Craig Barrett with one of several barramundi he caught at McArthur River. The biggest was 99cm and just over 10kg. Picture: GOT ONE Matt
Flynn's Northern Territory Most rivers rose enough last week to create run-off conditions, with the Daly hitting an impressive 10m. The early fishing proved surprisingly good on the Victoria, Roper and Daly Rivers. Some culverts on the Arnhem Hwy flooded briefly last week, with a few reports of fish being caught. But much more rain is needed. With the satellite image clear across the western half of Australia on Friday it remains to be seen what's going to happen with the monsoon. Fishing and Outdoor World's Matt West said he fished Darwin Harbour over the Christmas break and caught mostly threadfin salmon. "We caught them on the small Squidgies - we would cast them into the prawn schools and at the swirls - we caught some at the mouth of Reichardt Creek. "We also caught a 2kg jack on the Reichardt Creek shipwreck, which impressed us. "There were a few queenfish around the front of East Arm wharf, mostly smaller ones. "Middle Arm has been good for barra with the livebaiters doing best. "Spot 6 in Shoal Bay has been seeing a lot of fishermen because it usually fishes well with rain, but I have not heard back with reports. "There are a lot of fish being caught off the bank at Buffalo Creek. "There have been good jewfish at the Town Hall Hole in Middle Arm, and a barge wreck in the harbour has also been fishing well. "Shady Camp barrage has been fishing well during the day on the freshwater side. The Daly River is now too high but it was fishing well before it rose." Fishing and Outdoor World's Ronald Voukolos said people were becoming more adept at using small soft plastics and were catching all sorts of fish on them. "The small spinning outfit with an eggbeater reel is probably the best way to go with the really small soft plastics,'' he said. "People are catching loads of jacks and snapper on the small lures, using fine leaders and light line. "You catch fish you never would catch on large hard-bodied lures." Top End Fishing Supplies' Mulga said the break in the weather would be a window for fishermen to get out and see what was happening. "We went to the Daly River just before it rose - the crossing was at 800mm and we cleaned up there with fish from 72cm to 86cm in the afternoon,'' he said. "We got at least 15 fish and the biggest ones just bent the hooks and got away. "The fish we caught all looked liked saltwater fish. "We went there two days later and the river was at 8m and of course its now higher still. "There's loads of rubbish on the river so boaters have to be very careful. "People also need to check any water crossing on the roads when they are flooded as at least one car has come to grief. "Magela Creek on the East Alligator River has been up and down like a yo yo, which is dangerous because people go through when it is low and then can't come back if it goes up again. "The next lot of big rain will guarantee that the Daly River is going to go off - hopefully it will rain hard again soon. "The Adelaide River might be worth a visit but you usually have to wait until a little later for the fish to run there. "Offshore fishing will be good while the weather lasts because the fish have had a good break over the past week or so while it was too rough for boats to go out." Katherine Rod and Rifle's Warren de With said the town experienced dry season weather on Friday after a week of rain. "It was cool with blue skies and a south-easter,'' he said. "It's not what we want though. "We had some good rain nonetheless and there are good levels of water in the rivers - the break in the weather will allow everyone to get out and have a look around. "There was a 1.04m barra taken from the prawn farm creeks down the bottom of the Roper River. "The Victoria River has been fishing well but the Daly has risen too much, however there is no water in its major tributary, the Katherine River, which is at 4m, so the Daly will not stay high long unless it rains again soon. "The rain has fallen a lot on the lower coastal plains, especially at the Daly, which is good for the billabongs and feeder creeks - this will help the run-off fishing." Shoal Bay Boat Hire's Bob Morris said there were a few barramundi about but not many people had been fishing over the past week. "We had a bit of run-off early in the week but it has stopped now, but now there is water on the ground you only need a bit of rain to create more run-off,'' he said. "The Little Howard River seems to be the place to go with fish crashing everywhere. "An 83cm barra was landed the other day but there hasn't been a lot of people fishing in the monsoonal weather. "The amount of bait visible in the bay changes - one day there is plenty and another day there is none. "When it is windy and raining the bait seems to move up the creeks. "When it is really blowy and raining the barra don't seem to bite either - it is good when it is nice and sunny. "The buck crabs are starting to turn up more in catches now - there aren't many crabs up the creeks now, they are all out the front. "The prawns are getting bigger - we caught quite a few the other day." Got One's Craig Grosvenor said the Shady Camp barrage freshwater had been fishing well with fish to 10kg caught in the early evening on DOA soft plastics and double-tailed grubs. "Three and four-inch Swim Shads were working well too but there was a bit of a fish kill there on Thursday so I don't what's happening now,'' he said. "In Darwin Harbour there is still large quantities of salmon feeding on small prawns. The new Wilson Flash Prawn has been successful on these fish, particularly on the flats around Reichardt, Bleesers and Hudson Creeks. "I fished the Catalina wrecks last week and caught blue salmon and snapper and lost a big fish. "The mouth of the South Alligator River has been producing jewies to 9kg on local squid loaded onto Black Magic bait jigs, with a few snapper too. "In Bynoe Harbour, Indian Island has produced fish in the quiet water out of the way of storms on Classics in silver bleeding mullet. "There have also been jewies caught trolling Leaders Creek. "All the culverts are up and the occasional fish was caught on the roadsides last week. "In the Adelaide River at Beatrice Creek a customer caught an 84cm barra using an RMG Scorpion 90mm in fluoro but then his wife lost his Loomis rod and Calcutta reel over the side." Leaders Creek Fishing Base's Chris Edwards said there was not much to report because not many people had fished over the past week during the monsoonal weather. "A boat went out and caught some snapper at Cape Hotham but it has been pretty quiet. I can't even make a story up it's been so quiet,'' he said.
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