Barra Fishing Rewired with the New Live Ops Range
An Aussie icon and on many anglers’ bucket list. Big hits, dirty water, wild structure and a fish that can go airborne, change direction mid-fight, and bust you off in seconds. Whether you’re twitching drains, slow-rolling rock bars, or stalking impoundments in the dark, success with barramundi isn’t just about having the right location, it’s about showing the right action, at the right time to trigger a bite.
The Live Ops Sumo Shrimp, Dozer Minnow, and Maniax Paddle Tail have been designed for exactly these situations. With tuned sink rates, sonar visibility, and heavy-duty hook systems, these baits give barra anglers the edge in every cast.
In this breakdown, we’ll cover how to fish each lure for barramundi across classic barra territory from tidal creeks and mangrove drains to billabongs and impoundments, plus all the rigging and retrieve techniques to bring them to life.
The Sumo Shrimp is the elite prawn for targeting barra tight in structure. Available in both pre-rigged and unrigged, the Sumo Shrimp gives you maximum versatility while delivering lifelike movement, visibility, and control. With tungsten tuning, glow-infused body, Tracer Scent, and a patented breakaway hook system, it’s the most advanced prawn bait ever made for barra.
How to Fish It for Barramundi:
Casting Drains and Mangrove Edges Barra hunting in eddies or moving into drain mouths on the incoming tide are primed for a natural shrimp presentation.
Pre-Rigged Setup & Technique: Tie on the pre-rigged Sumo straight out of the pack. Use a twitch-pause retrieve to mimic fleeing prawns. The flutter on the fall and glowing body keep fish focused even in murky water. Short pauses let the tail pulse and often trigger the eat.
Custom Rigging for Pressure Zones The unrigged Sumo lets you tweak everything from hook style, weight, to fall angle.
Unrigged Setup & Technique: Rig with a 4/0–5/0 weedless swimbait hook or a jighead matched to current speed. You can also insert tungsten balls to control how fast it sinks and how it falls either tail-down for fleeing prawn or horizontal for natural glide. Add gel scent into the chamber for a slow-releasing bubble trail.
The Dozer Minnow is your go-to when barra won’t commit. Designed for a full body roll and heavy tail thump at ultra-slow speeds, it keeps working in slack water, cold snaps, or tough bite windows.
How to Fish It for Barramundi:
Weedless for Creek and Billabong Structure The belly slot and flexible body make this bait ideal for weedless rigging.
Setup & Technique: Fish weedless using a 4/0 or 5/0 EWG or with a light jighead depending on cover through submerged timber or lily lines. Cast long and wind it as slow as possible, just enough for the tail to pulse. Barra will often track for metres before striking. If you feel weight or see a follow, pause for a heartbeat, then resume. Target wind-blown points in the afternoon where the water’s warmed up. Barra often push into shallow <2m just before dark.
Slow-Rolling Rock Bars and Timber When barra are sluggish or sitting deep, a steady slow roll can outfish every other approach.
Setup & Technique: Rig on a 1/4oz or 3/8oz jighead. Cast long past the structure, count it down, and retrieve as slowly as possible while still keeping the tail thumping. Let it contact bottom occasionally so those short puffs of sand or silt can trigger followers into bites.
The Maniax Paddle Tail available in both pre-rigged and unrigged, it delivers crushing tail thump, full-body roll, and all-day durability. The pre-rigged version comes armed with a twin hook breakaway system and tungsten balance cavity to add extra weight and sonar visibility, while the unrigged version gives anglers full control over weight, rigging, and fall rate.
How to Fish It for Barramundi:
Slow Rolling Points and Deep Timber Lines When barra are staying near bottom or suspended around standing timber, a steady, slow-swimming paddle tail is often the best way to trigger an eat.
Pre-Rigged Setup & Technique: Fish the pre-rigged Maniax straight from the pack. Cast along creek arms, rock bars, or deep points, count it down, and slow-roll just above structure. Add a rod twitch near timber or ledges to create a momentary pause as this shift in motion often triggers fish that are tracking but not yet committed.
Custom Rigging for Shallow Flats, Weed Edges, or Deep Suspended Fish The unrigged Maniax gives you the same high-impact action, with total flexibility for how and where you fish it.
Unrigged Setup & Technique: Rig on a 6/0 EWG for weedless presentations or use a 3/8oz–1/2oz jighead when targeting fish holding deeper in open water. You can use the built-in tungsten insert cavity to fine-tune the sink angle by adding weight to the belly for a slower fall, or the tail for a diving glide. The Reactor UV glow and Tracer Scent help draw strikes in low light or tannin-stained impoundments. For suspended fish on LiveScope, retrieve slow and steady with micro pauses mid-column, this often triggers trailing barra to switch on.
Barra don’t muck around and neither should your gear. Every lure in the Live Ops range is engineered to fish smarter, last longer, and fight harder. Whether you want something out-of-the-pack ready, or a lure you can dial to the millimetre, Sumo, Dozer, and Maniax give you total confidence from cast to hookset.
