Tuesday, July 19, 2011

My oldest Classic Barra

Hi there,

I now have more information on my oldest Classic Barra.
This is a fishing lure designed by Rob Gaden, the very famous and successful Australian lure designer.
(Rob Gaden has designed over 100 fishing lures in his career, and is still working today.)

So first I should say that my lure is not that old, it is only from 1996.
Still not bad for a Barra lure, and specially in the Guns N'Roses colours, a very popular colours to fish for Barramundi in the Top End of Australia.

I was helped in my research about this lure by the web site Lure and More, a site which as you might have guessed is dedicated to the Lure Culture, if I may say. Based in Australia, this site has a lot of information about Aussie lures, and more importantly, has given me the opportunity to enter in contact with Rob Gaden through their PM system.
I wrote the the man himself and asked him if he knew when this lure was made?
And here is his reply:

           "G'day Mate...it is one of the first "Classic-barra's". Made of Urathane ( similar to surf-board foam ). It was made in 1996 , the first year of the classic-barra. They were the only ones with the depth printed on the back. I converted from Urathane to 2 piece ABS plastic construction in 2000 and they have been that way ever since. Hope that helps...Rob"

Could I get a better answer? No I don't think so...
And yes I was happy to be able to learn so much and so quickly about this little lure.
And don't you want to see it?
There it is:

Classic Barra circa 1996.

With the print on the back.

Now you may ask where did I find this lure, and how much did it cost me?
Well, I just got it at my local second-hand shop, for AU$4.00 ...
How good is that!

It is of 12cm long (4.7244094 inches) and has no rattle, as opposed to the more recent ones which are very noisy fishing lures. It dives to a depth of +10 (Around the 3 meters mark). The colours of the lure presented here is as already noted in this post, Guns N'Roses. A very effective colour,  favourite of many anglers around Darwin.

So yes I have this lure in one colour only, when I know that they have made quite a few different of them.

But hey, it could be worse.
Have a good day,
Me.

2 comments:

Fish Whisperer said...

I have a few of the newer ones, but mine are all beat up.
Suzuki has said they will not cover my engine so I will take my fight to the top.
Cheers
Callan

Rambling Expat said...

Hi Callan,

That is a bummer for your engine...

This lure is not in perfect condition, still I am very happy to have it.
I do have a few of the newer ones that I use on a regular basis when Barramundi fishing, but this one will now stay at the office.

Have a good day.