Fishing report 25 Feb 10
As I pen this we are being visited once again by the rain gods thankfully. With a bit of luck if this rain persists and we get the required falls in the catchment regions for the major rivers the much awaited runoff may become a reality. With these squalls and storms this is the perfect time to visit us and stock up on those runoff treasures in preparation.
Well what can we say the fishing this week except that has been moderate to low. No real big catches been reported to the staff at the store this last week.
On Sunday last week Mike and Tony made a visit to the Finniss River and bagged a couple of nice barra in the upper reaches of the saltwater section. Before they had the chance to fish the snags at the mouth the approaching storms had them ducking for cover and returning to dry land. Lightening, graphite, aluminium and saltwater is not really a conducive combination when it comes to catching barra.
Following a report of muddies being on the move in Shoal Bay, Brian and Douglas left Mike to look after the shop on Tuesday and ventured into the harbour for a fish and a crab. The pair fished a couple of the wrecks and features in the vicinity of the East Arm wharf with limited success staying clear of the storm at the mouth of Darwin Harbour. A few mixed reef fish and a barracuda about all that was caught. After a quick run back to the Catalinas to check the pots it was off to 6 Mile for some deeper water fishing. A nice feed of goldies prevailed again with a mixed bag of smaller reefies all released.
On the crab scene there appears to be a few of them crawling about at the moment with Brian and Douglas accounting for three big, full and tasty specimens out of a single pull. Reports from others have indicated that there have been larger numbers coming from the Elizabeth River and even better catches from Shoal Bay. As unusual as it is this must be the only up part of a drier than normal February is muddies in the middle of the wet.
On the barra scene, a report from Sean Stanley was that there was a number of fish (in the range of 40+ fish) were caught by him and his mates at the mouth of Wildman River with the largest to 1.08m with quite a few smaller fish and rats. Sean said that the mouths of both Sampan and Tommycut were very quiet and they did not get fish or find any significant runoff until they reached Wildman River. There have been some reports of nice barra being caught in the Elizabeth River around the rock bars and the snake drains but again these aren’t in huge numbers. Shoal Bay has had very much mixed reports on the barra scene with no-one visiting the shop reporting any inspiring catches. As I mentioned if your planning a trip to Shoal Bay you could do worse than to take your crab pots with you.
The freshwater lakes around Palmerston have produced a couple of nice barra for the catch and release land based anglers. These fish are predominately darker fish and would not be too good on the plate so please photograph you catch and let it live another day.
The Adelaide River has been very hard going for the few that have ventured out. The cherabin have been in good numbers around Goat Island and Manton Creek. Remember before heading out for a day of cherabin hunting check your existing pots are compliant with the “new” laws that include all cherabin pots must be fitted with rigid turtle rings no larger than 90mm in diameter. For a full list of the updated Recreational Fishing Controls call into the shop and grab a free copy of Brian or Douglas or visit www.fisheries.nt.gov.au
When you are getting ready for the 2010 runoff after this next monsoon drop into the store and see the team for all your fishing and camping requirements. We have awesome barra combos, great spinning deals and some fantastic blue water outfits, an extensive range of fresh and saltwater lures plenty of crab and cherabin pots and your terminal tackle requirements. Brian and Douglas are available to assist you with all you fishing and camping requirements and advice.