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The winning mud crab caught during the recent Darwin Harbour mud crab competition

Matt Flynn's Northern Territory
fishing report: June 20, 2004

Also available in the Darwin Sunday
newspaper, Sunday Territorian

Fishing last week was hampered by strong winds brought by a large high pressure system located over Australia.

Temperatures plummeted across the Top End, but barramundi continued to bite well.

Some wags have suggested that the NT's barra are so fat this year following the extended wet season feeding bonanza they are not really feeling the cold.

Landbased fishing has been popular in the past week, with spots such as the Channel Island Bridge, Stokes Hill Wharf and Nightcliff rockwall producing fish, with the strong offshore winds making long casts easy.

Mud crabs are on the move, with Shoal Bay coming on strong in the past week.

Top End Fishing Supplies' Justin Altaras said it had been blowing so hard offshore fishing was not really an option.

"There have been small snapper caught off Elizabeth River Bridge,'' he said.

"They get othe odd mangrove jack there too. The runout tide seems best using a bit of squid around the pylons, and I have seen snapper caught there of more than a kilo.

"You've also got Dundee for shore fishing for jewfish and salmon, and the Channel Island Bridge for snapper.

"The Nightcliff rock walls are producing small mackerel at high tide.

"There have been plenty of queenfish caught off the wharf using livebait or chrome lures wound in fast.

"They are catching them towards the bottom of the tide in morning and afternoon.

"There were also some squid caught on the neap tides.

"There have been good mackerel out around Quail Island for the brave.

"There are heaps of jewies on the wrecks too."

Fishing and Outdoor World's Ronald Voukolos said the Daly River was still the place to be.

"There are smaller fish at Corroboree Billabong and Hardies Lagoon and even Shady Camp barrage has been producing barra but nothing of any real size,'' he said.

"The Four Mile Hole on the Wildman River is fishing quite well.

"There seems to be a lot of small barra everywhere.

"There are mackerel in close around East Point and Lee Point, and some big ones.

"One customer caught three mackerel over 15kg on the Bottlewasher Reef off Lee Point, all on live baits.

"There were a few small mackerel caught at the Stokes Hill Wharf on small chrome lures and the tides are even better this weekend for the pelagic fish off the wharves.

"We are all waiting for the tuna to show up in numbers - hopefully they will start to show up with the cold weather as tuna numbers seem to have been down the past two years.

"There have been big queenfish at Point Blaze and loads of mackerel down towards Cape Ford, but very few tuna schools."

Tackle Up's Rob Miller said Hardies Lagoon was pretty slow, and quite windy when he visited last week.

"I was there on Thursday and the water was still a bit too high, being up in the reeds and I think that's where the fish are, in the grass,'' he said.

"We caught one of 55cm and he was fat and shiny, and that was caught close to the boat ramp.

"Corroboree Billabong has been fishing well at night - one fish went 1.06m - landed on lure.

"Cape Hotham has been good on the calm eastern side.

"There are snapper off the islands there and salmon in the creeks.

"There is a big croc not far from the point itself at Cape Hotham and he is 5m long and quite angry - he sticks his head out and waves his tail at you.

"Apart from that I have not heard much else - it's been too windy."

Got One's Craig Grosvenor said he fished Corroboree Billabong recently and caught a few barra, but Top End Barra Fishing did better with a dozen barra trolling shallow Bomber lures along the weed edges.

"The cold snap won't help, but earlier this week reports from the Daly River were that mass quantities of juvenile barra were still being caught with larger fish being reported later in the week,'' he said.

"Daly River guide Rex Berry said it was the new moon that got the big fish biting again.

"They have been getting the big ones on the Classic spotted dog lure, which I have since sold out of.

"I had a group in who said they caught 200 fish at the Daly over two days but the biggest was only 75cm.

"I thought the cold would have stopped the bigger fish but the reports late in the week suggest otherwise.

"The Daly Crossing has been fishing well too.

"Darwin Harbour sparked up with some northern bluefin tuna a kilometre out from Stokes Hill Wharf.

"Queenfish have been taking Maribou jigs in Middle Arm.

"The wind this week stopped most offshore fishing and many turned back to fish the harbour - jewfish to 15kg were taken on harbour wrecks with live sardines working best as bait.

"Big silver whiting have been biting at Tree Point and Gunn Point beaches on small prawn baits.

"Squid have been showing up at Mandorah and Stokes Hill Wharves.

"The Bottlewasher Reef is producing big mackerel on live stripies and gar."

Shoal Bay Boat Hire's Bob Morris said mud crabs were going mad.

"I got one yesterday 19cm across the carapace,'' he said.

"We got 14 out of eight pots on one day and eight were good crabs.

"The last three or four days in the week they really improved.

"I have been getting the crabs at the back of creeks and out the front, but unfortunately a professionals crabber has moved onto the flats out the front.

"I think this weekend the fishing will get better.

"Fishing was good up until the last two days but the water temperature went down to 19C and the fishing went off. The big tides now will bring warmer water back in.

"But a 1.10cm barra was caught last Tuesday at Spot 6 on a lure, which is very impressive.

"Salmon have been evereywhere, both blue and threadfin.

"We have not had seen tuna in the bay yet but a recent pub competition was won by a 13kg spanish mackerel caught at The Rock."

Reidys Lures Jeff and Cheryl Reid went to Vanderlin Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria with Darren Nickolls of Darren's NT Barra Safaris, who has taken over the island operation from Lindsay Mutimer.

"It was fabulous - we caught everything - but it was windy and the water was cold,'' Cheryl said.

"We did bluewater fishing and caught GTs and coral trout.

"We went into some of the little mangrove creeks and caught, on just one snag, seven different species, including big mangrove jacks, cod, queenies, bream, barra etc.

"We were catching barra off the rocks near the lodge, and there were heaps of mud crabs.

"I would like to go back in better conditions, the river systems are so pristine and beautiful.

"Under the spotlight at night you could see so much bait and other fish in the rivers."

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