This is my fav rig for barra, GLoomis GL2 blank with Curado 200 and 10kg Superbraid. Not cheap but pretty much the best.

The top lure is a Fizzer, works great at dusk and night. Marty is dead on with the retrieve.
The other ones are poppers, beautiful things, I find for barra that the best retrieve is cast it out and as soon as it hits the water give it a gentle tug and wait a few seconds then begin a slow retrieve while 'jiggling' the rod tip. If a barra hasn't hit it by now, give it one really good tug and retrieve it a foot or so. Usually gets 'em excited!

'Run-off' is definetly the best time of year! Better than christmas! During the 'run-off', two words, soft plastics. If it is a day that you think, damn, it's too hot to go fishing then it's a good day for barra (and beers). If the Barometer is under 1020 then it may be slow as they stop feeding. This year, straight after Cyclone Ingrid, the barra went off, the baro came back up and they went into a hunger driven frenzy. Full moon at night is ripper in the freshwater, using surface lures or hard bodies with heaps of rattles. In the estuaries, run out tide and get your lures into the feeder creeks and run-offs. Get your lures as close to snags as possible. Also look for rock bars.
My $0.02, hope it helps you bag a few!