Fishing in Kakadu

[cboy69]

Hi all

I have never really posted much as I don't really catch much fish despite spending time and money on gear. However recently my luck changed for one glorious trip up north.

Initially my trip was meant to be 2 weeks in Thailand to attend a family wedding then 2 weeks in Hawaii with my gf, however the collapse of Air Australia sunk that plan and on short notice my gf booked Darwin instead. I later asked her if she knew it was wet season in Darwin and she said 'no' :pinch:

Knowing I was going to Darwin I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to get some gear ready for an attempt at catching a Barra in the NT. The staff at the 7seas pro shop helped me pick an Abu Garcia Hornet rod paired with a Shimano Biomaster c300hg. I loaded it up with YGK 20lb braid and grabbed heaps of lures from numerous tackle stores across Phuket and Bangkok.

Here I am at the Bungsamran Fishing Park with an average sized catfish. I got there late in the day and only had time for 2 fish before leaving.

Attached to Bungsamram is the '7SeasPro shop'. Which would probably be the best stocked tackle store in Thailand.

7SeasPro Shop looking to the left

7SeasPro Shop looking to the right

Some of the various lures I bought in Thailand. As a rough guide 400 Thai Baht is about Aus$11

Upon returning to Aus we flew off to Darwin, picked up our rental car and drove to kakadu. I spoke to locals about catching Barra every time I had the chance. Everyone was very helpful and made it sound ridiculously easy to catch Barra, despite having no confidence with lures I was feeling hopeful.

I was told Barra fishing is best at the end of the wet season as the influx of water causes a boom in baitfish stocks which attracts the Barra. Then once the water levels drop the Barra are concentrated in the waterways. Although we were about 3weeks from the end of the wet season we still had a good chance of getting some.

We traveled out to Kakadu National Park where we spent most of our time at Cooinda resort/camping ground. Being the wet season the camp grounds were empty and all forms of accomodation was at its cheapest ($30 for 2x adult camping per night).

The next day we went on a Barra tour which cost only $120pp, which is great compared to Barra tours in Darwin which were about $300+ if I remember correctly.

Yellow waters, lush from the wet season rainfall.

Our first stop on the charter was the boat ramp. This is a functioning boat ramp in the dry season.

The charter guide gave us some info on how to work the lure and helped me pick a lure from those I brought back from Thailand. He suggested anything green, silver, or gold.

Within 10mins of actual fishing I got my first ever Barra at 73cm :woohoo:

Happy with this Barra I took a step back for the rest of the trip and let everyone else get the prime spots on the boat for casting.

[cboy69]

We moved on to a few different locations, catching lots of Tarpon at all the stops

Here's a pic of the boat to give an idea of the size. In the background a treble hook is being pulled from the finger by the guide.

This is me on the casting deck working on my Tan and trying to find some crocs

The next day I went down to the boat ramps for a few casts and got 1 little Barra

A staff member suggested I drive south to the near by bridges and cast underneath near the bank. 'you will hear the Barras boofing up, just cast there'. Sure enough I caught a number of smaller and possibly legal size Barra at the spot. I didn't carry a tape so they all got returned. Great fun though and helped my confidence with lures tremendously.

Here are a few pics

[cboy69]

My gf normally hates fishing due to the 'yuckiness' of handling bait. So she was willing to give lures a go, so I set her up and let her 'play' around by bobbing a soft plastics near some 'boofing' noises she heard under a brigde which resulted in a 71cm Barra

Here's one I caught on a DUEL 90S sinking minnow

A smaller barra on a Squidgy paddle tail in 'silver fox'.

Tarpon on a Maria minnow

I saw a local laying on his tummy to cast under the bridge and emulated his technique

This resulted in 2 Barra which were definite keepers. Both caught on a Duel 90f floating minnow

Here are the 2 keepers. I didn't get exact measurements, but I noted a particular mark on my rod was exactly at 55cm and I used that to ensure they were well over this. They are sitting on a Brocolli eski from Woolies if you are interested in their sizes.

All up the trip was very enjoyable and really helped me boost my confidence with lures. I hope to go back next year at the end of the wet season again and enjoy empty camp grounds and plentiful fishing.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed my first ever report.

I generally don't catch much so it may be my last for a while :pinch:

If anyone is available to join me or I join you for any style of fishing that would be greatly appreciated as I have read heaps on here but my success still seems dictated by luck

[Zim man]

Great report and cool pics, barra are alot of fun, must have been a good fight laying down on the bridge trying to set the hook and all.

Lure fishing is great and once you get the hang of it , you get more and more successful. If I need a decky I will send a pm

Cheers

Rob

[jeff f]

great report and some nice fish well done

[shortie]

Great report lots of effort went into it

Shame you posted the pic of the sign saying no fishing on the bridge yet you did anyway

[Bennno]

Nice report and congrats on the barra. I can't wait to go shopping for fishing gear in Thailand and I'm seriously considering a run off trip to Darwin next year thanks for the post

[cboy69]

Great report lots of effort went into it

Shame you posted the pic of the sign saying no fishing on the bridge yet you did anyway

I thought I would add that one not to brag that I'm an outlaw, but it's just the way of life up there. All the locals I spoke to pointed me to these bridges and they were always fishing there.

I think the sign is to avoid fishermen getting injured. Fortunately the cars can see you from quite a distance and you can hear them also. Everyone is courteous and I definitely wouldn't do it at night.

[AFO]

Fixed images as requested

[Cheyne_jones]

Awesome report mate!

I will be going to 7 seas pro shop next week while I am in Bangkok, was pretty excited about it, even more so now. How much was it to fish at the park there? I will have to have a bit of a fish.

[cboy69]

Awesome report mate!

I will be going to 7 seas pro shop next week while I am in Bangkok, was pretty excited about it, even more so now. How much was it to fish at the park there? I will have to have a bit of a fish.

I think it was 1000 for a guide, 1000 to fish for the day, and a couple of hundred rent gear. I just checked my bank account and the 3 charges totalled AUS$80

I had no idea how to do it so paid for the lot.

They use a specific rigging to catch carp. I have uploaded it onto youtube for anyone that plans to go to Thailand with their own rod and reel.
/>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwXA0qnGIO0&feature=youtu.be

If you take your rod and reel you should be able to buy the necessary termial tackle and bait from 7seas.

7Seas is considered to be expensive by thai standards and they were a little more expensive for the same stocked items in the smaller shops as they tend to attract alot of foreign shoppers I think. Also check out their web site first as the website prices are sometimes lower than the store price, so they should be at least be able to match their online price.

[Cheyne_jones]

Thanks for that, I will just hire gear I think, I dont trust airlines to not lose something while I am travelling around.

Do you have any other suggestions for tackle shops to visit in Bangkok?

[BASSTURD]

so is the 7SeasPro Shop in bangkok?

[Cheyne_jones]

so is the 7SeasPro Shop in bangkok?

Certainly is mate, they have a website as well that ships international with some pretty nice gear.

[cboy69]

so is the 7SeasPro Shop in bangkok?

Here's the business card. Try showing the driver the Thais version and you should be OK

[cboy69]

Thanks for that, I will just hire gear I think, I dont trust airlines to not lose something while I am travelling around.

Do you have any other suggestions for tackle shops to visit in Bangkok?

7seas is a definite must see, however the majority of my lures I bought in the small tackle stores, of which I really can't recommend any as I just hit as many as possible a bought a litle bit here and there.

Try http://bangkokhooker-fishing.com/tackle-shops/ I used his list and visited most of the stores.

Hope that helps

[ryanyoung]

That's a ripper report for your first one mate, well done on a very successful trip to the top end.

Cheers for the read,

Ryan.

[Angus]

Very cool man.

I am on my way up to Darwin soon and hope I get a few Barra as well!

Angus