Alex's Column 6 November 2025
- NAFA
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
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.
Sunday’s low at 2.30pm is fine too for a casual day on the water.
Then there’s the time of year which comes in as a major factor: early November
Build-up season is peak season for Darwin Harbour barra.
But to top it off, we’ve been getting those moisture-rich storms which, for estuary
barra, are akin to a dinner bell.
So everything has fallen into place for some potentially good Darwin Harbour barra
fishing this weekend.
Let’s look at tactics which will be the same for both days.
A typical scenario would be to be launch at around 9.00am and choof off up one of
the arms to fish the flats as the tide falls.
Use shallow-running minnows such as tiger-lily and gold Bombers, Classic Just
Unders and Reidys little B52s.
If you find a barra on the flats, particularly near the mangrove edges, and even
more so if there is a bit of a channel apparent in your vicinity, spot-lock on your
electric outboard, or drop the anchor quietly, and simply hang around waiting for
more barra to swim by.
Polarising sunglasses are a must, and the higher the vantage point the better.
But it won’t work if it is windy; for maximum visibility and water clarity, you need a
lee shore.
Once the water has fallen off the flats, it’s time to focus on gutters, either along the
main arm or up in side creeks.
Gutters with more than a metre frontage depth and with a bit of a colour change
are ideal; and the presence of bait only makes the spot more likely to produce.
Vary your lure selection according to the depth you’re fishing in.
Soft plastics like prawn imitations are also worthy of a half hour working with
finesse.
Finesse fishing has come right into vogue down south in recent years, but we’ve
been doing it for years up here too; we just didn’t know what it was called.
Basically, it’s about hardly moving the prawn once it’s hit bottom, giving it a slight
twitch only every few seconds, and watching the line where it enters the water,
looking for the slightest indication that a barra has just ingested it.
That’s when you strike.
As a rule, the barra shut down around the bottom of the tide when there is no
current movement.
That’s a good time to put up the canopy and crack a coldy.
But once the tide starts moving again, get ready for what could be the peak bite of
the day.
I’d suggest sitting out from gutters so that you can work them properly as they fill
and the baitfish push in.
Look for evidence of barra feeding; if you hear or see a boof, home in.
Finally, once the initial tidal burst is over, you can have another shot at the flats,
again working the mangrove edges.
When the tide rises enough to flow well into the mangroves, it’s all over Aussie
drover.
Hopefully by then you’ll have had a wonderful day’s Darwin Harbour barra fishing.
