If you fished the NT Barra Classic or the Barra Nationals in the 1990s and early 2000s, chances are you crossed paths with John “JP” Mondora. His recent passing marks the loss of a genuine giant of Australian recreational fishing — a man whose honesty, humour and straight-shooting words helped shape the sport nationwide. JP had a long love affair with the Northern Territory. He competed in the Barra Classic and later the Barra Nationals many times, not only as an angler but a

If you only fished the Top End Barra Series this year, you still managed to experience some of the most iconic barra locations in the Territory. From Shady and the Daly to Bynoe and Darwin Harbours, to billabongs and the Adelaide River, TEBS once again delivered six rounds of pure Top End flavour across wildly different waters. The final round of the 2025 TEBS was held on the first weekend of November at Saltwater Arm and the Adelaide River mouth, a venue famous for producing

Typical for this time of year, this weekend’s tides have around 7m of difference between the high and the low. In fact, it gets right down to 0.2m in Darwin Harbour on Saturday afternoon, then peaks at 7.8m around 8.30pm. On Sunday, it goes from 0.5m to 7.4m, so marginally less movement. I don’t mind extreme tides like these for fishing Darwin Harbour. On Saturday, the low tide at 1.47pm is great for each of East Arm, Middle Arm, West Arm, Little West Arm and Woods Inlet. Sun

With October nearly over, I’m pleased to report that it’s been a pretty good Build-up month as far as our expectations go for the coming Wet season. It’s also been warmer than average. The Build-up this year has been characterised by some good storms, particularly to the west of Darwin, but also on the floodplains east to Kakadu. That explains why some billabongs have poor water clarity. It’s ironic that, as both the air and water heat up towards the end of the year, and the