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Jenner Sambono caught this 73cm barra at the South Alligator River on a Snapback soft plastic lure during wet season flooding  

Matt Flynn's Northern Territory
fishing report: February 6, 2005

Also available in the Darwin Sunday
newspaper, Sunday Territorian


Still we wait for serious rainfall, but even the monsoonal trough on the satellite image doesn't look convincing.

February is traditionally the month when it buckets down over Darwin.

But it hasn't happened yet.

While at least one big barramundi was caught at Shady Camp last week, and several good fish were taken down at No Fish and Elizabeth Creeks on the Daly River, there has not been a lot of action.

With rough weather predicted and most rivers rising again, the week ahead looks like a quiet one.

Got One's Craig Grosvenor said Darwin Harbour barra had been relatively quiet with one or two fish caught per trip, with the most consistent action around East Arm.

"One crew caught 10 fish for the day with the largest 82cm, fishing the last of the incoming tide on the top rockbar of Myrmiden Creek,'' he said.

"Jewfish reports have been coming thick and fast as the tides began to neap out.

"Most of the harbour wrecks have been producing jewfish but the pick of the spots seem to be the Mauna Loa and the shipping containers.

"Local squid and tuna have accounted for most fish, but a live mullet or stripey will outfish deadbait every time - the turn of the tide at night has been best.

"The South Alligator River fished well upstream with the feeder creeks pumping tannin water into the main river.

"Most fish were caught at the top of Nourlangie Creek and the South Alligator itself as the water channelled off the floodplains.

"Soft plastics like the new Snapbacks and Tsunamis seem to do the trick.

"The Daly River has fished well for those in the know with recent localised rain creating some good run-off fishing as the river dropped.

"But the Daly River has seen recent rainfall which will slow down fishing for a while.

"The Finniss River freshwater has provided some run-off fishing with many fish caught but the average size is small, with soft plastic lures best.

"The only decent reports I've heard from Shady Camp have been from Sampan Creek mouth using Skitter Pops, Zara Spooks and Storm Thunder Dogs, with several good fish caught."

Fishing and Outdoor World's George Voukolos said there had been barra on the rocks around Darwin Harbour.

"East Point on the Fannie Bay side has been producing barra,'' he said.

"There have been some caught off the Esplanade rocks too.

"There were golden snapper biting at the Six Mile Buoy before the winds came up.

"The Daly River has produced some nice fish - some people are trying to keep it hush hush.

"No Fish and Elizabeth Creeks and even some of the upstream creeks have fired.

"But they have had a lot of rain there and out at Jabiru over the past few days.

"Magela Creek on the East Alligator River was 1.2m and rising on Friday.

"There have been changes out at Shady Camp - there are bigger earth walls now that will need a lot of rain to blow them out and create the fishing channels we are used to."

Top End Fishing Supplies' Mulga said the Daly River had been fishing well but the water was coming up again so it would probably shut down.

"It is a hard battle at the moment- if there is a break in the weather now I would say go jewie fishing at the turn of the tide at night,'' he said.

"If you are a real desperado on a rough night you can hide up the creeks and catch some barra.

"But as soon as the weather breaks after this spell of rain it should be spot on in the rivers.

"We were fully booked for charters this week but had to cancel.

"A lot of people want to get out fishing - the charter boat went out Friday and caught fish but too many people were sick and they had to come back.

"If we get some heavy localised rain at Shady Camp next weekend's big tides could be perfect."

Katherine Rod and Rifle's Warren de With said fishing was good last week, with the Katherine River fishing well for small barra before rain started again on Monday night.

"The Katherine River was at 9m and dropping on Friday,'' he said.

"The Roper River was fishing well at the bar but was 1.5m and rising at the bar on Friday.

"The Daly has been fishing well at No Fish and Elizabeth Creeks.

"The most recent flush of water down the Katherine River was filfthy water full of trees and this will be flowing down to the Daly River now.

"The Victoria RIver has been running dirty water.

"We need 100mm a night of rain for a period of time - we have not yet had the real wet season rain."


Shoal Bay Boat Hire's Bob Morris said there were plenty of barra and jewfish biting last week.

"The weather turned yesterday but we still got three fish - there was a lot of clear run-off up the creeks,'' he said.

"There were people walking the flats during the week and landing barra to 90cm.

"We have been getting two or three fish a day.

"There have been some really big mullet up on the floodplains.

"There is a of water coming out of the creeks and it is now nice and clean so there are good colour changes.

"The jewfish have been going off at The Rock, it does not seem to matter which part of the tide you fish.

"The jewfish have all been in the 12kg to 15kg range - and it takes ages to land one that big in the shallow water.

"One crew caught five barra over at Hope Inlet last Sunday fishing the low tide with lures.

"You can actually walk across part of the bay from the boat ramp and fish channels on the other side.

"There are big buck crabs being caught on the flats but some are empty - you have to check them.

"There are only small prawns about now."

Leaders Creek Fishing Base's Chris Edwards said a 10kg barra was caught in the creek last week.

"There have been some good hits, but people just pull in a big scale hooked on their lure,'' he said.

"That means there are some big fish around.

"Out the front a lot of snapper have been caught, and also out further at Cape Hotham.

"The Vernon Islands have produced some good snapper, and someone said they lost a huge silver fish after their rod broke.

"The shallows at Glyde Point have been producing blue salmon - I don't mind blue salmon, but one bloke said he let 15 of them go because they looked a bit too much like catfish.

"The road is in condition despite the rain."

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