Alex's Fishing Column - 23 April 2026
- Apr 24
- 3 min read
There’ve been some notable catches over the last week.
First up, long-time fishing guide Peter Burcher was fishing Darwin Harbour with his family.
They were bottom bouncing and one rod had an old rig on it with a feather and a bit of bait.
They fished all afternoon and nothing had been happening.
Suddenly, Angie Burcher’s rod buckled over as what appeared to be a big fish screamed off, taking heaps of line.
It was too much for Angie to handle and Peter fought the fish for ages, constantly waiting for the line to break or something to give way.
He fought it closer and closer to the boat but the fish kept making downward lunges.
As it came nearer, they saw it gleaming and reflecting the afternoon light.
Then it came to the surface: a whopping great Spanish mackerel.
The feathered hook – with no wire trace – hung from the corner of its mouth, somehow not getting bitten off by the mackerel’s jagged, razor-sharp teeth.
Pete estimated the big fish at better than 20kg, and it sure looks it.
There was no more action, but how much action do you want?
Spanish mackerel cutlets on the barbie were the order of the day.
Quite a way from Darwin Harbour, east to the remote waters of Arnhem Land where the Arnhem Land Barramundi Lodge operates, that great fishing guide, Lance Butler, was at it again.
None come any better than Lance at putting clients onto cricket-score numbers of barramundi but, given a choice, he prefers to chase the big ones.
So far this season, his clients have caught seven metreys, but earlier this week he pulled off some real magic.
He had two anglers onboard and he headed to a spot where he reckoned big barra visited at a particular height on a particular tide.
They were using hand-carved, wooden Leads lures which I personally did not know were still in existence.
“Cast there,” Lance said to one angler as he pointed to a back eddy adjacent to a frothy gutter.
The cast was good, and a few turns of the reel handle later, the lure was smashed.
Out of the water erupted a big barra, dancing across the front of the boat.
The angler was no novice and up to the task.
He fought the fish well until Lance was able to deftly net it aboard: a beauty at 104cm.
After quick photos, it was released and swam away strongly.
“Okay, your turn,” Lance said to the other angler who obliged by casting to the same back eddy.
Unbelievably, his lure was also crashed immediately, and this time an even bigger fish came hurtling out of the water.
Several times it became airborne until Lance was able to capture it in the landing net.
The fish measured 110cm, a PB and yet another big barra for the Metre Board back at the Lodge.
They were two trophy barra in two casts, and there was not a forward-facing sonar in sight.
Is it any wonder they call him Sir Lancelot?
Meanwhile Becky Robinson and her friends were wreaking havoc down on the Victoria River.
It was their annual pilgrimage, but the drive along to Victoria Highway to Timber Creek was long and tortuous due to hundreds of potholes from the recent floods.
Two of the group, Katie and Cain Kalsbeek, had never fished the Vic before, and normally went to the East Alligator at this time of year.
It was a great decision because both caught barra measuring 103cm.
All up over the weekend, the group caught four metreys and lots of other nice barra.
“I dropped the BIGGEST barra!” poor Becky told me.
