After talking about it for so long, Ozdodge and I finally went fishing on Darwin Harbour.
And the water was very cold...
- It was my first time fishing with Ozdodge.
- We fished Darwin Harbour.
- We got a few small fish.
- It was a great day on the water.
Ozdodge and I had talked about going fishing together for a while, but never found the time to do it.
Finally, the planets aligned just right and on a Saturday I received a phone call that went a bit like this: Hey, it's Ozdodge here, do you want to go fishing on the harbour tomorrow?
He didn't need to twist my arms, I said yes.
It is alway interesting to go fishing with someone you have never fished before, as it is the time to learn some new things. And, it often seems that there is alway something new to learn, about the art of catching a fish.
So on the harbour we went, the water was rather cold at 24 degrees celsius (73.4 Fahrenheit).
We were wondering if we would be able to find some Barramundi in such cold waters.
On the first spot that we trolled, it didn't take long for Ozdodge to come up with a little fish:
Ozdodge with the first fish of the day.
This was a little Trevally, and it was promptly released.
There is nothing like the first fish to lift the spirit of a fishing party, even when it is a little one.
As they say, a fish is a fish.
But not getting anything else there, we moved to a nice little creek:
Trolling a muddy creek.
That creek was full of bait, and this made us think that we had found the right spot.
but after a few troll for not much, We started to wonder about that. So I put my rod in the rod holder, and jumped on the cast desk, with another fishing rod in hand. Determined to flick at every little drain that we would pass.
As I am busy focusing on the little drains, Ozdodge call came in: You are on!
I look at my rod at the back of the boat, and yes effectively, the rod buckle down and something is obviously trying to pull the line out of the reel.
I jump back toward the stern of the boat with my flicking rod still in one hand, by the time I am about to pick up the bent rod, the line went limp... Too late... So I still grab the rod, just above the handle to check if the lure is still swimming properly. And bang a sharp and quick little jerk in the rod made me realise that something was still at the end of my line. But alas, that was the last I felt of it, because in this little jerk, it must have managed to spat the lure.
And nothing more happened in this creek.
Ozdodge decided that we should try our chance in the next creek, and that was a good call...
We arrived to a miniature rock bar, where I was advised to drop the anchor.
How big was the structure?
This big:
Mini rock bar in the mud.
This is the place where we were to pick up all of our Barramundi for the day.
After his second or third cast Ozdodge was on to a nice little Barramundi:
Ozdodge first Barramundi of the day.
It wasn't really a monster one, but it was the targeted species for the day, so the mission was accomplished. Well, except that it was now a two fish to nile in favour of my skipper.
It was time for me to wake up.
So I caught a Barramundi too. Not a big one but this one was mine, and was the first I got in about a month.
My first Barramundi of the day.
I got happy with that. We now both had caught a Barramundi, and from now on, everything else was going to be a bonus.
And what a bonus did Ozdodge took!
Another Barra for Ozdodge.
And to show me that it wasn't just a fluke, he nearly immediately repeated the effort:
Ozdodge and his third Barramundi of the trip.
I was starting to think that I was receiving a lesson in Barramundi fishing.
Near all of the Barramundi come from the very same spot, in a radius of a few centimetres.
Obviously, they like this spot.
Trying to be as best a student as I could be, I finally caught another little Barra.
My last Barra of the day.
This one was rather small, and nearly on the cute side of thing, as what cute can be for a Barramundi.
I had caught my two fish on the same lure, the Reidy's Junior B52, a lure that I really like.
Barramundi and Reidy's Junior B52.
So to not be left behind, Ozdodge didn't wast any time in getting the last Barramundi of the day.
Ozdodge with the last Barramundi of the day.
The action died after that, but that was six Barramundi from the same spot, in a very short amount of time. So in my book, a good spot.
we wanted to be home early, so we started to make our way back.
Just stoping at a last spot, for a few quick casts, while drifting.
There I got a baby Rock Cod, which had totally inhaled my lure.
It was released at the side of the boat, to try to minimise its time out of the water.
Then I hooked something that pulled much better. But on the first jump I saw that it wasn't a Barramundi, it was a Tarpon. I played it a bit near the boat, until he made a beautiful jump. Shake all over and spat a soft plastic lure that had been broken in two.
Ozdodge quickly flicked his lure in roughly the same spot and off course, you guessed it, got another Tarpon.
Ozdodge fight a little Tarpon.
He managed to do better than I and boated his fish.
Ozdodge's Tarpon.
By Darwin standard, this was a nice Tarpon. And when your Tarpon is bigger than your Barramundi, you know that you have been catching some teenage Barra.
Yet it had been a great day on the water.
With plenty of little fish for the relatively short time that we spent fishing.
On this day, all of our fish have been released.
Thank you Ozdodge for inviting me on your boat, showing me your fishing spots, and telling which type of lures work on them. It is always nice to learn some fishing tips.
And yes, I know. Once again, I got totally out fished.
But hey, it could be worse.
Have a good day,
Me.
