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To the north-east, there’s Loee Patches, past the corner of Roche Reefs, which itself is worth a shot.

To the north-west is Blaze Reef, wide of Point Blaze and one of the best Spanish mackerel spots along this part of the Top End.

If the weather is really good, then I’d be heading all the way down to the Perons and over to Bateman Shoals.

There you can expect to find the mackerel so thick that reef fishing will be out of the question because frenzied macks will most likely eat your baits and your sinkers on the way down and, if they miss, they’ll bite in half any reefies you hook and try to bring up to the boat.

Although closer to Darwin the macs are not nearly so thick, fish are being caught around Lee Point and out from there on the Bottlewasher artificial reef.

This area is perfect for a half-day trip, and ideal for the smaller boats.

If you miss out on a mackerel, there are other sportfish keen to take a lure within sight of Darwin Hospital .

Earlier this week, for example, Mal Strong from Got One had another affair with that Green Rainbow Classic, this time in the 160 mm version, nailing both tuna and GTs trolling at seven knots around the Angler’s Reef and Bottlewasher artificial reef grounds.

It’s no secret that mackerel can be caught a number of different ways.

I reckon trolling lures is the most fun, and it gives you a chance to cover a wider area.

There are several proven mackerel lures on the market.

The locally-made Nautilus MacMagnet, hand-carved out of wood and with a metal bib, has been for many years an outstanding mackerel lure, particularly in the Qantas colour (red and white).

The Classic 160 mentioned earlier – in just about any of the Bobby Dazzler colour combinations – is a big lure which mackerel climb all over.

Reidy’s Big Boss is a beaut mackerel enticer in the two-hook version, again in the Qantas colour but also the orange and yellow.

Halco’s big Lasers are definitely proven mackerel tucker, and come with heavy-duty hardware and in a range of contrasting colour schemes which all work.

Of course, those imported, metal-bib Rapala CDs have been catching mackerel long before any of the above.

When you think about it, mackerel lure fishing can be just like barra: there are so many great choices.

If you can afford one or two of each of the above, then you’ll be able to vary colour, size, depth and action combinations until you find what works on the day.

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On the barra scene, Shady Camp Billabong is the place to be as the sun sets.

Barra have been smashing all manner of surface, noise-making lures worked across the rock-bars.

During the day, jig-trolling across the rock-bars and close to the weeds has been producing barra to 86 cm.

Corroboree Lagoon continues to fish at a steady pace, including at legendary spots like the S Bend and Catfish Island .

Little Lucifers, Nilsie Spearheads and Classic 97s in greens and golds have been the most-consistent fish catchers, although I’m surprised that no one seems to be using tiger lily or chartreuse Bombers, trolled way back and jigged like mad when the gear lever is put into neutral. Adelaide River fished exceptionally well on the last neaps, the hotspot being the rock-bar below Goat Island during the incoming tide.

Of course, the mighty Daly continued to power over the neaps.

There’ll be less numbers of fish on these bigger tides this weekend, but there are bound to be some hooters amongst them.