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The Daly River Barra Classic total catch each year - it steadily improved in the 90s after the barra nets were pulled out

Matt Flynn's Northern Territory
fishing report: January 18, 2004

Also available in the Darwin Sunday
newspaper, Sunday Territorian

What can fishermen expect when the Adelaide River is closed to commercial netting?
Currently, the Adelaide River has a very poor reputation as a barramundi fishing river.
Anglers occasionally describe the river as fickle, or somehow unusual compared with other rivers.
There have been bar room discussions about its "unusual" floodplains, the thick mimosa along the upstream banks, and its long curly tidal reach that turns back on itself several times on the way to the sea.
But the truth is the Adelaide River is geographically one of the Top End's most exciting waterways.
It is one of the Top End's longest rivers, with its headwaters cutting the Daly River Road.
Near its mouth on the eastern side are three large creeks with extensive wetland behind, all good fishing spots in themselves.
On the west is the expansive Saltwater Arm.
There are countless floodplain-fed feeder creeks along the river's entire length.
The upper reaches just an hour by boat above the Arnhem Highway are as pretty as any other river, with green water and several fishable rockbars along the way.
The river's only fishing accommodation, Goat Island Fishing Lodge - accessible only by boat - is located in this pretty area, offering a unique fishing and wilderess experience.
The Adelaide is also the closest big river to Darwin.
The Daly, Mary, McArthur, Roper were closed years ago. Kakadu's Rivers are net free. Yet the Adelaide is still netted.
Why?
AFANT vice president Geoff Bird said it is a result of setting priorities in lobbying for river closures.
"There was limited accessibility to the Adelaide in the early days,'' he said.
"Unless you knew the station owner you could not easily get down to the mouth where the big fish are because there was no Saltwater Arm boat ramp.
"You could only get in up the top.
"The other river closures represent what AFANT and its members deemed to be a priority.
"The Daly has always been an important fishing river, and declining fish stock in the 70s and 80s demonstrated that a closure there was badly needed.
"And the recently closed McArthur River is an extremely important river for visiting tourists from Queensland."
Just how much will the Adelaide River improve when the nets are pulled out?
If the change is similar to the experience in the Daly River, it will be dramatic.
Right now, the Adelaide River is fishing as poorly as anyone can remember.
It's not unusual to spend a day on the river and catch no legal fish.
Only last week I fished from the Arnhem Hwy down to the top of the Wilshire Creeks at the mouth with two other capable anglers, and we did not get a single strike.
Most fishermen have experienced the unsettling situation when the wet season feeder creeks are running clear and strong and yet not a fish can be found.
This type of experience has been backed up by early data from AFANT log books, which show the hours spent fishing per fish caught on the Adelaide River are higher than on other rivers.
There is no reason to be believe fishing will not improve when the nets are moved out.
It was not so long ago that the Daly River was providing very poor fishing indeed, and anglers were in despair.
AFANT executive officer John Harrison said in a submission on the merits of closing the McArthur River to netting: "With commercial barramundi fishing removed from the Daly River in 1989 the resultant improvement in recreational fishing was remarkable.
"A study of the results of the Barra Classic, a tournament that has a worldwide reputation and is Australia's premier barramundi tournament, will clearly show the benefits of the removal of the commercial gill nets from the river.
"In 1985 and 1986 the Barra Classic was held on the Daly River and the catch was so poor, principally because of the excessive commercial fishing effort in the river, that the organisers had no option but to move the event to another river system.
"In 1989 commercial barramundi fishing was removed from the Daly River, so, in 1990 the Barra Classic went back to the Daly River and has remained there since.
"The results of the event whilst on the Daly River particularly after it was relocated back (1990 onwards) to the Daly River speak for themselves.
"People not willing to accept these figures will put forward the notion that improved technology has been the main reason for the change and improvement in the catch results of the Barra Classic.
"There are years where the catch is down eg 2000, where the river was 7 metres in flood at the start of the tournament.
"Some improvement has resulted from better boats, sounders and improved fishing lures but, and it is a big BUT, without fish in the river it wouldn't matter what technology the angler had as they still won't catch fish!"
Most interesting is that commercial fishermen actually seem to be catching more fish as a result of the river closures with the "catch per unit effort" increasing where netting takes place outside the river mouths.
AFANT president Warren de With said he hoped the river would be closed on July when commercial licences were due to be renewed.
"It takes a fair amount of public notice to commercial fishermen that a river is going to be closed,'' he said.
"We also want to see the licence bought out because if it is not the pressure will simply be moved elsewhere.
"I believe the closure will make a huge difference on the Adelaide.
"There has been a huge increase in bed nights down at the McArthur River because word is out that the fishing has improved since the closure."

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