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Dennis with a blue salmon from the Dundee foreshore Matt
Flynn's Northern Territory Northern Territory fishing publisher Matt Flynn officially released his sixth edition of the North Australian Fish Finder fishing map book this month. Flynn said the book - which he publishes biennially in Darwin - included 304 pages of fishing hotspots and information. "This edition of Fish Finder is the first to have comprehensive satellite imagery of the northern coast - there are few mudmaps in the book now,'' he said. "With combined satellite and aerial imagery fishermen can find little-known creeks and waterholes and see the underwater detail of some reefs and flats." Flynn, who writes a weekly two pages column for the Sunday Territorian newspaper in Darwin, said North Australian Fish Finder was sold nationally and helped southern tourists visit the north, where the fishing conditions were very different. "We have huge tides in many places, as well as mudflats, heat and very seasonal conditions, so any help you can get can make for a far more enjoyable fishing holiday,'' he said. "Northern locals love the book too, although some reckon it gives away their secrets - however I have put my own spots in the book since 1997 and I still catch plenty of fish at those old spots." Flynn said he believed the Top End was still entitled to the Fishing Territory tag, but Queensland was winning back some northern fishing tourism dollars. "The 2004 Great Barrier Reef Yellow Zones pushed commercial netters out of some popular East Coast recreational fishing estuaries, so Queensland's coastal fishing may improve in some areas - the Territory must retain its reputation for wilderness and provide high-quality fishing and crabbing if it wants tourists to spend a $1.20 a litre on fuel to drive here,'' he said. "And there are still improvements that can be made to the Territory's recreational fishery. There are imminent threats to our pristine waterways, such as land clearing on the famous Daly River." Flynn said he was now completing a southern version of his popular book, which he said had always sold out. "It's been a huge success, but like many business people I am now often stuck in the office when I should be out fishing,'' he said. "Sometimes I pay people to go out and do the research - that's not what I intended when I started." North Australian Fish Finder is sold at newsagencies and tackle stores for $26.95. The next edition will be released in 2007.
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