Visit our incredible fishing destination:
ARNHEMLAND BARRAMUNDI NATURE LODGE

Craig Grosvenor from Got One took the morning off early in the week to give Charles Point a go with some mates, and they were into a triple hook-up within minutes of their lines hitting the water.

But it’s not only Charles Point — hot jewie bites have also been reported from Town Hall Hole, Saltwater Arm, Dundee , Bynoe Harbour , The Perons, The Vernons, Shoal Bay Rock, Fenton Patches, Cape Hotham , Ellengowan, Catalina wrecks, and at the various artificial reefs off Lee Point .

With the big tides and strong currents over Easter, you will need to pick your times and fish at the change of tide.

The low tide in the early afternoon will be the go for an ‘office hours’ jewie assault, while anglers fishing at night will be able to take their pick of tidal changes.

Good numbers of smaller macks and queenies have also been caught.

Mark West from Hooked On Fishing has been putting clients onto some excellent pelagic action around the Vernons.

Further offshore the jewies have been mixed in with coral trout and some big golden snapper.

A client of Arafura Bluewater Charters caught a monster 13.5 kg goldie earlier in the week.

Water levels are still very high in the rivers, but accessible waters such as the Adelaide should fish well over Easter.

Anglers have been fishing the Adelaide by launching off the side of the Arnhem Highway , then simply motoring through the carpark to the main channel!

Downstream there are some perfect run-offs, with large numbers of barra to 98 cm being caught on both plastic and hard bodied lures.

This weekend should see the upstream section of the Adelaide start to fire as well.

With access to some rivers still cut off, the Mary and the South Alligator will be the best spots for barra this Easter.

The big tides are likely to get barra moving freely in and out of the bigger feeder creeks, so there will be plenty of opportunities run-off fishing.

For an easy day trip, Darwin Harbour arms should also be a good bet for barra, particularly as the water should be clear now the heavy rain has gone.

Launch in the morning and fish the run-out tide as soon as the water drops below the mangroves, then follow that up as the incoming tide floods across the mudflats

For land-based anglers, Mandorah Wharf has been producing big queenies and the occasional cobia.

A drive along the Arnhem Highway is a good way to ping a barra off the bitumen, with plenty of smaller fish falling to soft plastic lures.

Tarpon are also active in the culverts, and are great fun on light tackle.

=======================================================================================

Despite the high water, competitors in the Reel Women’s Barra Classic at the Mary caught some great fish last weekend,

The biggest fish caught was 106 cm, and most anglers fished down towards the mouth. Tommycutt produced 7 fish over a metre on Saturday, and they were all caught trolling.

Champion Team and Champion Independent Team were the Lowrance Lurettes.

Team members Caz Forrest, Melissa Krollig and Megan Cox caught 4 fish in the 90s, an 80 cm barra, and some threadfin salmon to round out their score.

They picked a good spot and worked it hard with trolled lures over the course of the competition, attracting regular strikes from healthy saltwater barra.

Competitors launched above the barrage at Shady Camp, and water levels were so high that they had no trouble getting over it in their boats.

=====================================================================================

The annual King Ash Bay Fishing Classic is on this Easter weekend at the McArthur River .

Sponsored by McArthur River Mining, there are excellent amenities at King Ash Bay , and the river is literally going off with quality barra.

Locals fishing with handlines at the river crossing were stacking big barra a dozen at a time behind them, and still kept fishing.

They even gave fish away, although some tourists were horrified when a couple of locals tried to sell metre-long barra for a carton of beer at the pub.

One of the local constabulary got a bit more than he bargained for when he caught two metre-long barra off the bank near rocky Creek.

He released one and threw the other up on the bank.

Next minute a huge croc came around behind him after the barra.

The policeman managed to just get to the fish first, grabbing it and high-tailing back to his car.

======================================================================================

Interest for the 2006 Northern Territory Freshwater Fly Fishing Open is heating up with a record number of entrants registered for the event.

To ensure everyone is well equipped for the competition, the Darwin Fly Rodders club will be holding a fly tying night on Wednesday 19 April at the Darwin Golf Club, Links Road , Marrara.

The tournament will be held at Corroboree Billabong on the weekend of 27 -28 May.

The event has already attracted two of Australia ’s best-known fly fishing identities: Scott Mitchell from the Alpine Angler and Peter Morse who is well known through the SBS series “Wildfish”, his books and his magazine articles.

A fly casting clinic with Peter Morse and Sage representative Pat Levy will also be held at the Darwin Golf Club on Wednesday 24 May.

People will also be able to try the Sage Casting Analyzer, which will give them the good or bad news about their technique.

You can get more information on all of the above from www.darwinflyrodders.org.au.