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Fishing the NT, darwin area.

bretto

By bretto
in Saltwater

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bretto Newbie

bretto

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I lived in the territory from the age of 16 till 21 and did alot of fishing in between school, work, etc;. I thought I would share some of the things i've learnt and what you might catch if you ever get a chance to explore the prolific fishing areas of the darwin area.

Times of year: The fishing varies from month to month but there is always an option for a trip. The cycle is as follows:

oct-nov: the build up

barra fishing in harbours and inland billabongs fire up. offshore is dead flat and fishing is great.

dec-mar: the wet season

the big rivers start to flood and run-off fishing begins with breaks in the monsoon rainfall.

mar-apr(may): the run off!!!! big barra gorge themselves on baitfish running back into creeks and rivers off the floodplains.

may-sep: the dry season. the barra fishing slows but the offshore action fires up with tuna, macks, sailfish and reef fish.

Most people come to the territory for chance to battle the big wild barramundi on offer but there is many options to do that. During the build up Corroborre Billabong and the only impoundment Manton Dam fire up and regularly produce the goods on both barra and big toga. The most popular time for visiting though is the run off. My dad and I have found success on most of the big rivers like the South and East Alligator Rivers in kakadu national park and the Daly river reigon.

[img size=490]http://www.australianfishing.com.au/media/kunena/attachments/legacy/images/forum_pics01.JPG

my pb barra taken on the east alligator in a session in which we took 15 barra in 45 minutes which measured between 81 and 99cm (pictured). so close to the magic metre:P

most recently we fished the daly which produced well with our crew boaing over 50 barra and one threadfin but all were in the 60-70cm range with one at about 110cm lost on an explosive jump. we fished for two days and one night session and proved to be an unforgettable weekend. see pics below.

My favourie offshore spot is by far dundee beach which is 200km from darwin city. jewfish, mackeral, tuna, golden snapper, tricky snapper, red emporer and queenfish are all common catches here. cabins are avaliable and a pub with a decent counter meal are all close by so it makes a perfect spot for longer trips. Access to the peron islands and bowra shoals is best from here and many sailfish are taken in this area. see pics below.

I could go on forever but i cant stress enough that a trip to the NT is a must do in your lifetime if you are a keen fisherman.

I've been living on the coast for a while now and loving the fishing so expect to see me out there.

Cheers, Brett.

post-2675-144598443942_thumb.jpg

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ellicat Grand Master

ellicat

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G'day mate and welcome to the site. I saw some of the pics you were putting in the gallery. Good stuff and thanks for the report.

We had an entertaining report from a member (werewolf) who did a NT trip last year for some wild barra and a nice black jew. I'm sure we'd all like to have a good trip up there someday.

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bretto Newbie

bretto

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depends on the size i reckon. i have caught a 30cm barra and a threadie on 2kg line in the same session. the barra fought longer with more stamina but the threadie ran harder but lost energy in the fight quicker. I would say when they get around the 80cm mark that threadies have the edge, just? it is so close. both exceptional sportfish though.

The black jewish in shallow water is the best fighter of all in my experience.

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werewolf Newbie

werewolf

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ellicat wrote:

G'day mate and welcome to the site. I saw some of the pics you were putting in the gallery. Good stuff and thanks for the report.

We had an entertaining report from a member (werewolf) who did a NT trip last year for some wild barra and a nice black jew. I'm sure we'd all like to have a good trip up there someday.

Thanks for the plug Ellicat!

here they are:

Yellow Water, Kakadu:
/>http://www.australianfishing.com.au/index.php?option=com_kunena&Itemid=237&func=view&id=25255&catid=26

Darwin Harbour:
/>http://www.australianfishing.com.au/index.php?option=com_kunena&Itemid=237&func=view&id=24995&catid=26

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