These truly remote and pristine rivers are teeming with barra. As the rivers gain in momentum and size, so does the Barra fishing. And somewhere in the middle you have the perfect mixture of clean-green water and estuarine systems substantial enough to hold large populations of Barra.
Some of the Northern Territory's biggest Barramundi are caught fishing downstream from Shady Camp barrage during the ‘Runoff” period, February, March April and May each year. The ‘runoff ‘ is when the warm flood waters begin to subside and water runs off the floodplains into tidal channels which causes a feeding frenzy for barramundi. Fish weighing 25kg are common.
Threadfin, or King Salmon as they are known here, are every bit the equal of Barra when they grow to size. Their furious, zipping runs can leave anglers bamboozled as they try and shake hooks and lures free in shallow water.
Threadfin are an opportunistic fish and anglers must be equally minded to find them. They will feed on prawns, tiny baitfish and any other tasty morsel their huge ‘feeler-whiskers' can detect. They are great fun on light spin and baitcaster tackle and more than just ok on the plate. Clean white, soft fillets, tossed in flour and fried in olive oil on the BBQ is a treat well worth chasing.
Grunter or Javelin Fish are best known for the throaty croaks they make when bought aboard. However these nice looking silver fish put up quite a good fight and will hit both baits and lures (on occasion) with gusto. As plenty of keen fishermen know, they also cook up an absolute treat and can be found in good numbers when they're on.
They feed on small fish, prawns, crabs and crushed up shellfish and will surely become a target for anglers with a passion for chucking small soft plastics at bream down south. They might look like bream, but will pull one backwards when they get to the sizes reached up here (3kg+)!
You will be pleasantly surprised when the first Sootie shuffles to the surface and snaps at your fizzer of floating frog pattern. Sooties are opportunistic feeders and will happily gulp at almost any offering which flies their way.
They fight well on light gear and can even snap the odd light weight treble and lure, such is the force of some strikes. They live in the upstream sections of the Archer River and are great fun to target in areas where rapids and fast flowing water channel food past these veracious feeders.
Hanging around in schools that might be compared with Australian Salmon or Tailor down south, Blue Salmon will rush lures, flies and baits with gusto around creek and river mouths and over shallow flats country. Sometimes they can be spotted in large numbers along the coast and sight casts made. At other times, Blue Salmon will hang in small gutters adjacent to where mangrove forests drain into the main river, attacking anything small enough to eat! They are powerful fighters and plenty of cut fingers come in with the locals after hand-lining a bag full of hefty Salmon. Along with King Salmon, these fish are highly rated table-fare and experiments with a Blue Salmon Tikka Masala curry (with coconut milk) have proved very rewarding.
Want to get convincingly blown away? Take a small plug or soft plastic, cast slowly and methodically over the many shallow rocky reefs along the coast and hang on. If you're good enough to get 5kg of cod out of his hole and into the boat, you deserve an extra beer that evening!
Let's forget about the size of the Jacks around this area for minute. What is amazing is the range of habitat they call home. That is, everywhere from single rocks in the middle of nowhere, to deep junctions, and all the way up-river. There is no shortage of fantastic snag-filled creeks just oozing with jack-appeal found in these parts.
The mainstay of fisherman in the far north is the delicious and often overlooked Fingermark. They go well on any kind of tackle, cover just about every type of habitat, and cook up as well as just about any fish in the sea. The average size of Fingermark up here is a couple of kilos and some big brutes have come in from the reefs anywhere out to about 10km off-shore. Locate feeding Fingermark on baits in the deeper and rocky sections in some of these waterways and you are in for a real treat. With the light tackle and soft plastic revolutions currently taking off for species like Bream and Bass down south, using similar equipment to catch Fingermark is sure to take off in the tropics. Except for when the fish are at picker size, you will not hear a bad word up here about Fingermark. Pan fried or baked - with a fork in one hand and a cold beer in the other - it is as good as it gets.
These fossil-record-looking fish are definitely up on the list of anglers' favourites. The Saratoga is a cunning, top line predator in their Australian tropical freshwater habitat cruising billabongs and lagoons, lurking just below the surface, hiding amongst lily pads and water plants, just waiting for that unwary insect, frog or bird to come too close. With an explosive push from their paddle-like tail their torpedo-shaped body is easily propelled forwards and upwards towards a crashing surface strike - the perfect modern fly fishing target! Their golden bronze body flashes in the clear water and is just visible for that millisecond before the Saratoga 's jaws erupt on the surface.
Saratoga fight doggedly all the way to the angler, jumping and gyrating in their efforts to be free and are possibly an even more spectacular fighter than that other prime northern target, the Barramundi.
These brilliantly silver fish can range from far upstream, all the way down into the saltwater and brackish reaches of these systems. Wherever they show up, Tarpon are a feisty fish and the hook-up to land ratio is very average in many cases. With a bony little mouth and acrobatic displays, hurtling themselves at every conceivable angle in a split-second, many are lost. But it is a true pleasure when a Tarpon gulps down a delicately laid fly suspended in front of the cruising fish. The tiny little flashy profile taken by a fish which once hooked, goes haywire. They aren't often large and absolutely no good on the plate, but tarpon are amongst the most perfectly formed fish for performance.
These hulking missiles come in a range of sizes from about 2kg all the way up to near 20Kg. A school of Tuna marauding bait balls a few kilometres out from the coast is a common sight, but one which is always welcome. And where the East coast fisherman suffer from insistent Easterly (on-shore winds), it blows mostly off-shore for the six months from May to October. This provides fairly clear, calm water to sight Tuna schools working these waters.
They can be trolled up, have slugs and poppers cast for them and even sight cast at with fly gear when conditions are right. Many can attest to the electric shock of excitement as fly line rips out through runners, off the deck and finally off the reel as a Tuna screams away
There are a number of Trevally species to be targeted up here. GTs, Goldens, Tealeaf, Bludger, Turrum and others. You get plenty of smaller versions up the rivers on snags and around bait-schools. Larger blokes near river mouths, reef, rocks, channels and flats.
It's is always explosive action when Trevors are involved. Tackle is tested, arms are stretched and due to average eating quality (compared to other delectables), more often than not, both angler and fish go home with a couple of bruises from the battle.
Spaniards and Grey Mackerel can really make their presence felt around the Top End. Trolling is usually the best bet. Berley and live bait up can often be hunted down by unwanted members of the ‘Man in the grey overcoat' persuasion. Nothing better to see a rod in holder or hand get suddenly slammed by a large Spaniard, which immediately heads for whatever lies furthest away from the boat. They do tire out before too long, but the sight of a Spanish Mackerel nearing the boat all light up and tasty looking is difficult to forget.
The Top End is home to literally thousands of Queenfish, in every size conceivable. From tiny fly and slug gulping Queenies to those huge brutes which will savage a lure or fly, belting poppers, fizzers and almost anything shiny before them. And these big blokes really go! Huge somersaulting leaps, anywhere up to 2m clear of the water, shaking their tail and head together in an effort to dislodge the intruder. A real sense of accomplishment is felt by any angler who gets over a meter of Queenfish to the boat on either light spin, baitcaster or fly tackle.
Coral Trout, Nannygai, Emperor, Sweetlip, Parrot and various Lutjanids can be found on reefs. Reefs in these parts see little or no fishing pressure and although the resource is not limitless, it certainly is plentiful. Because it is such a diverse bunch of fish no attempt will be made here to describe them all. Just rest assured there is not too many that don't taste top-rate, or fight well for that matter. These fish can come from a huge variation of depths and structure. New techniques are beginning to be trialed on these reefs with interesting and sometimes surprising results. What used to be the domain of bait soakers now sees everything which wiggles and jiggles trying to entice these reef dwellers out of their lairs. |
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