FISHING
NEWS FROM NORTH AUSTRALIA
With Alex Julius - 24 August 2006
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How many times over the last week or so have you heard someone say: “It doesn’t last long, does it?”
That, of course, is in reference to the cool, pleasant weather of the dry season; and I’ll bet more than a few bedroom air-conditioners have been kicked back into gear over the last few nights.
Yes, the bite has gone out of the dry season, the nights are getting warmer, the humidity is rising and there are plenty of opportunities to catch fish both inland and offshore.
This seasonal change seems to get most of our top angling species into a feeding mood with the barra firing up in the inland billabongs, rivers and estuaries while there are still hordes of mackerel, jewfish and snapper offshore.
Hardies Billabong is one place where the barra have already become more active and the word is that the fish there have a distinct preference for purple-coloured lures.
You can expect to see a lot more action in other billabongs like Corroboree and Shady Camp above the barrage over the next couple of weeks too.
The Kakadu billabongs should also start to fish well.
I’m told they are full of barra and the warmer conditions should get them biting.
Darwin Harbour is another place where the barra have welcomed the change in the weather and anglers have been doing well fishing the creeks and gutters up in Middle Arm and in Wood’s Inlet.
Visit our incredible fishing destination:
ARNHEMLAND BARRAMUNDI NATURE LODGE
 Long-time NT Parks and Wildlife Ranger, Ross Belcher, who nowadays is Regional Manager West for the SA Environment and Heritage Department, sent me this photo of his son, Evan, with an “average-size” Nile Perch from Murchison Falls Uganda .
This weirdo fish was reported washed up on Tampa Beach Florida . |
Danielle Broster’s first-ever barra came from Corroboree Billabong and measured 80 cm. 
Tides this weekend are ideal for an afternoon fish around the gutters and creek mouths in the harbour with a 1.64 m low at 2.00 pm on Saturday and 1.49 m at 2.24 pm on Sunday.
There are also plenty of small to medium queenies and GTs in the harbour and they can be great fun on lighter tackle.
You can usually find these fish off the rock shelves along the shore near Mandorah and around Weed Reef which is out from the mouth of West Arm.
Talc Head at the entrance to Wood’s Inlet is also a good spot to try for a queenie or a trevally and it often produces larger fish so don’t fish too light there.
Out on the bluewater, there’s no sign of the mackerel leaving town yet, with broad-barred and Spanish macs still patrolling the inshore reefs right along the coast.
Baits, particularly live garfish, are dynamite on these macs but plenty are also being caught trolling and casting lures.
This has been a fabulous year for bottom bouncers out of Darwin and there are still heaps of nice jewfish and golden snapper almost anywhere that there is enough bottom structure to get a food chain started.
Some anglers have been successfully targeting the jewies and snapper with an erratic jigging technique.
You drop relatively heavy metal lures to the bottom, jig them on the spot like mad and then wind them like crazy towards the surface.
You’ll get plenty of exercise fishing this way, but you need to hang on as this method will attract very big jewfish as well as mackerel and other large predators that might be patrolling the bottom.
If you want to take things a little easier, you can always drop a succulent fresh squid bait down to these fish.
There are plenty around the coast at the moment and they can be caught relatively easily with a decent squid jig.
Don’t use all the squid for bait though; they make a great feed in their own right.
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Last week I reported on some of the great new tackle on display at the Australian Fishing Tackle Show.
Something else I’d like to report on is the range of Tigress outriggers brought in by Flybridge.
Small-boat owners who have wanted to set up for billfishing using outriggers to spread troll baits and lures will simply love the Tigress 4.6 metre telescopic fibreglass poles system.
It comes with everything you need to set up outriggers in your boat, including stainless steel flush mounts, rigging kit and carry bag.
Designed for easy installation and use in trailer boats up to 8 metres, they are extremely easy to rig, even in rough seas.
The poles can troll lures up to 1 kg and telescope down to 1.7 metres for simple transportation.
Available in black poles/gold rims or white poles/blue rims, unbelievably they come in at under $600.
Flybridge is a relatively young Australian company, but it made a big splash at the tackle show by winning the Best Boating Accessory and Electronics Award with its Shark downrigger bomb.
This fish-shaped downrigger bomb is also designed to act as a teaser.
Finished in chrome for maximum flash, the surface is covered with small indentations that reflect vibration and create a disturbance in the water, similar to schooling baitfish.
Apparently, you can even see the Shark clearly on the sounder.
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