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ARNHEMLAND BARRAMUNDI NATURE LODGE

Dave also revealed a lighter side to his trip.

With him were Steve Harris and Daneile Davis, and they boated to the spot late on Friday to join a number of boats in a corporate fishing competition.

Dave said: “It was a bit lumpy on the way out and we left our run a bit, only arriving out there after dark to join the other boats.

“The night was fairly quiet apart from a large storm that nailed us and a few epic battles with some monsters of the deep!

“One we had on a 100 lb handline for about an hour but I lost the lot…couldn't hold the bastard,” Dave said.

“We did manage to tie a balloon to the reel before it was stripped out of my hands and one of the other boats found it in the morning, minus the hook, so at least we got the line back,” he said.

The crew left the mackerel bite to chase some reef fish near the Peron Islands and got stuck into a patch of nice trickies.

With the tides this weekend building from the neaps, plenty of anglers will be out chasing a barra or three in the saltwater.

In fact, conditions are perfect for chasing a big barra, and there are plenty of places to try.

An obvious area is Shoal Bay where you can either prop around The Rock or find a deep stretch up the nearby Howard River itself.

On both days of the weekend, you’ll need to be in position not long after sparrows otherwise you just won’t get to the good spots.

The Adelaide River mouth will also definitely be worth testing for quality barra.

Launch at Saltwater Arm, head down and around, and the world will be your oyster.

Either of the first three creeks on the lefthand side up from the mouth can fish extremely well at this time of year, and not only at the bottom of the tide, but also for well into the making tide.

The risk factor is dirty water – it’s clear water only at the bottom end of the Adelaide if you want to catch a barra on a lure.

For the late starters, the lower section of Leeders Creek at the top of the afternoon tide must be a special for an 80-plus barra and maybe even a black jew on a trolled lure.

I’m not giving any secrets away here because regular fishing tipster for this column, Chris Errity, has always been happy to reveal the best tides and the great results achievable trolling deep-running lures at the top of the tide in Leeders Creek.

If you were a betting man, you’d put money on Chris being at his favourite spot at least one afternoon this weekend.

Harbour arms barra fishing would be best left to Sunday when the tides fall below 2 metres.

That will get the gutters more exposed and the bait more easily targeted by the predators.