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A harbour tuna caught with Tom Kontis of King Kontis Fishing Tours

Matt Flynn's Northern Territory
fishing report: May 16, 2004

Also available in the Darwin Sunday
newspaper, Sunday Territorian

The number of baby barra in the big rivers this year is astounding.

At night the voracious baby barra can be heard popping away as they feed, then they shower the water as larger barra cut through them.

This cannibalism is not unusual, being part of the dynamics of barramundi populations.

The baby barra seem spread through the river systems.

They are not just located in the far upper reaches, as you might expect.

Also, Daly River barra this year are the fattest seen, as fat as impoundment fish.

These barra have obviously been in the river some time.

What this all ultimately means for years ahead is unknown - it most likely guarantees some superb fishing for big fish in two or three years time.

But the immediate good news is that the fishing is superb now ... if you don't mind catching 20 small barra for every keeper.

Offshore, small mackerel are about but the bigger fish have not settled in.

Big jewfish are biting, and blue salmon are in plague proportions at times.

Mud crabs are patchy, but far better than last year.

Top End Fishing Supplies Justin Altaras said a friend caught a 9.5kg barra off the Stokes Hill Wharf on Tuesday night on a handline baited with local sardine.

''It was a huge barra - the night before we got a 4.6kg barra,'' he said.

''We also dropped two as well that we could not get up to the top.

''We caught jewies and snapper on Thursday on the charter boat out at Lorna Shoals ... we drift fished and did pretty well.

''There was some rain about.

''There were no mackerel to be seen but we did not try for them - it is still a little early for them, I think.

''We got one jewie of 18kg and the rest were over 10kg.''

Fishing and Outdoor World's Matt West said 306 barra were caught on the first day of the Barra Classic on the Daly River, including several fish over a metre.

''Compared with last year that was a pretty good result,'' he said.

''They were catching most of the barra around the S-bend and Elizabeth Creek.

''There are a lot of fish in the 70cm mark.

''I went to Shady Camp on Sunday and caught some barra in Tommycut Creek.

''Then we went up on the top side and caught a few rats.

''Equinox Fishing Charters got stuck into some very big jewfish, the biggest about 30kg.

''There are still a lot of queenfish working in the harbour and we are selling a lot of chrome lures for them, but pearl soft plastics work even better on them.''

Lure One Fishing Charters' Chris Hurt said he had been getting 5kg and 6kg spanish mackerel at Lee Point.

''I got big mackerel early last year but we didn't have a wet season then like this year so maybe the big ones will show up soon,'' he said.

''I have not caught any cobia out at Lee Point yet ... I got a big one early last year.

''They are a bonus fish when mackerel fishing - the first one I got last year was about 20kg.

''It took a garfish right at the end of the day.

''We got a few other smaller cobia last year too.

''You seems to get the bigg mackerel early in the season - I think they are loners.

''The barra are still good up the East Arm creeks at the bottom of the tide on rubber lures.

''There are also some threadies about.

''This weekend's tides are good for fishing for both macks and barra.

''My mate has been crabbing but he is not getting too much yet.

''The water temperature is still fairly high out there and was 29C the other day which is still a little high for mackerel.''

Katherine Rod and Rifle's Warren de With said big-river fishing was still good, especially at the Daly River.

''The Daly is going to get even better as it is still quite high over the crossing and the river is still flowing a bit fast on the outgoing tide and it gets dirty,'' he said.

''The fish seem to be firing on the top of the incoming tide when river slows up up and the water clears.

''There were 13 fish over a metre caught in one day at the S-bends by tourists and early lookers from the Classic the week before.

''Some of the bigger fish that have been gutted are full of baby barra.

''Fishermen have told me there were baby barra jumping in showers everywhere at the S-bend as they were chased by bigger barra.

''I have never seen so many small barra in the Daly in my life.

''You get hits constantly - you can get a barra a cast but they are only to 40cm.

''And the little barra are not just high up the rivers - they are everywhere.

''Even southern fishing writer and visitor David Green said they were the fattest barra he had seen.

''They have obviously been in the Daly for months gorging themselves.

''The Roper is fishing well too, as are the McArthur and Limmen Bight Rivers.''

Reidys Lures Jeff Reid said he fished the Adelaide River for the past three weeks.

''It has certainly been better than what it was last year although the fish have been mostly small,'' he said.

''I landed an 88cm near the Manton River rockbar, and some other keepers.

''We got them trolling the rockbars with big lures.

''The numbers of fish we caught on three different days were 14, 28 and 20.

''We hooked one unstoppable and a friend hooked one barra over a metre.

''There is going to be some good fish caught there this year.

''I went to Melville Island on Thursday and caught lots of GTs and queenfish and small barra in creeks along the bottom of the island.

''We did not see any pelagic fish schools on the way across to the island from Leaders Creek.

''We put some crab pots in and brought home six nice mud crabs.

''I went to the Daly on the Monday and fished at night and caught about 50 fish, the biggest 95cm, all at No Fish Creek.

''There were no mosquitoes and it was not cold and fish were boofing everywhere - it was great.

''We used fizzers and poppers, then we went to bigger lures like Judges and caught the bigger fish.

''There were some enormous boofs up the creek.''

Got One's Craig Grosvenor fished the Adelaide River on Thursday and caught 30 small barra and saw an 83cm specimen caught near the Manton River rockbar.

''There were heaps of barra caught there on soft plastics on the change of the low tide,'' he said.

''We were also catching them on a Manns Stretch 10s in chatreusse.

''The fish this year have so much power for their size, they are well fed.

''The Blackmore River is producing black bream.

''Buffalo Creek is fishing well on the outgoing tide with a 1.04m barra caught at the boat ramp on a Bomber lure and some other fish around 80cm, all at night.

''Crabs seem quite abundant in Darwin Harbour and Shoal Bay.

''Dundee foreshore rocks have produced barra on Classic 120s.

''Others did well Shady Camp barrage did well on Squidgies, with fish from 55cm to 73cm.

''They said everyone was getting decent fish at the top of the tide.''

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