A Morning On Darwin Harbour.

Hi there,

Yes, it had been a long time since I last went fishing.
So when Theodosius sent me a text message asking if I wanted to go fishing on Sunday, I said Yes Please!

The plan was to go and spend the morning on Darwin Harbour, to try to catch a fish or two, and hopefully they would be Barramundi.

At 6:27AM on Sunday I got a text message from Theodosius saying that he was in front of my place.
I ran out with all my gear, impatient to go and get some fish.
Ah the expectation...
Ah the excitement of going on a fishing trip...

We launched easily, from Dinah Beach boat ramp, and headed for some little arms in the harbour in the morning light, as the sun was just rising.

Zooming in the morning.

As we neared the first spot that we were going to fish for the day, I couldn't help to think how lucky we are, living in Darwin. To have such a great harbour on our doorstep.

Sunrise over the mangroves.

Flat waters are the best.

Yes, it was picture perfect, it feel like if we were in an advertisement from Tourism NT.

Once the sun rose high enough to give us some proper light, we saw fog or mist on the mangroves.

For a little while we could have believed that we were in Scotland on our way to fish for Salmon.

It was just a bit warmer that what I imagine Scotland to be.

Dawn on the tidal creek.

It was calm and peaceful, but we wanted the mayhem created by catching some angry fish.

So we set ourselves to the task and started to fish.

Fishing in the first light.

Theodosius, said that a submerged snag was just in front of us, under about two meters of water.

We could see some little Trevally and Queenfish smashing the baits above it.

So we tried to send our lures deeper into the snag. 

And it didn't take long for Theodosius to get the first fish, a nice little Flathead:

Theodosius first fish of the day.

Despite Flatheads being delicious to eat, this one would have been a bit too small to fillet, and as such was released to grow a bit more.

And from the exact same spot Theodosius proceed to reel in two beautiful Golden Snapper, one after the other.

He put back the smaller one in its natural habitat, and gave me the bigger one, that I placed in the esky, as I was not yet sure to catch a fish on the day. And as they say, a bird in the hand is better than two in the bush.

Theodosius releasing the smaller Golden Snapper.

I then got hooked up on a medium sized Queenfish, who promptly took my line around a submerged branch and got me truly and properly snagged.

I had to break the line and loose the lure.

So I decided to try my luck with a surface lure and started to flick around a small walk the dog type of lure. As I was doing a cast that should have been pretty average, something happened.

And no, not something great...

The leader knot got stuck on the line guide on the rod, and this here is the result of it:

Bird nest.

Yes, the best bird nest I had in ages was now in my hands.

I looked at it for a few minutes, and decided to leave it as is, and continue the day with my other rod and reel. I would take care of this mess later on at home, and not continue to waste any more of precious fishing time.

With that, we decided to move a bit further and arrive to a beautiful snag that we could perfectly see under shallow water. 

And among the many branches of it, we could see our coveted target, Barramundi!

A few go them were in there, and at the first pass of Theodosius lure, they went straight for it.

Sadly none stayed connected to the lure.

So it was my turn to cast in there, and what a sight.

We could see the Barra coming out between the branches and fighting for the lure. Some of them were really fired up, and had that white line on the front of the head, that they have when full on in feeding mode. One of them had a few go at my offering but failed to hook despite biting on the lure at many reprise. 

Theodosius casted again and this time came back with the good:

Theodosius with the first Barramundi of the weekend.

Even if this one was just slightly too short to keep. I was quite simply getting a lesson in fishing, as I was yet to land a single scale. While my skipper was already on his fourth fish.

It was time to wake up!

As we moved a bit further again, I finally caught my first Barramundi of the day. It was 57cm, so good to keep, and I gave it to Theodosius, as he had given me a Goldie not long ago, this was the least I could do.

And I was now happy to see that I could still catch a fish.

Theodosius was fishing from the top of his ladder, from where he could spot the Barramundi much better than I could. And would regularly point them to me, so I could cast at them.

But he was better than I and came back with another fish:

His second Barramundi for the day.

You could see in the back, how calm was the water. 

The tide was now falling rapidly and we could not stay as close of the mangroves as previously, without the risk of getting stuck in the mud.

So we mover a bit further away:

Falling tide on the mangroves of Darwin Harbour.

At one point, we got surrounded by a school of Blue Salmons, and yes once again, I was not the sharpest hook in the bag, so I wasn't the one to catch one of them.

I suppose that you guessed who got one:

First Blue Salmon.

This fish was released to fight another day.

It didn't took long before I heard the Yep! I am on! again.

Yet this time, even if smaller, the fish was handled with more precaution, du to his good set of teeth:

Baby Barracuda on the lure.

Yes it was just a young one, but it already would have had a nasty little bite, and was treated accordingly.

We then went to a little creek where Theodosius told me that he had once lost a nice Barra in there.

I really hopped I would get one in there.

And it happened:

My second Barramundi for the morning.

Coming in at 66cm (25.984252 Inches), I decided to keep this fish too for a good feed.

And by now, I can tell you that it tasted delicious.

There I also caught a Catfish and a little shark. Both were released, rest reassured.

After that we went back to the first snag that we fished earlier in the morning. 

With the now lower tide we saw the lure I had previously lost, dangling on one of the now visible branches, And Theodosius managed to grab it and gave it back to me.

We then went to a last creek to try to find some more Barramundi. But what we found was a lot of Blue Salmon.

We even got a double hook up on them, and here is the result of it:

Blue Salmon double.

Both of them were released as we already had enough to provide our respective family with a good feed of fresh fish.

So on this good note, we decided to call it a day and to head back to the ramp.

This was a happy day, we saw many fish and stingrays. Even a small pod of dolphin on the way back.

Thank you Theodosius for inviting me on your boat.

So I had a great meal of fresh fish, but now I still have this bird nest to take care of...

But hey, it could be worse.

Have a good day,

Me.

Channel Island Two Days In A Row.

Hi there,

Yes last weekend I went to Channel Island, again, a lot...
I went there on both days of the weekend.

• I fished Channel Island.
• I didn't catch any Barramundi.
• I did catch a strange fish.

First on Saturday I went fishing with Theodosius, on his boat.
We launched nice and early from Dina Beach and made our way to Channel Island.
But we arrived there a bit early and the water was still too high.

High tide in the mangroves.

Due to the tide, we couldn't catch a fish there. 

The water was flat as a tack, and we moved to another spot.

Flat waters in Darwin harbour.

This is about when the special apparatus, destined to the best fishing possible on the mud flats first appeared:

Higher is better.

Yes, a step ladder was erected on the cast deck, giving a higher point of view. Permitting to spot the unsuspecting Barramundi from far away.

And it worked.

As soon as Theodosius got perched on it, he saw a Barra hiding back in the baby mangrove.

He flicked the lure toward it:

Casting from the ladder.

The Barramundi took the lure, but failed to connect.

This had nearly be a massive success, but it still was exciting to see that the idea wasn't bad.

But still, we couldn't get any fish there.

So we went in beautiful little creeks in search of success.

The scenery was grand.

Tree in the water.

Tree on the bank.

The fish were not.

At one point we came across a snag, and Theodosius told me that he often caught fish on it.

So... We sent our lures swimming over it.

First, we saw a big boil just behind my lure.

Following cast and I got a hit from a small Barra, but didn't hooked it.

So we continue to flick our lures on it, making them swim very nooks and crannies of it.

Then a better Barramundi hit my lure, give a sharp pull on my line, and swam away like if nothing...

No, we couldn't get any fish from this very snag on that very day.

So we moved along.

Arriving on a new large flat, from the top of his post, Theodosius saw a Barramundi that I could not see from the casting deck.

He made the right cast, and swam his lure in front of the fish, who presto got onto it.

And a nice big slab of silver Barramundi started to dance on the surface of the water, between us and the shore.

Quickly I got my lure back, and grabbed the net...

And then went on to commit the worst crime that a ducky can ever commit...

I was simply unable to open the net properly, and by the time this very nice harbour Barramundi was boat side, I was still battling the net, and not ready at all.

What happened after that is what you never want on your boat.

A skipper with a nice fish ready to be netted and a decky, who is not even able to open a net, is by itself a pretty bad combo... Yes you might have guessed it by now, the fish spat the lure after fighting on the side of the boat for a little while.

This was criminal from my part, and I felt rather bad after that. 

The fault was all mine.

I think that I am lucky that Theodosius didn't just show me the way to Darwin and said : Swim!

Now all kudos to him for taking it in a very cool way, and even still trying to put me on a fish after that.

We arrived in a new creek where he said that he snag should be there under water, but that we couldn't see it because of the water condition.

We send our lures in a few different places, until I screamed: I'm on!

to which he replied: You must have found the snag then.

I wasn't on to a Barramundi, but still Theodosius had the net ready in the water before I could get my small fish near the boat.

And he netted it first try, this was a little cod:

My first fish of the weekend.

This fish was too small to keep, and was put back in his element. To grow up and hopefully lead a happy fish life.

My skipper for the day climbed back on his ladder for a little bit, but not more fish were sighted, and we decided to call it a day.

Scanning the water for Barramundi.

This had been a very pleasant morning on the water. Thank you for inviting me on your boat Theodosius, and sorry for not being able to net your fish.

On the following day, Sunday, it was a land based attempt.

This time I was fishing with Tony, the maker of the beautiful Captain Seaweed Lures.

We arrived to channel island parked the car and walked straight where I had been on my last land based attempt on this island.

I did feel sorry for not insisting that Tony take a good pair of shoes as he hurt himself walking on the rocks.

The rocks of Channel Island.

The spot is nice and shady in the morning, expectations were high.

With the tide starting to recede, I walked a bit further on the rocks.

But a few big splashes in the mangroves on my left, kept me on my toes. I couldn't figure if it was a crocodile or a shark, and I didn't liked it.

As I was on the rock, I saw a very nice Barramundi swam next to me, it must have been in the mid 70cm and was just cruising past. I sent my lure in front of him, and brought it back, twitching it under his nose. He didn't even take any notice of it and went on his way. Either he was not hungry at all, or was the most snobbish Barramundi ever.

A tad frustrated I kept looking in the water all around, to spot the eventual fish, or approaching crocodile. Luckily no crocodile were seen on the day.

But a massive Queenfish came very close. 

Once again, it didn't even had a second look at my lure, and just swam calmly toward the horizon.

Thinking about it I was just reeling in my lure, when I saw something from the corner of my eye, having a go at my lure, but turning away just before hitting it, very close to the rock I was standing on.

So I made a long cast, and tried to retrieve my lure, in a way that would make it pass just between the rocks at my feet. 

And bang! This time the fish took my lure in earnest and was starting to pull on my line. It wasn't the fight of the century, but at least I had a fish, it was a small cod:

Rock cod from the rocks.

This one was just the right size to be put in a soup, so in the esky it went, so Tony could have a fish soup.

Yes, this is becoming a spot where I catch more cods than Barramundi.

But still a fish is a fish, and I was happy.

The tide by now was becoming low. 

Tony had started to use a surface lure.

I had to do long cast to give my lure a chance to swim before hitting the bottom rocks. 

It is just on one of these long cast, my lure had just entered the water, and no more than two turns of the handle on my reel were made when...

I was on again!

I saw a flash of silver, so it wasn't a cod or a shark.

It started to jump.

But seemed a bit skinny for a Barramundi.

Maybe a Queenfish?

But it didn't look quite right for a Queenfish...

It was a Chirocentrus dorab, most commonly known as a Wolf herring:

Surprise of the day.

Not much to write home you could start to say...

Have you seen its teeth?

The Wolf herring.

Some being have a face that only a mother could love...

I personally think that even the mother of this one has nightmares.

I had caught it on a small Junior B52s made by Reidy's, and started to think that this was going to be my lucky lure of the day.

Well it didn't took me long for the lure to get snagged and for my line to be cut on the oyster rocks.

I had lost my new lucky lure...

Still it was a beautiful morning in a beautiful location:

Calm waters from the shore.

Looking at the calm waters of the harbour, and the falling tide, I got a second surprise for the day.

My lost lure was floating very close to the shore.

And a little puffer fish was munching on the back of it.

In no times I walked toward the water edge, flicked the soft plastic I had attached to my line and hooked the floating lure, bringing it back to me.

Not lost after all.

I was very happy to get my little lure back.

But by now it was time to go back.

On the walk back to the car, we got more or less lost and visited the back of the island and the camp that was on it in the past.

Walking back Tony remembered that the last time that he brought his sons fishing near the same spot, he had seen a Bowerbird bower somewhere around it.

Sure enough he spotted it again and showed it to me:

Bowerbird's bower.

This is another part of the Australian bush that I really like. 

There is always something interesting to see, if you just take the time to look around you.

Now about all the Barramundi that were caught over the weekend?

Well I don't really know what to say about that, as none were caught by my fishing comrades or me...

But hey, it could be worse.

Have a good day,

Me.

2015 Top End Barra Series Round 4.

Hi there,

Over a month ago was the 4th round of the 2015 Top End Barra Series.
But illness, the visit of a relative from overseas, and starting a new job all got in the way. And now with the round five coming next weekend, I have totally forgotten what it was like in round four.
So?

• It was in Darwin Harbour.
• I fished with my good mate Brett.
• He did catch more and better fish than I.
• I caught my first flounder on a lure.

I remember Brett picking me up a bit later than usual, simply because this time we were to fish closer from home, and because of the tide.
I love fishing on Darwin Harbour, as it is a beautiful harbour, and it has a great biodiversity.
We launched from a boat ramp that I had never seen before. Where we saw some other participants in the TEBS.

View from the boat ramp on the first morning.

From the ramp we zoomed to a few different places, and finally moved to a spot where we had some fish last year. We decided to stay on the spot until the tide was going to change, hoping that the fish would turn on. They did not really turn on, but still we got a few little hits, and I even finally got my first Barramundi of the weekend, after casting just where Brett was saying that the fish might wait in ambush:

First little Barramundi of the weekend.

This little Barramundi was too small to be give me any point, but it showed us that we were in the right spot and that we could get lucky.

So we tried a bit longer, and this is where I got my first point scorer of the weekend:

Second Barra of the weekend.

This one wasn't a monster, but it made me sure that I was not on a donut for the round, and that was more than enough to make me happy.

But with no more action there, not even a sniff, we decided to move to another spot, not too far away.

There, we arrived once again full of optimism. 

But sadly the fish were not on the same wave length than us, and decided to avoid us as best as they could.

Yet I managed to get a fish that was just the legal size, and who gave me a few more points for the round:

My second point scorer of the weekend.

As luck would have it, this was to be my last point scorer of the weekend too.

Yet there was still some fun and surprises to be had. Even if all I got in this spot was a smallish Rock Cod, and Brett I think got a few small Barramundi, that were slightly too short to give him any point.

So we called it a day, and decided to go back home, have a rest and come back the following day with a vengeance.

Going back home after the first day.

On the way home we discussed the different options for the next day, wondering how we could improve our chances.

But finally decided to do the same, and the same we did:

Start of day two.

But this time we would get some fish.

Anyway, this was the plan.

Which at first did not really work. So we stopped for a little while, to have a chat with Kieran who was fishing solo:

Kieran in his new boat.

He too found it hard to get some fish, but already had done better than us.

After that we moved to another spot where Brett had got a really good fish last year...

And he did it again!

Brett with is first Barramundi for the round.

Yes this was a good fish. It also meant that from now on, none of us was on the dreaded donut for the round. Our spirits felt suddenly much lighter.

At the same spot, I got my first flounder on a lure.

Little flounder on a lure.

Yes it was rather on the small size, but that was more than enough to make me very happy, and surprised.

First I had never caught a flounder before, and more importantly, I didn't even know that they lived in our waters. This is another proof of the great range of animals living in Darwin harbour.

But with no more fish coming our way, apart a few small Trevally, and maybe a small Catfish, but not sure about that? We decided to quietly go home and call it a day...

But... 

On the way, Brett saw some fish boofing on the sand flat, and we went after them.

This is where Brett shined, and I did not much.

Brett second Barramundi.

Brett had just changed his lure to a lighter one, as we were fishing in very shallow water.

And nearly immediately caught a fish.

It didn't took him long to get another one:

Brett last Barramundi of the weekend.

Brett was doing well, and I was taking photo of fish, instead of catching them.

I remember that the sand flat were full of sharks, some even swam very close to the boat, and another one had a go at my lure.

But then the bite stopped in the blink of an eye, and we could not see any boof anymore.

We had just arrived at the right time, and Brett made the best of it.

So this time we really went back to the ramp.

At the ramp I saw a beautiful little crab swimming:

Small crab in the shallow.

We got the boat on the trailer, and once on Terra Firma I tried to put the strap on it...

Well, I am not the best at it... To the extent that I wasn't sure if Brett found it funny or tragic, but the later wouldn't surprise me. As this is what I would have thought myself...

Trying to strap the boat.

It was so bad, that after a few attempt Brett had to do it himself...

But to me it was still a great weekend fishing, with my mind away from the rest of the world.

Thank you Brett for inviting me on your boat.

Sorry that I could not give you more detail about how the round went, but my memory is not the one of a twenty years old anymore...

But hey, it could be worse.

Have a good day,

Me.

Fishing Darwin Harbour In Cold Weather.

Hi there,

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.