FISHING
NEWS FROM NORTH AUSTRALIA
With Alex Julius - 13 January 2005
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Although there has been patchy over the last few days, this Wet is still pumping along nicely.
The rivers are all up and there is nothing to indicate that the coming run-off won’t be a good one.
Currently, there is a cyclone watch in the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf .
Normally as a low of this nature moves west, it drags our wet season with it.
However, a check of the Bureau of Metreology’s four-day forecast shows rain, rain and more rain to fall across the entire Top End.
Although prospects for the coming run-off look good, right now it’s tough to find a barra as the rivers are either static or rising.
The Adelaide River has plenty of water upstream and, although a few of the feeder creeks are pumping out, it’s still a bit early for it to produce barra in any numbers.
With the amount of rain we’ve had, you’d expect plenty of water to be coming off the coastal floodplains, but the water downstream in the Adelaide is fairly dirty.
The Mary River is still closed to fishing below the barrage at Shady Camp (and that includes Tommycut Creek), so there’s no chance there before 1 February when it opens.
Hopefully, there will be a lot more rain on the Mary River catchment as this is one river which has fallen slightly.
Not surprisingly with its easy bitumen, the South Alligator has been attracting most attention and, even this early in the season, there have already been some good barra caught.
The best I’ve heard of so far was a 96 cm from the top of the river up near the mouth of Leichardt Creek.
The river is well and truly flooded up the top, although not much is happening downriver below the bridge.
I’m told that Nourlangie Creek is also flooding nicely.
This is the biggest tributary on the South Alligator, about 12 km up from the bridge and the boat ramp.
Carolyn Cooper caught the biggest barra of the trip: 88 cm on a Classic 120 at the Arnhemland Barramundi Nature Lodge.
At the top of the Liverpool , the freshwater yielded plenty of trophy tarpon.
The talented fishing couple were guided by Trevor Robb, pictured here releasing one of their barra. |
Newly-weds John (pictured with his 75 cm barra) and Carolyn Cooper may have well enjoyed the best barra fishing since New Year, catching more than 70 barra in three days on the 
As always when Nourlangie starts pumping, that dreaded noxious floating plant, Salvinia molesta, starts flowing from the flooded Nourlangie plains into the main river.
Salvinia poses a huge threat to inland angling waters because it can completely cover a waterway.
I’ve seen it so thick on a billabong that I doubt even sunlight would have penetrated.
It is absolutely critical that anglers fishing waters such as the South Alligator do everything possible to ensure they don’t inadvertently transport it to other unaffected waterways.
Things to do include checking landing nets at the end of the day, and inspecting boat trailers at the ramp before driving home.
The East Alligator River is another that transports Salvinia during the wet season.
Currently, the Magela Crossing is closed due to flooding and it will be a while before anglers can get into the East Alligator River, so it’s out of play unless you’re prepared for a very long trip down the South Alligator and around to the East by sea.
The Daly River is in flood and although the water has started to drop in the Katherine River and the upper Daly, the water level is holding steady at the Crossing.
The Daly below the outlet from Moon Billabong is also closed to fishing until 1 February.
The Roper River is also in flood with 3 metres of water over Roper Bar.
It seems a few locals had a ball fishing from the bar as the river rose and released all those upstream barra eager to get downstream.
Apparently 80 and 90 cm barra were biting in a frenzy.
However, the river is now very discoloured and the fishing is over for the timebeing.
The Victoria River is also dirty, although a few small fish were caught around Timber Creek over the last week.
Close to home, Darwin Harbour has continued to produce barra up to 85 cm.
The tides aren’t too bad for a cast at a barra or two in places like the West and Middle Arms this weekend.
Saturday is probably the best bet, and you can plan for a late start because the low tide is not until mid-afternoon.
I’d say Sunday would be more suited to the Howard River , but it can get very rough going from Buffalo Creek to the Howard if there are storms about in Shoal Bay .
A wiser access point is the Shoal Bay Boat Hire Facility right in the Howard River .
With a coastal wind warning in play, offshore is simply out of the question this weekend.
I noted with interest the advertisement in last Saturday’s NT News for an Executive Officer for the guided fishing tourism industry.
I believe this is definitely a step in the right direction for the whole recreational fishing industry in the NT.
For too long, fishing tour operators have been unable to get together with any real united focus.
A dedicated Executive Officer can now become the conduit for pursuing important issues that concern many fishing tour operators.
If you missed the advertisement and think this might be the job for you, give Graeme Williams a call on 8945 6658 or 0412 481592.
Alex Julius Fishing Media
PO Box 571, Howard Springs NT Australia 0835
International phone: (618) 89832167
International fax: (618) 89831914
Fax (from within Australia): (08) 89831914
E-mail: AJFM@hotspot.com.au