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
BYNOE Harbour is a great place to be in the dry season.
There’s sheltered water in the creeks and arms, although the central harbour certainly chops up, especially on big tides.
Bynoe has a spread of fishing opportunities, including flats, creek rockbars, mud drains and deep reefy channels.
You can catch big jewfish, jacks, snapper, salmon, barramundi, mud crabs, mackerel and more on the same day.
If you are staying at Crab Claw Resort or Sandpalms you can fish Bynoe in the morning and then head over to the Finniss River freshwater ramp for some some billabong-style fishing in the arvo.
Perhaps the best Bynoe fishing is out the front of the harbour on the deep rocky patches bordering the channel between Middle Reef and Quail Island.
On a good day these edges are a great place to be, with mega jewfish, snapper and spanish mackerel.
On the shallower reefs are tuskfish, coral
trout and flag.
Along the shallow coastal rocks are jacks, queenfish and trevally.
Check out the Kenbi Land Claim map on the Northern Land Council website before fishing, as there are some access restrictions.
Bynoe is a great place to take a fly rod, and usually has good water clarity on neap tides.
Around the city, a dry season pursuit to try when the water is clear is squid jigging.
Hang a light over the side on a calm night, either off a wharf or an achored boat, and you’ll soon have either a school of arrow squid or a larger tiger squid coming in for a look.
The tiger squid, or longfin squid, often hunts in very shallow water. Jigs or cast nets will catch them. Jigging sardines off Stokes Hill Wharf is another great dry season opportunity, being fun for the kids, and it provides mum or dad with livebait to catch something bigger.
Ask at the tackle shop for the tiny jigs that work best on local sardines.
Bait jigging is best done at night, but sometimes works in daylight.
The sardines and herring that hang around Darwin wharves have short lifespans and their numbers fluctuate greatly from year to year, but usually they are present in large schools.
They are probably the reason wharf barra are hard to catch, being an unlimited and ready food supply.
In reports, Craig’s Fishing Warehouse’s Mal Strong said Lee Point was producing plenty of mackerel and tuna.
“We have seen more fish over 20kg,” he said. “The grey nomads have been getting them early in the morning, they have been smashing them.
“At Dundee there have been sailfish, mackerel, tuna, red emperor, coral trout and jewies. The Finniss River produced barra to 90cm off the rockbars.
“Cahills Crossing has had fish from 70cm to 80cm, caught off the bank.
“Buffalo Creek produced a 98cm barra and some in the 70s for landbased fishos.
“There are plenty of mud crabs coming out
of the harbour, as well as Leaders Creek and Saltwater Arm.
“The 4-Mile Hole in Kakadu has produced a few small barra, but no big ones.
“Another mob got 10 barra in Bynoe Harbour but they were small fish, they were just flicking the flats.
“Corroboree Billabong has been OK for saratoga, but not barra.
“The upper Daly River freshwater has been good, but not the salt.
“One crew fished the Daly saltwater all the way to the mouth over three days and they didn’t get a barra.
“There have been a few jewies caught on the Shady Camp reef, and some threadies in closer.
“East Point rocks and Mandorah jetty have been good for queenfish, with the odd mackerel.”
Fishing and Outdoor World’s Dave Gregory said there were good tides for the bluewater this weekend and early this week.
“It should be a cracker weekend, with lots of mackies and tuna,” he said.
“Dundee has been producing jewies, they can be caught just about anywhere at the moment.
“There have been red emperor around the Peron Islands and out to the pipeline.
“They have been getting plenty of squid off Darwin jetties at night, the little arrow squid and the bigger ones.
“Charles Point and Fish Reef have been good for big queenfish.
“The billabongs will be worth a look this weekend for saratoga, but barra have been pretty quiet.
“The bottom end of the Adelaide River will be worth a look for crabs, and maybe a barra or two. “Crabs are still good almost everywhere. “A crew came back from Channel Point back a day early because they bagged out, they caught a bit of everything.
“Mandorah jetty has produced some big mackerel.
“The Six Mile grounds be worth a look on the small tides for big skinnies, they will be biting in clear water, a good chance for some bluewater fly fishing. “Bream are everywhere.” With the Build-up just around the corner, it will soon be time that Darwin charter companies do their multi-day trips to the widest grounds off the NT.
These trips provide a fishing experience you’ll never forget.
The species mix encountered when fishing almost half way to Indonesia is much like that of the Great Barrier Reef, with big red emperor, jobfish, maori sea perch, nannygai, red bass, coral trout, chinaman fish, and more.
Of all the trips I did in the NT, these were certainly the most interesting in terms of sheer variety in species.
Build-up weather out wide can be flat calm for much of the time, as it is away from arvo land breeze.
You may need to book in advance for these trips with experienced companies like Arafura Bluewater Charters and Equinox.
You’ll be eating the best fresh fish the NT has to offer for days after, and retelling the stories forever.
On the www.fishingterritory.com FFF forums Craig ‘Lats’ Latimore is leading the way with a 102cm spanish mackerel in Round 5 of the Seadogs brag mat competition.