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Fishing guide Rex Berry with a Daly River barramundi taken on fly

Matt Flynn's Northern Territory
fishing report: December 5, 2004

Also available in the Darwin Sunday
newspaper, Sunday Territorian

The barramundi are biting in the rivers, with the tidal section of the Daly River fishing well, the freshwater in the Roper River producing loads of fish, and the Victoria River expected to go crazy early this week.

A monster barra was caught in the Limmen Bight River last week.
But billabongs seem to have gone quiet.

Offshore, jewfish have been slow but the tastier golden snapper are taking up the slack.

Blue salmon are abundant in Cape Hotham and Shoal Bay creeks. Top End Fishing Supplies' Chris Pache said an angler caught an 85cm barra in East Arm last week, along with a jack and a salmon.

"Another customer said Bynoe Harbour was quiet last Tuesday with a goldie and jack.

"I fished Buffalo Creek last week but caught no mud crabs.

"The shop's charter boats have been getting golden snapper at South Gutter on the smaller tides and Loee Patches on the bigger tides, with the jewies a bit quiet.

"The South Alligator River mouth has been fishing well for jewies in the channel.

"A mate just got back from three days at Melville Island - they went to Apsley Strait and caught a couple of big barra and some threadfin, and they also caught some good goldies on the reefs." Got One's Craig Grosvenor said Darwin Harbour was chockers with queenfish.

"They are abundant throughout with the best location being Shell Island off Berrimah boat ramp,'' he said.

"They seem to feed best on the first of the outgoing tide with fish to 90cm falling for jigged chrome slices, soft plastics and maribou jigs.

"Golden snapper have turned up in good numbers in most of the harbour creeks with fish to 3kg caught using fresh cut baits and small Squidgies sunk to the bottom and slowly twitched back to the boat.

"Threadfin salmon are now gorging themselves on the small prawns covering the mudflats, however finding a lure to match the hatch is the hard part.

"Barra to 75cm have been biting on the flats and gutters of the recent spring low tides on shallow minnow lures, especially the Just Unders.

"Harbour wrecks were good for jewfish on the last neap tides, with the container wrecks near the Stokes Hill Wharf worth a look this week."
         
Fishing and Outdoor World's Matt West said the inland billabongs seemed to be going quiet.

"The harbour and Shoal Bay have been the places to go for barra,'' he said.

"Equinox Fishing Charters has been getting fish offshore, but the jewies have been smaller than average.

"The mouth of the Adelaide River produced a few barra last weekend, but nothing outstanding.

"Landbased fishing has been good at a secret spot on the Cox Peninsula with one angler catching 15 to 20 barra a session.

"I have been getting a few barra around the rocks at East Point - any tide on the last couple of hours of the outgpoing seems to work - mornings are best because it is not as windy, but an offshore wind is best - we have caught the barra there to 7kg fishing the Darwin side down to the rocks out from the old Fannie Bay jail.

"Preston Higgins has been getting some good barra down the Daly River.

"George Voukolos Sr has been fishing Groote Eylandt aboard the Iron Lady charter boat and he hooked an amazing 89 barra in one day fishing, with the biggest 1m - there were heaps in the 80cm range - it was windy and they had to hide out of the wind for four days.

"At one stage they were catching coral trout and red emperor in 4m of water, which is great fishing."

Katherine Rod and Rifle's Warren de With said a customer caught a 25kg barra in the Limmen Bight River by casting a Scorpion 90 to snags.

"They also caught quite a few other barra,'' he said.

"The same angler went to Maria Island for three of four days and caught a heap of trevally, queenfish, barracuda - including a 15kg barracuda.      

"There has been quite a few fish getting around now - there has not been enough rain to dirty the rivers and make them unfishable - the rivers have lifted slightly   which has sparked the fish up.

"There have been several 60cm barra caught at Knotts   Crossing on the Katherine River. The Katherine fish are quite good to eat because the river always gets flow from the various springs and the limestone water that flows through keeps the river nice and clean.

"The McArthur River has been fishing well but there is not many people there now.

"Everyone going down the Roper River freshwater are catching heaps of fish - not many are venturing down to Port Roper tidal water because they are worried it will   rain and they won't get back.

"The Daly River has been fishing really well - the rain has pushed the Daly up but the fresh water going down the river is clean and people fishing the S-bends, Elizabeth Creek even as far as Alligator Heads have been getting 20 or 30 fish a day and many around 80cm and 90cm - they are simply trolling the snags in the Barra Classic or Nationals style.

"The Victoria River has been good and this Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday's tides will be excellent, however the fresh water will push the Vic mud crabs back downstream - the Vic is a good place to go crabbing because other places like the Gulf of Carpentaria have been hit so hard by commercial crabbers."  

Shoal Bay Boat Hire's Locky said staffer Cliff Watkins caught a 1.12m barra opposite the private boat ramp on a snag next to the mudflat at low tide.

"It went off with the float just exploding off the line,'' Locky said.

"It would have taken 10 minutes to get it in - and we use 15kg braid with 30kg leader.

"It was caught on a 30cm live mullet and the fish did not jump at any time.

"Cliff also caught four barra to 77cm on Wednesday.

"The mouth of King Creek and The Rock were real good on the last neap tides and it should go well this weekend.

"The crabs have been around out the front - there are definitely more big bucks showing up now.

"Last weekend the boys did very well with a 1.05m barra caught at the mouth of the Little Howard.

"The deep hole near the croc trap at Scrubby Creek produced 15 barra for one boat of three people using lures and bait, with the biggest barra going 81cm.

"Tuesday and Wednesday will be good with a lot of people doing well right on the last dead neap, but just coming off the neap will probably be best.

"The deep rockbars on the first right and the first left of King Creek will be a good place, and the hole at the mouth."  

Leaders Creek Fishing Base's Chris Edwards said there had not been many fishermen out last week because of the big   tides.

"The excellent tides for Leaders Creek and the Vernon Islands are early this week,'' he said.

"Palmerston Game Fishing Club is here this weekend and they must know when the fishing here is good.

"There were a few snapper and barra caught at Melville Island last week.

"There have been a lot going over for three or four days of fishing and camping over that way.

"Some have come back with good crabs.

"We have had four inches of rain in the past fornight so that should liven the fish up a bit.

"But the jewies have been pretty quiet. There have been some good snapper caught at Cape Hotham."

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