The "Green Season" begins around October with building storms and rising humidity. This coincides with prime fishing activity periods. By November we are experiencing almost daily storms of increasing intensity, and often spectacular lightning shows. Lightning can be a danger to small boats and we anglers are reminded that we are often holding onto six foot graphite lightning conductors!
By the end of January the monsoon trough has usually arrived from our north, bringing heavy tropical rain, interspersed with surprising calm offshore weather. A lot of people favour offshore and reef fishing during these periods. Monsoonal bursts usually affect us into early March. As they cease our annual "run-off' fishing starts, prime time for barramundi and salmon as they feed off the rapidly falling floodplains, and as the rivers begin to recede into their natural banks.
Tropical cyclones can be devastating, and it is common for the Territory coastline to be affected by several during a normal year. They can bring winds over 250km per hours an many inches of incredibly heavy rainfall. Cyclone season is from October to May and nowadays the forecasts and tracking are sophisticated and very accurate.
As the wet recedes, and the winds change from north west to south east, night time temperatures and humidity both begin to drop. This is a more comfortable time for us, and the fishing tends to focus more on billabongs and rivers.
By March the rain has usually steadied enough for some fishing and camping trips but still a lot of storms around. Easter is the generally accepted beginning of our fishing and camping season the humidity has usually dropped to something more comfortable. It still rains but intermittently. The dry proper comes in around May, with June July being the most comfortable months. Fishing moves to the big rivers and billabongs like Corroboree, but steadies when the nights get too cold.
Dry season brings some good offshore fishing with schools of tuna around and large Spanish mackerel moving in. It can get very windy though with the trade winds turning from north west to south east.
If you are heading to Darwin and would like some advice on the timing and planning of your Top End fishing holiday, feel free to contact us.
