Happy Micks Fishing Report

Go to a CMAX movie this month or enjoy a meal at The Palmerston Club and you could win this fabulous Fathers Day Package.

As well you will get a FREE $10 Gift Voucher to spend at Happy Micks, or NT Elite Cycles. You could also win a $500 lure package as well. So get up to THE HUB, enjoy, and get your entries in!

Conditions apply

Iconic Halco Tackle Company, Australia’s premier lure manufacturer announces the launch of their new website at  – www.halcotackle.com

The revised and considerably more modern look for the website means that all colours and models are easily seen and found in a consistent, user friendly format. 

Archived and recent copies of Halco’s bi monthly newsletter called Newsreel will be made available for download on the website along with species guides and advice for fishermen using Halco RMG and Tilsan products.

Other sections available on the website include a corporate history of Halco and up to date details listing key personnel and contact details.

The new website better reflects Halco’s position as a global leader in the design and manufacture of world class fishing lures and will be a valuable information resource for anglers world wide.

Check out Halco’s new look website at www.halcotackle.com today.

Well, here we are again, at that time of year we call the “Tidal Equinox.” Or “Excitement Builds”

Next Wednesday is the first day of our new season. I guess you’d call it “pre the build up”

Every day there are two low tides, but they are rarely of equal intensity. For the last few months the lower tides have been at night, the bigger lows during the day. Using the principal “no run-no fun” it’s not hard to predict that day time fishing for species that depend on big movement, (tides draining off the flats and gutters) would be better at night time when most of us have signed off for the day.

That’s all about to change. Starting Wednesday the afternoon low gets down close to a metre, and Friday heralds one of the great harbour tides, an afternoon low of a metre coming off a morning high of nearly seven metres. This is our equinox, a sign that things are about to change. Humidity will start to rise, and the good old barra will start to feel their oats leading up to the breeding season. Water temps start to climb, and those in the know start to mutter strange things in the dark hours. Lots of mysterious phrases many of which repeat what appear to be code words like The Rock, Howard, Shoal,  and “Shit Thats Big!”

Read the rest of this entry »

Kurt Graudins had a session at manton Dam yesterday. There was one other boat on the water, they were water skiers.

“Apparently my car was broken into while these guys were pulling out. They noticed the broken glass, so they re launched their boat and came out to tell me. That was pretty good of them, I thought.

While they were away from the carpark the bastards came back and broke into their car. Both cars were damaged. Kurt lost his wallet.

“What a pack of bums. They were driving a white Mitsubishi, thats all we know about them” he said.

” I was having a good session with plenty of hits. We have been getting some giant saratoga out htere recently. This really spoiled our day.

Despite another spell of colder overnight weather, there has been some great fishing around the harbours.

There are some schools of seriously big queenfish over a metre cruising around creating havoc with light gear from the land based brigade, and some serious fun for those in the know in boats. Larrakeyah is a hot spot, but I know of one crew who landed a few of these speedsters at Emery Point just bottom bouncing, and also cleaned up on golden snapper in the same session. The queenies have also shown up around the rock bars at the bottom end of Elizabeth River around, and also at Channel Island.

One couple fished off the rocks at the bottom of Elizabeth and with lures landed a serious barra estimated at 90cms, five big goldies and an assortment of other googlies to finish off an exciting low tide session around the mangroves. Way to go when you don’t have a boat.

A customer has been fishing the Bottlewasher for big macks. he’s been out most days, only uses live bait (dosn’t seem to matter what sort) and uses a good length of 58lb single 4 strand wire with a bit of wait to keep the bait at the right depth. He’s using a big plastic milk bottle for a float, and this allow him to vary the depth until he finds out where they are feeding. Results have been spectacular and he says they are not feeding so much on the tides as coming on the chew ealy mornings and late afternoons.

Others have been enjoying the influx of tuna close in. Its late in the season but it seems some significant schools are now in the harbour around Six Mile and are coming right into the wharves. For more on tuna tactics 

The mild calmer weather has produced some great blue water fishing including a few sails wide of Dundee. Apparently they are still there and a boat landed one and raised five mid last week. He was saying that they are not as prolific as last year, and reckons it has to do with the variable currents which bring the bait scholls in from the Kimberlys and attracts the predators such as tuna and billfish.

Sounds like a theory to me.

Appart from being good harbout tides, its a great time to sneak out to the Vernons and Hotham where the usual cricket scores of snapper and blue salmon are being caught.

If you want a quick fix try Mary River Bridge Lagoon. Old mate just caught four nice fish trolling small lures in the late afternoon.

The fishing has become frantic over the last few days. Local James Burke was fishing off the Palmerston Boat Ramp, (funny, he’s not seen there often) and he’s managed to land a $4 million upgrade to the ramp. According to him he managed to get it in without any help, which is quite an acheivement.

We thought that would be the best catch of the week, but Terry Mills (who has been seen out that way a lot recently crying over the proposed INPEX site) has also landed a promise to build a new $5 million ramp, although if things aren’t fishing well for him tomorrow, he may have to put that one back and let it grow a bit bigger. Read the rest of this entry »

This weekend looks like the first really good opportunity for a while for the smaller boats to broaden their horizon, and get out to places like the Vernon’s, Charles Point, Dundee  and all the other attractive blue-water destinations.  Sure the tides are big but there are some good mackerel around at the moment, with reports of at least one boat cleaning up with live stripies out at Lorna on these tides a fortnight ago.

They all seem to be firing pretty well. A boat at Long Lost yesterday bought home jewies, big blue bone, and coral trout, and enjoyed the opportunity to see a bill fish cruising around the boat without a worry in the world. Priceless!

A few mates sought shelter in the lee of Cape Blaze recently and were rewarded with a box full of big snapper and mixed coral trout and reefies including a good sized jewie. Interestingly they were within a good cast of the rocky shoreline while all this was going on. Now there’s food for thought! Read the rest of this entry »

by Charlie Chambers

The biggest hurdle to overcome as a fisherperson is the one with PATIENCE written all over it.

I kick that hurdle with my back foot almost every time I try to jump it. How often do we spend time and energy developing a really good game plan only to discard it for something that looks far more exciting once we are on the water? Read the rest of this entry »

It’s common knowledge that at this time of year, with the trying conditions of the dry season, it is challenging to get a good barra session in.

 The two main concerns to anglers in the dry season is water temperature and wind. The water temperature can’t be changed. However the wind is an easier element to overcome in the estuaries. Get out of the wind and your chances of a good session improve out of site. Read the rest of this entry »