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ARNHEMLAND BARRAMUNDI NATURE LODGE

But at the South itself, the news is good.

According to my sources, the river has never looked so good.

It is seriously flooded up the top and there are great colour changes from pumping feeder creeks all the way down to the bridge, and from there down to the river mouth.

Already the fishing has improved dramatically compared to a fortnight ago, with plenty of metre-plus fish caught.

It certainly augurs well for the annual Kakadu Barra Klash which will be held on 23-25 March and carries $7500 prize money plus lots of other prizes .

Hosted by the Aurora Kakadu Resort, most competitors from last year have re-entered and there is a waiting list for those still trying to get a berth.

The Klash is a Capture Photo and Release competition, and thus meets the highest standards of practicing conservation in fishing.

Congratulations to the organisers of this event for continuing with a set of rules that encourage the release of big fish, especially since this competition is being held in a world heritage park.

Each team can register one fish per day, and it will be according to length and not weight because all eligible barra must be measured and released.

Of course, with a big cash prize on offer, precautions have been taken to stop any of you crooks out there.

Prior to release, your fish will be photographed on a measuring tape with the day’s score sheet alongside it.

Each day competitors are issued with a new disposable camera, and all boats will be checked daily to make sure there are no hidden barra.

The winning team will be the one with the highest aggregate points from the three days.

Back to the rivers, the Sampan Creek mouth on the Mary River yielded some magnificent barra last weekend, including fish bigger than 120 cm.

The Mary’s other tributary, Tommycutt Creek, fished equally as well, with the highlight being a strong run of barra between 90 cm and 1 metre.

On Sunday, Mal Strong from Got One caught what might well prove to be the season’s biggest barra.

Mal was trolling the newest Classic Barra 120 Green Rainbow not far below the barrage at Shady Camp when a 132 cm big old girl latched on.

As I wrote about a couple of weeks ago, those 8 metre mega-tides, combined with all that lovely rain, have moved barra and bait way up the rivers and anglers are now reaping the benefits.

Mind you, it’s not only barra that have appeared in numbers and in a hungry mood; That other great Territory angling favourite, the black jew, has been biting like mad out from the mouth of the Mary on the shallow reefs.

Perhaps surprisingly, golden snapper are taking baits with relish on the same reefs.

Not to be outdone, the Adelaide River is also fishing extremely well.

Thanks to this latest monsoonal burst, organisers of both the Barra Classic and Barra Nationals tournaments can now sit back and relax.

The Daly already received a good dousing in January, and now there are more than 11 metres over the crossing and it’s still rising.

According to Anna Cumming at Woolianna, anglers have been going way downriver to find water low enough to be worth fishing.

The best barra reported from there so far went 101 cm.

Warren De With from Katherine’s Rod & Rifle reports the Katherine River is up 8.5 metres, so all that water will work its way down into the Daly and the run-off fishing to follow in the next few weeks may well be the stuff of legend.

Further afield, the mighty Victoria River is just a couple of metres under bridge; but it’s dropping fast and that means great run-off fishing will be happening shortly.

The Katherine River itself is opening the eyes of local anglers with the quality of fish being caught.

Leigh Baker bagged a beaut 96 cm barra in the river and Ben Wright scored an 80 cm fish.

Warren reckons any culverts around the Katherine area will be worth a go this weekend, especially those on the Roper Highway .

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Land a large black jewfish in the next six months, and you could win a $350 rod and reel combo.

That is the exciting lure being offered by Northern Territory Fisheries researchers as part of a study into the habits and movements of the species.

Fisheries personnel have analysed more than 1000 black jewfish landed by commercial fishers and fishing tour operators in waters surrounding Darwin during the past 18 months.

“However, most of these jewfish have measured 130 cm or less in length,” said researcher Chris Errity.

“We need more details on the big guys – ones that are longer than 130 cm – and we need help from the public to find them, so we have decided to launch this competition.

“Every time you catch a black jewie of 130 cm or more and enter it in the competition, your name will be placed into a draw to win a rod and reel combo generously donated by Shimano Australia and valued at $350.

“This competition will continue throughout the Dry, until 31 August. The prize will be drawn on Friday, 15 September. All jewfish must be 130 cm or longer to be eligible,” Chris said.

The jewfish are assessed for their length and weight, and their gonads (sexual organs) and otoliths (ear bones) are collected.

“The otoliths help us to age the fish and the gonads help us to determine their sexual maturity,” Chris explained.

Fisheries would prefer to have the fish kept whole so they can measure, weigh and collect samples.

Fillets can be removed from the fish after the sampling is completed.

However, if you cannot bring back the whole fish, then the frame is fine – and it would be greatly appreciated if you weigh the fish before filleting it as this is also important information.

Jewfish can be taken to Fisheries, Goff Letts Building , Berrimah Research Farm on Makagon Road , Berrimah.

If you can’t bring your catch in, phone 8999 2144 or 0414 725 772 and someone will come and pick it up.

The black jewfish aggregation study is a joint venture between Fisheries (part of the Northern Territory Government’s Department of Primary Industry, Fisheries and Mines), the Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute (TAFI) and the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC).

Results of this project will be presented at a public workshop in September.