Hooked up
Whether you’re trolling for a big barra on the Daly, flicking a plastic into the lilies on a Kakadu billabong, or chasing macs on the blue water, we’ve got you covered
BARRA Nationals boats were hitting submerged objects on the Daly River last week. One boat lost its engine, and competitors were forced to go inside Browns Creek to get past the famous sandbar. The high drama on the Daly reminds us of the climate change possibilities I wrote about last week, and the effects upon Top End fishing. Can the cost of lost outboards, busted gearboxes and bent propellers on low rivers be blamed on climate change? If a La Nina event follows the El Niño, as often happens, and it pours for months next wet season, climate change will be temporarily forgotten up north. But it will not have gone away. We live in interesting times.
On a different subject, over the years great fish have often been caught before big events like the Barra Nationals, such as Dave Donald’s two Daly barra of around 120cm. And then the fishing tightens up for the duration of the comps. Fishos who aren’t in the comps, fishing the Daly at night, often report great fishing.
I’ve always put this down to boat noise during the day, with competitors seeing fish on the sounder during the day, but they’re not biting. Nonetheless, after a big wet season, the two big Daly comps invariably record huge catches, so boat noise can’t be solely to blame.
Meanwhile, the bluewater fishing has been good for those who can get their mind off barra. There were loads of mackerel off the Vernon Islands on the last small tides, and good bottom fishing was reported from Darwin to Dundee. The harbour remains a great place to chase barra, as does Shoal Bay. With a big refinery project recently announced for Darwin, nearby Bynoe Harbour is going to become a more important recreational fishery for those who do not like industrial vistas.
Bynoe is a rare thing, being pristine yet accessible. With Darwin Harbour becoming a hub for heavy industry, it would be great to see its sister become a fishing-friendly marine park, protected from development.
On the fishingterritory.com forums the FFF Seadogs competition’s Round 4 for May kicks off today, with jewfish and barra the eligible species for the month. The brag mat comp runs until the end of the year, and includes monthly and end-of-year prizes.
In reports, Craig’s Fishing Warehouse Mal Strong said fishing had been fairly quiet.
“The Daly crossing has been producing landbased fish at night, with barra to 95cm caught,” he said. “Shoal Bay’s ‘Little Howard River’ has been producing threadies and barra.
“I have not heard much from other rivers. Matt Smith hit the South Alligator and caught three smaller barra, but he said all the floodwater had gone.
“Craig Grosvenor caught a 70cm fish at Corroboree Billabong in the morning, and nothing else for the rest of the day.
“Matt Smith also hit the mackies at Lee Point and Fenton Patches, and saw a couple of schools of tuna and no mackerel all day, fishing the small tides.
“A few fellows are heading to Bynoe Harbour this weekend for jewfish and snapper. At the Finniss there have been a few fish caught lately, and a huge queenfish was taken at the Peron Islands. Mandorah jetty has been good for queenfish and trevally and the odd mackerel. There have been smallish barra caught at Buffalo Creek.
“I have not heard many reports from harbour wrecks, and not much from Charles Point other than blue salmon. There were mackies at Smith Reef on the neaps, mostly spotties and greys, not big, but heaps of them.
“One customer caught six big jewies to 120cm at the Shady Camp Jew Reef, but didn’t get any barra in the bay.
“There have been salmon at Shady Camp, but very few barra. You can see fish on the sounder, but they are usually not touching lures.”
Tackle World Coolalinga’s Mulga said the fishing week had been filled with news about the Barra Nationals.
“There were quite a few cases of damage from hitting things,” he said. “But elsewhere the fishing news has been better.
“Offshore, both from Dundee and off Darwin, it has been good for bottom fish like jewies and snapper. The barra fishing has been hard because of the poor wet season, but people are still catching fish, it just requires more effort and thought.
“The people who know the harbour are still doing OK on barra, but others are getting nothing. You have to be clever now and work for the barra.”