythiung into practise on the water – which is always my challenge while being self employed and runing our own businesses for most of our lives.
Evan Speer is a professional barra guide on Lake Awoonga, whom I have followed for some time. Everyone I know who has fished with him comments on his professionalism and his open-mindedness. He is always growing and refining his skills. We have exchanged messages via our social media channels for some time, and he invited me to fish with him for a few days, which happened to coincide with my birthday, so I booked a cabin at the dam and hooked up our boat.
Evan joined me for two afternoon sessions on our boat, and we had a ball. There was plenty of banter, and my learning curve was steep.
Evan showed me why he has earned his reputation for consistency, and we caught fish on some lures I haven’t used in a loooong time 😉
Have you ever noticed how many more fish you catch when you’re relaxed and having fun 😉
One evening, we experienced some of the best barra “Boofing” off the surface I have seen and heard, so Evan switched to a surface lure I felt was better suited to GT fishing, and he straight away had two epic surface eats, which resulted in him landing this lovely 106cm fish!
If you’re into your barra fishing, I am sure you will have seen Dean Silvester ” Sportfishing Australia ” on YouTube and your socials 😉
Dean is aligned with Shimano and Lowrance, as am I, and we have been speaking for a number of years. Even with his busy, essentially fully booked charter calendar, he made time for a morning session with me, which again was EPIC!
Dean schooled me on his Active Target 2 techniques and was the one who showed me how to use the range grid lines on my Lowrance HDS Pro to assist me with getting my casts more accurate and retrieves where they need to be 😉
If you had told me you could trigger a barra into biting alongside the boat with a figure of eight retrieve prior to this session, I would have asked you what you were on – Again, we would not understand this without live sonar and knowing the fish was actually on the lure right up until that point 😉
I met Lachie Thomas Cosgrove through Jas Wilhelm’s Impoundment Barra Mastery course, which has a private Facebook group for members, that adds even more value to doing the course and becoming a member 😉
Lachie is truly obsessed and proof of what you can achieve if you fully commit to your fishing!
Lachie and his brother Jake gave some of the best barra fishermen in the country a run for their money this year in their very first ABT event, coming in third in the Awoonga round!
We had an EPIC session, and watching Lachie cast effortlessly with accuracy after marking a fish on the screen was masterful!
Lachie loves the Zerek Live Mullet, and it was hard to argue watching his results 😉
It really was an awesome few days on the water with some genuine LEGENDS who took the time to fish with me, and I learnt plenty!
I am sure a few of you are now asking yourself – did Scotto manage to catch any on his own 😉
Collectively, we put 26 barra in our boat over three days, with 23 over a metre, and my best was 113cm!
This was my last fish of the trip with my wife, Katrina – and yes, it ate a mullet, Lachie 😉
I have been fishing Lake Awoonga for more than 30 years, and I reckon it is as good as it has ever been at present, and I can’t wait to get back up there – watch this space 😉 #lakeawoonga #awoonga #barra #barramundi
