Alex's Column 23 May 2025

If you're keen to see some cracking Top End barra action, jump on YouTube and check out Oldson Fishing.Oldson is actually Brad Moody, and he’s incredibly au fait with using forward-facing sonar, particularly the Lowrance Active Target 2.His channel is a treasure trove of barra-catching action, showcasing countless 90cm-plus fish and the occasional magical metery.Brad’s videos are more than just fish and bragging rights.They’re brilliantly produced, with slick editing and top-quality content that makes them both entertaining and educational.He overlays screen footage from his sonar so you can literally watch barra swimming around, often highlighted with an emoji pointing-finger for extra clarity.Then comes the cast, captured on another fixed boat camera, followed by a return to the sonar screen showing the lure tracking towards the fish – and then boom, the hook-up.These visual sequences are nothing short of captivating.The underwater explosions when barra strike are a thrill to watch.Brad does it all mostly solo, operating from a well-rigged boat and using pro-level cameras and audio gear.It’s clear he puts in the hard yards behind the scenes.The fishing locations featured on Oldson Fishing are classic Top End waters: Shady Camp, Corroboree Billabong and the Daly River where he won a Barra Classic.One night session at Corroboree is particularly impressive: an eye-opener that demonstrates just how effective forward-facing sonar can be in the right hands.There’s no better way to learn how to use this game-changing technology than to fish with someone who’s put in thousands of hours mastering it.I had the chance to meet Brad at Fishing and Outdoor World’s Ladies Night, where he was manning the Daiwa display.After a good yarn, he agreed to come out in my boat for a session and share some insights: “I love fishing,” he said.A month later, Brad, my mate Tim Pel, and I were racing up the South Alligator River, chasing the big freshwater push from the Runoff.We fished the mouth of Nourlangie Creek, up inside the system and further up the main South itself.Normally, I do pretty well upriver on the South, and we found and caught loads of fish, almost entirely due to the effectiveness of the Active Target 2 system.My boat isn’t fully tricked up with dual bow sounders and twin transducers for both Scout and Forward mode – which give you both direction and depth of targeted fish – so we relied on Scout alone.Still, the Lowrance HDS16 Pro performed beautifully.We landed barra to over 80cm, and Tim jumped off a good metery right at the boat.One standout session involved barra in the 55-68cm range, schooled tight to bankside branches, weaving in and out of submerged shrubbery.Brad, using his trained eye, was able to identify the fish by their shadows on the sonar.His pinpoint casts with suspending Current Master minnows were deadly; he was hooking fish after fish while we were still trying to sort out what we were seeing on the screen.It was a real lesson in how much difference well-used forward-facing sonar can make.Even though these weren’t the bigger barra often found using Active Target in open water, the insight was invaluable and I appreciated it.Do yourself a favour and look up Oldson Fishing on YouTube.Even if you’re not running forward-facing sonar yourself, for sheer entertainment and fishing in iconic Top End locations, it really is a must-watch.

“Oldson Fishing”, Brad Moody, with one of the better barra from an Active Target session up the South Alligator River.

A double hook-up for Brad Moody and Tim Pel – in tight water, Oldson was able to identify fish on the HDS Pro Active Target setting by their shadows on the sonar.