NT FISHING REPORT
With Alex Julius 2 December 2010
If you’re thinking that we’re in for an early wet season, then you’d be spot on.
According to Todd Smith, climatologist for Darwin’s Bureau of Metreology, an early Wet has been on the cards for some time.
We’ve all heard of El Niño, meaning the boy, which is famous for its potentially catastrophic impact on Australia’s weather patterns, usually resulting in poor wet seasons in the tropics and drought conditions down south similar to what we experienced earlier this decade.
The nearly-double rainfall figures we’ve had over the last couple of months are the result of yet another of those Spanish-named, ocean-and-atmospheric phenomena, in this case La Niña, meaning, you guessed it, the girl.
“La Niña is basically opposite to El Niño,” Todd explained.
It works like this: easterly trade winds across the equatorial Pacific are stronger in La Niña years, and they encourage oceanic upwelling which pushes cooler water to the surface.
The displaced warm water is consequently pushed our way and pumps moisture into the air which forms clouds and down comes the rain.
According to Todd, we could experience our first monsoon in the second or third week of December.
“We’ll probably end up with a longer Wet than normal, but that’s only because it should start much earlier,” the bureau’s climatologist predicted.
A long Wet means a bumper Wet, and a bumper Wet means a great run-off.
I reckon the barra can smell it too.
Barra fishing has been full steam ahead with metreys turning up all over the place.
According to Got One’s Craig Grosvenor, trolling Leaders Creek has produced barra to 111cm.
“One guy reckons he nailed a 110cm and 95cm on two consecutive passes, and he was only passing by destined for the Vernons!’ Craig said
“The big barra are certainly on the run now, with reports from the Adelaide River mouth, Shoal Bay and even Darwin Harbour.”
Here’s a report of some great fishing last week.
Fishing and Outdoor World’s Ron Voukolos and his wife, Bec, slipped across to Groote Eylandt to fish with Bomber Farrell.
“Bomber is the local Billfish Whisperer over at Groote,” Ron told me.
“He’s caught 33 billfish this year, and he’s got the whole club out there chasing marlin and sailfish.”
On the first day, the trio caught four 25-30kg sailfish and an estimated 40kg black marlin.
“Bomber likes to jig up baitfish on Sabiki No 10 jig rigs, and tease up bills and switch-bait to them,” Ron reported.
Switch-baiting emanated from fly fishing for marlin and sails.
Basically, you troll plastic squid skirts in trails of five or six, plus other teasers – maybe with a splashing queenfish or similar out the back too – but without any hooks whatsoever.
If you’re fly fishing, when a marlin or sail comes up behind the teasers, you pull them in steadily, drawing the billfish to within casting range.
You then cast your fly out behind the fish and, when it turns to swim away, hopefully it sees it and bites, and then you strike and hopefully hook it in the corner of its mouth.
If you’re chucking baits from a gutsy threadline outfit, you don’t need to bring the teasers in once a billfish turns up because you should be able to reach the fish with your cast.
Circle hooks are the only way to go with this style of fishing because, when they hook, it’s always in the corner of the mouth, so fish can be released easily and unharmed.
The technique is to toss the bait at the billy and, once the fish takes it, give it absolute freespool.
A couple of years ago when I went to Broome to film an episode for Channel Nine’s Fishing North Australia, I experienced just how deadly this technique is – hooking a 100kg-plus black and a big sail in one morning.
But you must not let the fish feel even the slightest bit of tension, which is why overhead-geared reels don’t do the job nearly as well as a threadline with the bail open.
“We’d freespool for 10 seconds then flick the bail arm over and hold the rod straight out until the line went tight,” Ron said.
That’s how you hook them in the corner of the mouth: the line is pulled across the mouth until the circle hook reaches the corner of the jaw, revolves around it and the point goes in. If you strike at any stage, you miss the fish.
On the second day, Ron, Bec and Bomber caught two more big sails, and over the two days they raised close to 30 billfish, five of which they hooked and jumped off.
Bomber Farrell helps Bec Voukolos with her first-ever billfish, an estimated 40kg black marlin.
Ron Voukolos’ sailfish – held for the camera with help from his wife Bec – had to be close to 30kg before release.
