A JAPANESE fishing guru with a huge following on Facebook is in Australia and heading for the Whitsundays.

Takuma Hata has been fishing in the Hinchinbrook area with local guide Todd Everly and his next stop is the Whitsunday Islands, before taking to Lake Proserpine to hunt for big barra.

Michael Harris, a producer with Marine Media, said Takuma would fish with AFC barra fishing champion Craig Griffiths at Lake Proserpine on February 17-18 and will hit the water with Luke Griffiths of Renegade Fishing Charters in the Whitsundays next Monday.

"He wants to get a big barra and has organised to fish some of the best salt water and fresh water fishing spots in Australia,” Michael said.

"He thinks the Whitsundays and Hinchinbrook are the best places to land iconic sport fish as they offer such a diversity of species.''

Before dropping a line at Lake Proserpine Dam, Takuma will head to local tackle store Barra World, owned and operated by Lindsay Dobe.

Lindsay has taken Takuma fishing at the dam in the past and said he will compare notes with Griffo on the best places to target the big barra.

"We will have a chat and talk to about where to find barra at this time of year and give him a heads up about the lake,” he said.

Lindsay said it was difficult to explain exactly what sort of a guy Takuma is as he does not speak English.

"But he is certainly fun and there is a real buzz to his fishing style,” he said.

"He really enjoys it and it's good to see someone appreciate what we have to offer as far as the fishery goes.”

Lindsay said the dam was fishing quite well but it could be a bit tricky before the first big rains of the wet season arrive.

"It will be a great opportunity to showcase the dam as one of Australia's premier empoundment barra fisheries and ideally they will get a few of those holy grail fish,” he said.

Takuma is sponsored by Shimano and has more than 14,000 followers on Facebook.

Tourism Whitsundays chief executive officer Craig Turner said Takuma brings many of his national fishers to the country and he is the fifth international fishing identity to visit the dam recently.

"It is all about building exposure and awareness of Lake Proserpine being one of the best empoundment barra fisheries in Australia,” he said.

"Our goal is to promote and market Lake Proserpine as one of the best barra fisheries in the country.

"The reality is we have the best of both worlds when we get these international fishermen.

"We want to make sure we showcase the best of our region and help them catch those prized fish,” the Tourism Whitsundays boss said.

Takuma has more than 14,000 followers on Facebook.