Have you tried lure singles? They'd give a better hook up on Flathead for sure. The main reason they are always hooked in the face and lip with trebles is because the hooks always manage to catch on something on the way into their mouth and it's not always a great a hook up, usually lightly pinned.
Even with the Cherry Bloods we pulled out of a few with trebles 3 or 4 times bigger then that of a Stiffy Minnow. The reason I like the trebles for the Barra is I've heard a bit about how they attack from the side mostly then from directly behind the lure. The only ones I saw come from under it were the rats we were sight casting in the sticks, even then a lot hit from the side. Plus when we were using trebles we didn't seem to lose many, if any, to them so we just stuck to them.
Singles give Flatties a better chance to get it down further as there's less smaller hooks to lightly pin them. The gape is bigger on a single then that of a treble that covers roughly the same area. So you have more grab so you can pull harder and not be as worried with pulling out. It's pretty much the reason plastics dominate on Flathead. One big single hook will get swallowed with ease.
I can't get over how much better they are on Threadfin and Jew. I won't go back to trebles. I watched Matt lose a big 80-85cm Jewie last night to another treble. The way Flathead hit lures should mean you won't miss too many either. Bream will be pretty poor at hooking up id imagine as they tap it. Like you said, Flatties do just a solid 'clunk'.
I know it takes a lot for people wanting to stop Bream fishing. I know plenty of people who love chasing them and the main reason they keep doing it is because they don't want to waste time figuring out another species. Which in turn can mean a couple of doughnut sessions. Especially when they can be out fishing for guaranteed Bream. You've just got to over come that :P .
But it looks like you know a few spots for Barra, even if they are small. Once you suss them out and start catching the good ones you'll wonder why you even bothered with Bream. It's what I'm like with Threadfin, Jewies and Giant Herring, I'll never go back, haha.
What's your PB wild Barra anyway?
Troy