Barramundi Habitat and Diet
The Barramundi can be found in a variety of different surroundings, from shallow creeks to large river systems and estuaries and can also be found in the most unlikely of places like remote billabongs and waterholes.
Having said that they do show a preference for rivers and creeks with large catchment areas that provide a slow, continuous flow of water. Like me, Barramundi don’t like the cold and become a bit lazy during the colder months however during breeding season and the warmer months they are quite adventurous. The favoured water temperature of the Barra is at or above 20 degrees celcius.
They also show a distinct liking to areas of water that have plenty of under water structures for them to hide and feed in. Submerged logs, rock ledges and other types of structure attract the Barramundi and fishing these areas can be a tad frustrating particularly when using lures.
In my somewhat limited amount of Barra fishing I have found that the upper reaches of large river systems provide the best chance for catching Barramundi. I have fished the upper reaches of the Mission River at Weipa in far north Queensland right after a particularly heavy wet season and the murky, slow moving water provided some excellent fish.
At the same time there was reports of good fish taken in the clearer stretches of the river around submerged mangroves so I think as long as there is good under-water structure around they are not fussy about water quality.
The Barramundi is a carnivore meaning that it likes to dine on small fish and will eat small versions of its own species. They also don’t mind a feed of prawn, crayfish, crabs and aquatic insects hence the tendency to frequent areas of considerable under-water structure.
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
