NT Fishing Report

with Alex Julius                  8 July 2010

As the strong winds continue, many Darwin anglers once again must be contemplating whether it’s worth bashing their way out onto the wild blue yonder where, on this weekend’s end-of-neap tides, Spanish mackerel, longtail tuna and other pelagics should be in a biting mood.

It’s curious that, although the macks have been easy pickings offshore, very few seem to have been wondering in close to that great dinghy mack-fishing spot: Lee Point. I hear regularly of the odd Lee Point mack hitting the deck, but the numbers are not there as they have been in past years.

The shame of it is that Lee Point has traditionally been the stamping ground of anglers not equipped with big trailer boats, and fish only from smaller boats not suited to offshore windy conditions.

Fortunately, there are some excellent fish-catching options this weekend that do not require getting a pounding at the same time.

One place which has been fishing well is Mandorah Jetty. According to Matty West at Fishing and Outdoor World, big queenfish have been smashing fast-retrieved, small metal jigs. Some of these fish are well in excess of a metre.

Perhaps one of the cunning culprits enjoying this great fishing can send me a photo of a big queenie from the jetty at Mandorah. Email .

Another close-to-home option is to wander the ripples of the main harbour itself, looking for feeding birds and the longtail tuna schools underneath. I heard of catches of five to nine in a session, and I sure hope those responsible converted some of the catch to sashimi.

I also hear that the sailfish are still about off Dundee, albeit in reduced numbers.

On the barra scene, the best fishing seems to be at the Finniss River.

Allan Beale and staff of Darwin’s Barra Base have been putting clients onto double-figure catches on a regular basis.

“We released many barra,” Allan said.

“They seem to range from 60-80cm, but larger fish beat the clients to the snags or simply shook them off.

“Due to these cooler water temperatures, the fish are not gobbling the lures aggressively.”

Allan told me that he sees plenty of interstate anglers doing it tough on the Finniss and explained there are just a couple of simply strategies that will help you catch barra in this Fog Bay river.

“Fishos should troll against both the incoming and the outgoing tides to gain the best results without too many snags,” Allan explained.

“Work your lures with aggressive jigs, but you most lower the rod back down to get the best results.

“Best lures doing the trick are 10+ and 15+ Classic Barras,” Allan divulged.

You might like to check out Allan’s website www.darwinsbarrabase.com.au for more information.



The Daly River hasn’t turned it on to anywhere near the extent it did last year. However, surprisingly the best fishing on the Daly has been with the fly rod. In fact, there’s quite a contingent of interstate fly fishos swishing away on the Daly as I write this.

Unfortunately, beautiful Corroboree has been fishing poorly of late.

However, further down the Mary River system, the Freshwater Hole at Shady Camp continues to produce excellent catches of mainly quality barra.

There are a couple of submerged rock-bars up the top of the lagoon, and these are the spots to fish.
Further afield, a favourite of mine is Alligator Billabong on the South Alligator system. There are plenty of snags and weedy banks in this delightful waterhole but, if you look carefully, you might just find a small, submerged rock-bar that often is just crawling with hungry barra.

For those who like the comforts of a cold beer at the bar and an air-conditioned room, then Yellow Water is the shot.This is always a great fishing hole, and the pub nearby will give you all the civilisation you need.

One final inland spot – which only requires a half day to fish – is the Mary River Bridge Lagoon.
It has a concrete boat ramp, more bankside structure to cast at than most inland waterways I know, and plenty underneath for those preferring to troll.

And if you like eating your barra, then take it from me that the sandy bottom in this lagoon contributes to a fine-tasting fish.

By all accounts, Darwin Flyrodders’ fly casting clinic at Lake Alexander last Saturday was an unqualified success. A total of 47 people attended the clinic.

Instruction was provided by Graeme and Dorothée Williams of Insight Fly Fishing, with back up from a large contingent of club members.

According to Media Liaison Officer, Kim Leslie: “Most of the participants were first-timers; after a couple of hours, they were all casting well enough to put their new-found skills to use in actual fishing situations.

“Some of the participants were ex-trout fishermen looking for some tips on casting bigger rods and heavier flies for larger, more aggressive fish.

“All seemed attracted by the artistry of the ‘long wand’,” Kim said.

Phil Prelove worked his magic with the fly rod and caught this terrific metre-plus barra last week on the Daly River. (Photo: Leeann Payne)

Pictured from left with a great Finniss River catch are Neville Cornell, Darwin’s Barra Base fishing guide, Daniel Sparrow, Craig McCormick and Nicholas Bone.