This week’s report with Brenton Marschke

November 21st, 2008
Taylor and Billie O'Hare Marschke with a fun loving Mangrove jack
Taylor and Billie O’Hare Marschke with a fun loving Mangrove Jack!

The rain dance seems to have worked. With the wet season trying its hardest to get off the ground, there are excellent reports are coming in from all over the place,  from inland waterways to the blue!

It also occurs to us that the days are gone when a neap tide is only good for the bottom bouncing and soaking a bait whilst watching the world go by. Barra, salmon and other piscatorial species that frequent our habour and arms are being targeted right across the tidal range. My how the the fishing scene has changed in the top end….

On the barra front  word is the Shoal Bay is gearing up to show why it’s one of best places to get amongst the big girls. To see them performing a nervous two-step shuffle toward the horizon is a thrill, and with similarly big salmon also creating surface panic and  chasing what ever it is they are chasing, this is one of the best times of year to be out there. We have been hearing that both lures and live bait have been working in all the usual the areas. As we said last week, Mekkits and King Creek are a special at this time of year, and as time goes on the fish get bigger. Good mate Jason  with landed his personal best 94cm barra trolling a Classic in one of the Shoal Bay creeks. He said the baitfish were getting hammered,  so the next set of neaps will be very interesting (Wow! Chasing big barra on neaps who would have thought?)  Game on for the next couple off
weeks.

 If you are getting live bait make  be sure you have the vineger handy as the jelly fish are also out in numbers this time of the year.  There is nothing worse then getting hit by one of these things when you are land locked in Shoal Bay.  It makes for a long, uncomfortable day. Make sure you’re wearing long pants when wading. Crabs have also been caught in Shoal Bay and the habour arms  and reports say they are full and a good size

Habour rock bars are still producing nice size snapper and the odd bream,  as well as cod. Out in the deeper water the lads decided to think out of the square and did a bit of jigging with plastics in a few of the deeper holes of the habour with some interesting outcomes,  big barracuda and a few other things they lost sight unseen. Some of the creatures that swim around in the habour are pretty impressive. We know of a land-based barracouda of about 120lbs landed off the rocks not so long ago. So thats an option - get out and try something different.  With good tides this weekend and some run on the change,  try dropping a jig or a big plastic down in the deep and see what you come up with. You might be suprised at the results..

 

With a Sunday morning low at 9.10 an early start is recommended. Get the last two hours of the run out and work the change an hour after. That might be the way to go to catch a jew and a few reef fish and home to watch the cricket before lunch!  Also good tides this weekend to go further afield to Charles Point or out wide for some jewfish and snapper. If they’re  playing the game try both jigging and bait, squid and pillies, sandmar etc. Once again play it safe.  With the wet finally in full swing there is a good chance of big nasty afternoon storm. Have a marine radio on board and make sure you listern to any weather reports.

We went for a quick run out to Charles Point last night and the storm that went over Berry Springs and Bynoe Habour had some decent wind in it, and the warning was issued over the radio. A good skipper is always safety conscious - no  point kicking the crocs off the front page of the news paper just for  a few fish, so play it safe. 

With the buzz of over 70 billfish being raised in the recent bluewater comp, people are putting more time on the bluewater out wide,   trying to get amongst these mighty creatures. Good to see - who said you have to spend big bucks to go down south just to get these fish. Its a case of  watch this space. 

Going inland for a fish still works. The Adelaide River above Goat Island has some good quality barra round.

Both live bait and lures are producing some good fishing. After all the fun we had last year we cant wait for the  run off in this system. It seems that Coroborree is still fishing OK, it  just keeps on going on and on.

Just how many fish are there in there? The heat and humidity is starting to make them more lethargic,  and you can see the odd one swimming across the surface slowly waiting for the floods to come, still   barra and toga  are still being landed in numbers. One crew just had a great session on top water poppers - surely it has to end soon.

  So pile on the sunscreen, fill the water bottles, and toss the coin to see if you are going out front or to chase the barra and  crabs up the arms. How about get the  kids out for a fish - get them away from the TV and X Box. l did with my girls for a few weekends and  they had a blast catching little jacks and barra and other things. Fishing is a good family sport, so don’t waste great tides like these. 

Tight lines see you on the water …. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

Fishing Report 14th November 2008

November 14th, 2008

With massive tides  this weekend is a great opportunity to tangle with a few barra and salmon in the harbour arms of Darwin, Bynoe and Shoal Bay. There could even be a few snapper around, there appears be a good number of them getting around at present.

Sunday’s tide is the lowest of the two,  0.13M, which is a crazy low. The theory is that with so little water the fish will be concentrated in a smaller area, making them easier to find. Great in theory! 

With tides this  low you can really get to understand the area or systems you are fishing.  Fish attracting structures such as rock bars, mud banks, gutters, snake drains and such  will be exposed,  giving you an idea on where the fish may gather to ambush the congregating bait fish.  l have found many  spots by doing this. Fishing is not just trying to catch fish,  it is also a learning curve, so motor around carefully - you may find things that you never knew were there!

Inland water ways such as Coroborree are slowly winding down,  but on the odd days some great numbers of fish are still getting caught. It has been an awesome year in this famous waterway, not only for the spectacular wildlife, but the barra fishing has been fantastic! The fish have been bigger this year,  80cm fish have been in good numbers. The fish are fit, fat, fiesty and have been very clean looking fish, and great to eat.

With the weather starting to become more active,  its only a matter of time before the Mary River system is in flood again. We are hoping for as good a wet season as last year, so get out and do the rain dance. We need some big floods to get the fish moving around, so they can migrate into the diverse  billabongs of the upper Mary.

It is little known but there are an amazing thirty three barrages in between the Shady Camp Barrage and  Corroboree Billabong.  These are made and maintained privately to artificially retain water after the wet for pastoral purposes, but in effect they are obstacles to migrating fish. Only in a really big wet, such as the one we had last year, does the water get over them and allow the fish to move around. Probably why  the Mary fished so well this year. This environmental vandalisim at its worst - save the Murray?  What about save the Mary! , l do know that the earthen barrages below Shady Camp are to stop  salt water intrusion into the wetlands,  but the main barrage at Shady Camp has been there many years and there has been little or no intrusion above it. 

 If you want to get away this weekend the Daly River might the place to go. There are a few good fish getting caught off the crossing at night and in the early morning.  This weekends big tides  will push the water up enough at the crossing, with a good chance of a session on the barra.  The river above the crossing has been fishing well again, and is a good place to go and explore. There are always good fish to be caught there if you can find them. Well presented Plastics,  Nilsmasters, Bombers, Killalures and the new  Twitch Baits will give you every chance …..

 Both Shoal Bay and Leeders Creek  will also be worth a visit. Its the time of  year when the big girls are around the mouths of the rivers and creeks.  King Creek and Meckkits are both reknowned for turning it on during the November full moon. With many Shoal Bay holes being landlocked on these tides there are some great land based barra and salmon to be had.

We have heard whispers, but the Shoal Bay bandits have been playing their cards close to their chests. I think there is more going on there than we are hearing. Remember to take lots of water and sun screen as its a long day there when the water goes out. Live bait and  bigger lures are your best option.   

If you have a few hours to kill in the late afternoon,  the top of the high will provide the chance to drown a bait for a jewie.  We have done well this quite a few times and the results have been amazing. It just goes to show that more run really does mean more fun!  Quality sqiud and  pillies are  good cocktail to be putting in front of them

Barra on the Rocks

November 8th, 2008

The Red Head Lucifer was on a roll!

The Red Head Lucifer was on a roll!

“Mitch had his fly rod all set up to start casting but I decided to do a quick troll, and from that time on we just never stopped.

We ended up landing six barra to 70cms, lost quite a few, a got a heap of other fish including a couple of good sized flathead around 60cms.
“Mitch got all his fish on his favourite Little Lucifer Red Head. I dont think I’ve ever seen so much bait around and it certainly augers well for the fishing over the next few weeks.”
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

Fishing for the Shallow Minded!

November 7th, 2008

I enjoyed a day out at West Arm on Monday with Dean Blackman and good mate James “Mitch” Mitchell from

Mitch at work with his new Stella 4000 and 3 kilo Tcurve spin

 NT Elite Cycles.

Dean has been filling our imaginations for some time with stories about some great sport on  light tackle and plastics at some of the West Arm rockbars.

Dean certainly had the place wired, and within a few minutes he had landed several quite large Grunter

The tide on Monday dropped out to a 1.6 metre mid afternoon so a late start was indicated. As well our Fish IQ Indicator told us the best fishing period would start at 3:30PM, about an hour and a half after low, and would last for a couple of hours. Interesting, we thought!Around midday we sneaked onto a shallow flat within casting distance of a small, oyster encrusted rockbar and a couple of likely looking gutters. There was a only a few feet of water around us and a pretty impressive colour change where the tide was pouring around the rocks.

Traditional baitcast gear was mutually banned as we all pulled out fairly light 3-4kg spin outfits, and proceeded to pepper the area with a mix of small Bozo’s, Gulps and other lightly scented enticements.

Dean certainly had the place wired, and within a few minutes he had landed several quite large Grunter or Ock Ock. Pan sized family favourites, these guys feed aggressively on soft plastics, and had a particular hunger for the small Gulp Smelt.

Mitch had fun with this one caught on the flat in about two feet of water

Dean’s technique is very simple, and relies as much on patience as it does on skill.  I think the most important factor is to have confidence that if there are fish around they will be caught.
Using a very light lead or resin jig head, the lures are cast out and allowed to sink onto the flat or near the rockbar. The retrieve is very, very slow,  with lots of short stops and starts.
A fishless retreive might take a minute or so, its that slow!
 The rod is held at right angles to the cast, much like bream fishing, and the rod tip is “offerered” to the fish as it starts to take the lure. Most of the time it feels more like a “suck” that a sharp take, but it’s quite easy once the hookup is mastered. 

Mitch had a lot of success on this small, lightly weighted Bozo.

We stayed in this spot for an hour or so, landing two nice barra, half a dozen Gunter, and other assorted species as well as loosing about the same number. There is no lack of excitement here and boring is not a feeling that springs to mind!
Eventually the sea breeze came in with the changing tide, and we moved to a more sheltered creek down near the entrance to West Arm to see if we could find a few fish on the run in.  
It was a bit quiet for a while, and were all switching lures around to find something that worked. Suddenly the whole system seemed to switch on, and there was bait being tossed around everywhere. Mitch was tossing one of those sensational Tango Dancer poppers around.
These things are dynamite in the right hands, slipping and sliding around like a very pissed off Poddy Mullet, and this one exploded in about a foot of water, near a snag that was slowly filling up with bait on the rising tide.

a very large loud and angry Catfish poked its somewhat substantial  head and spikes into the waiting net

Obviously the fish of the day, the crew,  poised and expectant with landing net and camera at ready, were nearly as mortified as Mitch, as a very large loud, and angry Catfish poked its somewhat substantial  head and spikes into the waiting net.

The Powertail, now re-named following a local movement towards, I think, showing more respect for a much maligned species, was unanimously released unharmed. We agreed that such a hard fighting sport fish deserves to be released. We also question the practice of knocking them on the head, as though they were some sort of vermin,  whilst still calling ourselves sport fishermen. In actual fact, this fish took a surface lure deseigned to get a barramundi, fought just as hard and long, and for the life of me I really don’t understand the antagonism they generate. Until I recall the spike that went into my thumb joint a few years ago, but thats another story!

The very shallow minded Dean Blackman with his Bills Bug barra!

We were now embarked on an amazing period of watching some pretty big fish slash and burn along a whole bank for about half an hour.

We thought they were Salmon, until Dean, after hooking into a couple of smaller fish, put on one of the Bills Bugs in the famous Speckled White colour.

I dont think I have ever seen a barra more aggressively  take a lure than this thing. In not much more that a foot of water, the size and speed of the bow wave approaching the fizzer was impressive, and the resulting hole in the water, from which emerged a very upset barra approaching 70cms, was quite memorable!

This was a significant feeding session, starting at least an hour after high and when we were about ready tohead for home. It was only afterwards that we realised it coincided axactly with the time predicted by the Fish IQ  machine. Together with a growing number of others, I’m thinking there’s something to this after all.

In all we  landed over twenty fish for the day, including five barra,  most on plastics, and none in more than two feet of water.

Shallow minded indeed!

There is a very good article and some great aerial shots of West Arm in the new North Australia Fishing and Outdoors Magazine December Edition out now!

 

 

This weeks report 7th November 2008

November 7th, 2008

The rains continue to hold off, with just a few scattered storms to cool things down, and the fishing remains excellent in most places.

The inland waterways continue to produce, but are pretty much a day to day proposition now depending where the storms land.

Good jew and snapper are frequenting the harbour arms in nice sizes, and barra and salmon abound close to rockbars rock walls wharves and any other structure that has rocks in it.

This weekends neap tides will certainly favour a venture into the bluewater. The weather looks great, (see here) and the tides are ideal for an early start, fish the low and a couple of hour’s of the run, and head back in before the predicted  late storms. There are still some great goldies coming from most areas, and Sunday morning’s low is a good jewie tide, with just sufficent run to spark some interest. If its these you’re after you could do OK fishing the deep water on the edge of the shipping channel, or the drop off’s either jigging or using bait.

It’s also not a bad time to be chasing the barra and snapper around the rock bars in the harbours. (See here for more)

 There are still a few  good crabs around for those prepared to put in the time.

If you are one of the more fortunate ones, keep an eye on the tides later in the week leading up to the full moon on Thurday. These are prime big barra tides, with clear green water coming off the neaps and plenty of run off the flats and out of the mangroves to fire up the gutters and rock bars. Bynoe and Darwin Harbours will really turn it on this week, with a ton of bait around and lots of action around the change.

Manton Dam Update

November 7th, 2008

Following our article on the danger of losing access to recreational fishing at Manton Dam, the situation has now been clarified by Power and Water in a Press release which says in part:

“Power and Water, since May 2008, has been running a project at Manton Dam to improve our understanding of the behaviour of the reservoir and the variability of water quality in the dam.

Power and Water has been releasing water from Manton Dam to the Manton River since May 2008 and the water level in the dam has been dropping in line with our predictions. On 27 October 2008, the water level was at 35.44m AHD, or 2.74m below full supply level. ”

I spoke to Trevor Durling from Power and Water this morning and he said that “they had now completed their project, and apart from the normal minor environmental release to the Manton River, the dam will soon fill up as soon as the first big rains hit.” 

The initial water quality results from the project indicate elevated levels of iron and manganese in the water and significant stratification (layering) of the water in the dam. Power and Water are comparing these results against the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines to determine what treatment the water may require to be suitable for drinking.

The boat ramp will remain servicable at all times.

Trevor did stress that Manton plays an important back up role to Darwin River Dam in the supply of fresh water to the Darwin Region. He indicated that should the need arise Manton water would need to be used, for instance, if there were problems with the Darwin River Dam, and that in such a case fishing and recreational use would have to be reconsidered.  

Which, as we pointed out a couple of weeks ago, will be a shame, both for the quality of fishing available and the future economic value of Manton Dam as a tourist destination and an impressive barramundi and saratoga impoundment for local anglers already pressuring existing fishing locations.

(read that article here)

It is expected that the water level will continue to drop with evaporation until the first major rains hit the catchment.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Cost of Fishing is about to rise!

October 31st, 2008

Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings! With an Australian dollar that was on parity with the USA and now is about half that, it was bound to happen sooner or later, and it’s about to happen right now.

Fishing tackle in Australia has really not risen in real terms for a decade, and in many instances things are actually cheaper now than they were in the ninties. Take Curado reels for instance. They are currently selling at about $80 cheaper than they were in 2001.

This is about to change. Tackle Giant Shimano have already announced a price rise that includes an 18% increase in many of their reels, Curados and Calcutta’s included! As well we have notice of price rises across the board ranging from up to 35% for some terminal tackle such as hooks and swivels, to 10% on diving and camping gear. In other words, anything that we import, (which is just about everything) is going up in price before Christmas.  

Naturally we are going to be holding our prices down as long as possible, but be warned, only while stocks last now means exactly that!

This weeks report 31st October 2008

October 31st, 2008

Well,  with the big tides this weekend we reckon any of the  habours will be the pick to fish for some barra and salmon in the gutters. The falling tides, which start  just after one o”clock Saturday, will be the best times to be out at the weekend,  and though the low is up a bit on Sunday it will still be good for a few fish.  The build up is back so take lots of water and sunscreen.  Lures of choice  will be any thing shallow  - Bombers, Twitch Baits, Spearheads, Soft Plastics and if you are so inclined live bait will be a bigger bet than the Melbourne Cup this weekend.

There are big Salmon still in the harbour and lack of rain means the jelly prawns haven’t arrived to spoil things yet. But you really need to capitalise on this situation over the next few days as this ain’t gound to last.

If you’re lookig for a quick fix our bet is on the change of the high tide for a jewie at Town Hall or one of the Harbour Wrecks. As they say no run no fun.

Happy Micks Saratoga

Mick got 6 Saratoga and a few barra off the bank with his fly rod last weekend, “somewhere down on the Daly!” He says.

Its all a bit strange for the beginning of November, with Coroborree and the Mary system fishing as well as any time since the build up started. And thats saying something - we reckon Coroborree and Hardies have had their best season for a decade. Same principals apply - small shallow lures such as Spearheads and Lucifers, Bombers and Twitch Baits fished well back with lots of rod action!

Stiffy Twitch Baits

Stiffy Twitch Baits

Shoal Bay is starting to fish really well and some good barra were taken at The Rock last week end. A few crabs are also starting to show up.

The Daly is also starting to fish really well at the crossing and up above in the freshwater around the cliffs fish are taking a wide range of lures Nilsmasters, Killalures Plastics etc.

New Manager Appointed for Happy Micks Tackle N Tents

October 30th, 2008

We are pleased to announce that well know Darwin angler and fishing guide Brenton Marschke has joined our staff as manager of Happy Micks Fairway Waters shop.

Brenton is Territory  born and bred, and has previously spent some years with us in retail, as well as having extensive experience fishing and guiding in the Top End.

We wish him well and know that our customers will enjoy sharing their experiences with him and in seeking his advice.

Bynoe Beauty!

October 17th, 2008

 

   
   

 Byone Harbour really turned it on last week for Kingsley Ferrier and his wife Fiona. They not only had a good nights fishing the camera work was none too foul either.

This was Fiona’s biggest fish to date and she was pretty stoked about.

Or maybe you could say - just plain pretty!