Casting Into Little Creeks.

Hi there,

On the first of March, I went fishing after just a month without any fishing done...
What a long time it had been.
And here is the tale of it.

• My beloved St-Croix fishing rod got broken.
• Seano got all his Barramundi on his own homemade fishing lures.
• Most of our fish had scars from previous attack by predators.
• I got my third biggest Barramundi so far.

It started in the evening, around a table at the Ski Club, where a few friends were talking fishing.

At one point Seano asked me : "Do you want to go fishing tomorrow?"

You guess it, the answer was that yes I wouldn't mind going for a fish.

After all, I had not fished for a while, and was starting to seriously miss it.

The following morning, I waked up teen minutes before the pick up time and rushed to get a clean, and dressed, getting my gear and in front of the door, waiting for Seano to pick me up.

I usually wake up way before the alarm clock ring when going fishing, but this time, don't ask why, I slept right through the alarm, and wake up by chance just in time.

Anyway, on the road we went, stoping at a service station, as I didn't had a breakfast yet.

And we arrived at the ramp to find a few boats already there, but not so many that it would be a pain in the neck.

We started to get the boat ready, Seano hop in the boat, and walk on the only fishing rod I had taken for the day, my new and beloved St-Croix bait caster. Now what happens when someone walk on a graphite fishing rod? It usually breaks, and this is just what happened...

My heart sank, I liked this rod, it was practically new, and this was the only one I had with me on the day...

Seano found a solution, and the rod was quickly fixed, albeit a bit shorter.

We were able to go fishing!

And this is where it started to be even scarier...

Seano asked me to get in the boat, while he backed it down the ramp, and to idle in place while he was going to park the car and come back.

For the people who know me, steering a boat is not my forte, and I tried as much as I could to stay cool, the launch went well, the stay idle part without hitting anything went ok/so so, and then I had to come back toward the ramp to pick up Seano who had parked the car...

Another boat was doing the same thing at the same time, and I nearly ram the boat into them.

If they hadn't caught the railing of Seano's boat to turn the hull back a bit on the left, it would have been a full frontal collision. 

Seeing that Seano quickly jumped in the boat and got us out of there.

In direction of our first little creek to explore.

Seano wanted to test one of his new own homemade fishing lure, and I was casting a weedless soft plastic.

We got a few little hit, but nothing very serious.

Then Seano casted in the middle of a snag, working his lure very slow, as to not snag it, when a little Barramundi came out of nowhere and just totally nailed his timber lure.

That was an interesting little fight around all the submerged little branches, but the fish came into the boat, and that was the first Barra of the day.

Barramundi on Seano's homemade fishing lure.

This fish was just one centimetre above the minimal size limit, but was released, as it looked like he already went through a hard day:

Barramundi with predator scars on its side.

We couldn't be sure of what had left these scars on the side of this Barramundi? But if he survived an attack from another predator not long before, he deserved to have another go at life.

So in the drink it went back, lucky little bugger.

withe the action being a bit on the slow side in this creek, we decided to try our luck in the next one, and off we went.

Seano, was obviously not yet convinced of my utter inability to steer a boat, he put it on inexperience, and told me that it was time for me to learn. So he asked me to sit in the pilot seat and to drive...

I think that it gave him a good laugh.

Everything is fine.

Yes, this is me trying to pretend that I am fine and that everything is under control...

Yet my feet don't even touch the floor.

Luckily we didn't need to go very far, and the next creek was there, for us to try again at catching some Barramundi.

And Sean did it again, on the same lure that he had made himself:

Seano with the second Barramundi of the day.

This was a very small creek, full of bait, yet the Barramundi had preferred to go for the lure instead of one of the many little mullet swimming around. This must have been a good lure.

With the fish in the 60s, it was a good size for food, and in the esky it went.

As the action went quiet in this creek, we moved to the next one.

I once again changed lure, Seano continued to use the same one.

I didn't catch a fish in the third creek.

Seano got his third Barramundi in the third creek.

Seano Third Barramundi of the day on his timber lure.

In each creek the Barramundi seemed to be bigger and bigger.

This one went 75cm (29.50 inch) and it was kept too.

This one had given a very good fight, hooked at the front of the boat, it swim past our side on the left, turned just under the outboard, to start jumping on our right, with Seano's line still under the propeller of the outboard. Hairy situation, but in the end, she was netted and we were happy.

You can see, still hanging from her mouth, Seano's homemade lure. 

By then, Seano started to reminds me that it was a three to nil, like if I was to forget about that.

Yes, this is what fisho do, and this is part of the fun too, what ever end of it you find yourself at.

Seano was smashing it, and I was not getting any.

As we arrived to our fourth creek, Seano, told me that if he hadn't his own home made lures, he would use a certain type of lure... And I had this type of lure in my tackle box...

Should I use it? 

Of course I should!

But he also said that I should just roll it in slowly, without jerking it. 

Now, I really like to work my lure, as much as I can. Even my soft plastics can often been seen dancing all over the place, instead of just bouncing them softly on the bottom of the creeks. 

So I tried that, and got a hit, but it didn't connect.

Did a second cast, same direction, but thinking that I might have flicked my lure a bit too close to the left bank, start to roll it in, suppress the big envy to make the lure swim in an erratic fashion. Trying hard to just go slow and not doing anything else.

And... 

I am on! Just a few feet from the front of the boat, my line tense and start to peel away, straight for the other end of the creek.

One long big run, that I can't stop, finally it stop, then go again. With nothing that I can do, we start to wonder if it is a Barramundi or a catfish? Could it be a Jewfish in such a shallow creek?

It is not jumping, it stays underwater, and we can't see any colours in this muddy water. Finally I can get a bit of line, with the fish staying in the middle of the creek, then going for the left side of it, which is ok as it is all mud on this side. But it turns and aim for the right bank, in the only place where there is a tiny little snag emerging out of the water. I am not sure that I will be able to stop it, as Seano tells me to not go too hard on it, as this very lure as some split rings that are not the best in the world, and that this fish seems big. We are still unsure of what it is.

Then the fish came on our left, pass the boat and head straight for the big river and the end of it.

As it passes us, it made a strange run, very short stop followed by a bigger stronger run. Seeing that Seanos exclaim : This is a Barramundi! Typical run of a good Barramundi!

So far we have seen a few boils on the surface, but the fish hasn't revealed itself yet.

It was so close to the boat when it passed us, but seemed to be so far no.

It has no problem to go from one bank of the creek to the other, and is now nearly at the mouth of the creek.

Then it came to the surface, not really breaching it, more rolling her side out of the water.

This is when I saw the big shiny chrome scales of a big mama Barramundy.

I was already rather excited but just right then, I nearly went full panic mode, thinking that this was a good fish and didn't want to loose her.

Step by step, it finally came close enough to be scooped in the net.

Oh yes at that moment, a few high five and yahoo were heard on this calm little creek.

Then Seano tried to lift her and said: 'Expletive' She is so heavy mate that it's a metery!

A metery it was not to be, but heavy, fat and fit she was.

My Barramundi of the day.

After a full month without fishing, my first Barramundi to come onboard was 95cm (37.40 inch). 

I was not going to complain about that, this was my third biggest Barramundi ever!

And my first good one on my new Curado reel, I was more than happy with that.

She too had some big scars on her body made by an unknown predator.

Once again, I got a good fish, because I had listened to a more experienced fisherman than I.

Hopefully, one day I too,  will be able to pass a few fishing tips to someone, and feel that I am helping in that domain.

Like all big Barramundi, she was released to grow a bit more, and more importantly to give birth to a few generations of little Barramundi, and keep our fisheries sustainable.

Seano, releasing my big girl Barra.

Once again, it was a bigger fish than in the precedent creek, and a one fish creek only.

But we didn't cry about it, and happily started to move toward the next one.

By now, Seano had understood that it was much safer and fast if he drove the boat himself, so we zoomed there.

This new creek called for a new technic, and the vibes came out.

Seano is experienced in vibes, I am not.

Seano caught some fish on the vibes, I did not.

So what did he caught you may ask?

Well that is when the not a Barra fish started to come out.

And the first one was a little eel.

An eel on the lure.

This was not the expected catch, and it was quickly released.

it didn't seems to have any trouble to swimming back in the deep, without asking any question.

We could see the fish on the sounder so we tried for more, and Seano got a nice little Threadfin Salmon.

Seano and the Threadfin Salmon.

But the clouds started rolling, and the time to fly away, so we decided that it had been a great morning on the water, and that we should make for the ramp, before a storm decide to hit us.

Cloudy skies.

We hadn't gone too far from the ramp, so it was a short journey, and the boat was back on its trailer, and with us, heading back to town.

Thank you Seano for the invitation, I had a great time, and now want to go fishing again.

Of the four Barramundi that we caught this morning, three of them had scars on them.

I don't know if the sharks are running out of food, or if this was just a coincidence, but we did find that interesting.

I hadn't fished in a full month, and it took me 8 change of lures before I finally listen to my skipper, who had fished these creeks many times before, to finally put the ninth lure at the end of my line and catch a fish. Once again, I should have paid a bit more attention at what I was being told earlier...

But I might still try some other lures next time before getting the one that work out of the tackle box...

So many lures to try, and such a small amour of time to do so...

But hey, it could be worse.

Have a good day,

Me.

My Biggest Barramundi So Far.

Hi there,

This is the story of how I caught my biggest Barramundi to date.

• We fished at Shady Camp.
• We both got some big Barramundi.
• We got all the big ones trolling hard body lures.
• The good fish were caught on hard body fishing lures.

I saw on FaceBook that Craig was looking for a decky, to go fishing at Shady Camp with him on Friday and Saturday. Luck was with me from the start, my boss at work had just given me the Friday off. So I raised my hand and was picked.

I had never fished with Craig, but we had meet a few times before, so it was a new boat for me.

Going to Shady Camp, is always meet with a lot of anticipation, and a good dose of hopes and dreams.

This is the place where every year big Barramundi are caught, and early in the season a lot of people go there just for that.

And this year was no different, Seano with whom we caught up on the water, counted about 70 boats when we arrived at the mouth of Sampan Creek. That is a lot of lines and lures in the water. 

But among all the crowd, we saw Dean catch a very nice 98 cm (38.582677 inch) Barramundi:

Dean and his Barramundi.

Dean had caught it on one of his own home made lure, kudos to him for making such good fishing lures as a hobby.

We then started to think that they were fish in the water...

Then we saw Peter's boat, and it didn't come as a surprise to see that they were on a fish too, as his boat always bring the bacon home.

The boat Barradiction in action.

But after a few hours of just about two hits, good ones but for no hook up, it started to be a bit too much for us. We got sick of playing dodgem cars with other boats, some of them all over the place, so we decided to head for Tommy Cut. Despite the reports coming from there; not being so good.

Once at Tommy Cut, we went straight in the creek, without stoping at the mouth, and we found fishing in there, Dave and a mate of his. They had caught many Barramundi in the day, and showed where and on what type of lures. Seeing people on the water who are ready to share the good oil, is alway a great advantage , and this was very kind of them.

Putting on lures that were about the same sizes, colours and deep of the ones they were using with success, we started trolling.

Not long in the troll I got a good hit, and the line started to peel, I was on!

but then the fish didn't seemed to offer a big fight and I was able to reel in faster than I expected...

We called it for a small Barra...

In fact we should have realised that it was maybe swimming with the current, towards the boat.

Because that is exactly what it did until it was under the boat, where it suddenly jumped. Craig then said, oh it is bigger than I thought, it is even probably a metery!

Now, I have only ever caught just one metery, and this was just what I needed to start to get a bit nervous. It went for the left, jumped and made a beeline for the right, the bank side of the creek, where all the snags were.

Seeing that, I thumbed the spool of my reel as much as I could, and gave a big whack in the rod, to try stopping it a few centimetres from the very visible snags.

It worked, it stopped it, it turned instantly, made a great jump, shaked her big head, and spat the lure...

Maybe, just maybe, I had been slightly too violent in my action...

And this is certainly why I lost this very beautiful fish...

But of course, I put it on my hooks being a bit blunt, and put another lure with brand new hooks on the end of my line.

We started trolling again, and this time Craig got a strong hit and the Barramundi jumped behind the boat. But sadly the fight was short and that was another fish swimming away after just a few jump.

Not discouraged, we persisted, and you know what they say: 'Those who put the time in get the rewards'. Well it worked.

My lure found a fish, and it was not a bad one.

When it started to jump, I said, it is smaller than the last one, but I don't want to loose this one too!

Craig put the boat in the middle of the creek so I wouldn't get in trouble with the snags, and got the net ready in no times. The fish did her thing, jumping and running when I thought that she was ready to be scooped up. But finally came close enough to be netted and I had my first Barramundi of the trip!

First Barramundi of the trip.

At 93cm (36.614173 inch), this was now my second biggest Barramundi caught.

But this was not going to be for very long...

To say that I was happy, would be a slight understatement. She was beautiful, chrome and fat, a very healthy Barramundi, maybe even a mama to be.

With the mood now on super sunny we continued to troll, and I got another fish.

But this one was from the start a smaller one. 

I was just unsure of what kind of fish it was, It is only when it came close enough that we saw that it was a small Threadfin Salmon.

My little Treadfin Salmon.

At 60cm (23.622047 inch) it was no monster, but would still offer two good fillets, and Craig kept it.

By now we had boated two fish and had one in the esky, the sun was nearly down, we decided to catch up with Dave to setup camp on the river.

We rafted up and started to exchange tales of fishing, and discus other things. I did try to cast a surface lure a few time, but was starting to be seriously exhausted and as soon as the food was ready and eaten, started to fall asleep on my seat.

So when the time to actually sleep arrived, it didn't take me long to fall in Morpheus arm.

I had a rod at the ready, in case the Barramundi would start to boof around us in the middle of the night. Many time I woke up, and listen attentively but the only boof I heard was far away and I didn't used the rod during the night.

The morning came, as beautiful as they can be on a Northern Territory creek:

Sunrise on Tommy Cut creek.

Without loosing any time, we decided to have a troll, starting nearly where we slept.

I casted my lure, on the bank side of the creek, made sure that I had a convenient distance of line out, and put the rod in the rod holder. Picked up another rod to store it away, when the one in the rod holder started to bent like crazy, and my first thought was that I had hit a snag. Which would have made sense since we were trolling a bank full of mangrove. But when I picked up the rod, I could feel head shake in it. I tried to reel in a bit of line, and a nice feisty little Barramundi started to jump and splash in front of us.

I was on straight from the start!

This was was a quick fight, quick but sweet.

Morning Barramundi.

Coming in at 64 cm (25.19685 inch), it was perfect eating size, and ended up in the esky.

Such a good start made us think that the day was going to be a cracker.

And it was going to be...

Not long after, in the same stretch of the creek, Craig said in a tone just a bit louder than the conversation that we were having: Yep!

And I could immediately see the sudden curvature of his fishing rod and some commotion in the water at the back of the boat.

I reeled in my lure as fast as I could and Craig then asked me to get the boat in the middle of the creek...

I am not really use to steer a boat but I managed, nervously, to get if not in the middle, at least between the two side of the creek. Then the net came in ready, I didn't want to do anything wrong on his fish, which seemed to give a really good fight.

Jumping and pulling line as soon as it was close to the boat. It took a bit of time to get her in the net, and that is when I got surprised by her weight. She was a fat Barramundi that is for sure.

Craig first Barramundi of the trip.

At 91cm (35.826772 inch) it was a very respectable fish, and was put back in the river as soon as we could. She swam away strongly, and no monkeys were left on the boat.

Yes, this was a good day.

We resumed trolling as this was how we got all our fish so far. Yet passing all these beautiful snags was to hard to resist, and I had to put a weedless soft plastic on another rod, and flick it as we drove past all the submerged trees and roots. 

At one stage, I saw this branch coming about a foot out of the water, and a submerged log about 40/50 cm away from it. In my mind, this was the perfect ambush post for any Barramundi with a bit of self-respect. So I did a cast, and for once, my lure landed where I wanted. Just after the branch, a few centimetres along the submerged log.

The log erupted out of the water as soon as the lure landed next to it, it was not a log.

It was a big crocodile that must have been around the 4 metres mark. And it was obviously not happy, I reeled in my lure as fast as can be, and the croc dived and disappear. 

I may have aged a bit more than normal in these few seconds...

But I continued to cast, but from now, as far as I could from the boat.

And between a little snag and the bank, my line came tight.

A juvenile Barra started to trash about, and I brought it in.

once boat side, I just grabbed the leader and pulled it onboard for a quick photo before putting it back in the drink.

Smallest Barramundi of the trip.

This one was certainly undersize and was not even measured. Hopefully it will grow big enough before being recaptured.

Then Craig got another fish, which didn't need the net too, but nearly gave us a hard time.

By jumping and trashing around on the boat's floor, it stuck the hooks of the lure in Craig's trousers leg.

Yes pretty close to the skin, that would not have been good.

A human and a Barramundi on the same lure.

Once unhooked it was time for a quick pic, and back in the river.

Craig and another Barramundi.

This one was just one centimetre above the minimum legal size, but we still put it back in the water, so it can grow a bit more.

On the following troll, I caught one of the most dreaded fish in our waters: The Mighty Catfish...

This one was just a kitten...

Kitten of a catfish.

To ajout insult to the injury, I had not even caught it, I had foul hooked it, by the tail.

There is no question about it, it was released.

With time flying fast, we decided to go and troll the mouth of the creek, on the incoming tide, before slowly heading home.

This, was going to be a good move.

A few boat were there, but nothing compared to the number of boat seen on the day before at the mouth of Sampan creek.

We could see some fish on the sounder and were really hopping that one, or a few, of them would take a liking to our lures.

We saw Jason who was trolling too, but with not much success yet.

The weather was beautiful, and so far we had avoided the rain, so our spirits were still flying high.

The boat had just made a u-turn in the troll to make its way back toward the creek, when a fish decided that my lure looked like a tasty morsel.

It was a good hit and it jumped straight away, fully out of the water. I saw that it was not a bad fish, and hoped that I would not loose it.

Loose it I did not, and after a little battle, it was netted:

Another good Barramundi.

Exactly like the one I had caught on the day before, it came in at 93cm (36.614173 inch). I can't say if it was the same fish, but it still made me very happy. That was two good fish in two days, I liked that.

Once again it was released alive.

Catch and release is nearly a must for most fisherman in the Northern Territory when it comes to big Barramundi. Which might explain why we still have such a good fishery. 

Jason came around and we joked about which lure I was using, with me telling him that I could sell him mine. For him to pull the exact same one out of his tackle box.

So we started a new troll...

First troll after my second 93 of the trip.

About two minute in the troll and a very sharp jerk in my rod, surprised me by its violence. I had never had such a hit before what was going on?

I had just sat down to chat with Craig and something was pulling on my line, with a determination rarely seen.

A big head came out of the water, just the head, not even the shoulder, just the mouth and eyes, the big mouth opened and shaked.

All I could say was: This one looks bigger...

Craig rewinded his lure quick smart, and got the net ready.

The fish was still far away from the boat and it came out again, not fully but more than on the first time, and Craig said: What a beauty! That is a metery mate!

And then I knew it was big. 

Now I know that Barramundi can grow much bigger and I have friends who have caught bigger ones... But to me, this looked like the biggest I ever had a chance to land.

Now it was the time to not mess up with this one chance.

The fish was far away, and still taking line, her run seemed to never finish.

Luckily for me, there was a lot less boat than at Sampan, and people seemed very well behaved. Once it become clear that I was hooked on a nice fish, most boat left a lot of room around us so as not to cut my line, or hinder the fight. 

I could not believe it, I had just caught what was my second personal best Barramundi, and now i was fighting what looked like it could be my biggest one ever. If only I could get it to the boat...

This was easier said than done.

I even started to panic a bit that I would get spooled, and asked Craig if he could follow her a bit with the outboard, as I was not gaining any line at all on her.

She was swimming towards the sea, and didn't seem to want to come back.

But she turned and came straight for the boat. Seeing that, I reeled in like an absolute maniac, trying to keep some tension in the line. Once near the boat she didn't stay there, and went for the bank and the shallow waters. This would be at my advantage, not hers.

She was now on the left hand side of the boat, between us and the bank, in very shallow water. I could see her back breaking the surface. She didn't like the tight spot she had put herself in, and dived under the boat. My rod was bending like it had never before, and I was sure that she would break the line under the boat in the best case scenario, or the rod at worst.

I kept saying: Oh she will break my rod, she will break my line, I will not be able to land this fish!

As she went under the boat and resurfaced on the other side, swimming for the middle of the channel, I had to jump on the casting desk, while my rod was half under the boat, and try to get the line past the bow of the boat, under the electric motor (Which was horizontal then), and be back in the action. Craig was cheering.

It was epic and scary, her weight on the line was not something that I was used to. She did a few more runs, shorter and shorter, but still very powerful. Finally came back on the left side of the boat, then back to the right side.

Craig had the net in the water, all the wile keeping and eye that we didn't end up stranded on the bank.

She saw the net and tried to go away from it, but not very far, and finally it is with relief that I could see her head approaching the opening of the net.

But once her head was inside of the net, she slightly slipped outside of it, and then I had a moment of incredulous and plain stupid fear: She is too big for the net!!!

But she was not, she slipped back in it, and the rubber net expanded and she fitted right in.

Craig had to grab the net opening with both hands to lift her up, the rubbery net expanded for almost a foot before the fish even started to get out of the water.

She was a very fat Barramundi, and she was now mine.

111cm of salt water Barramundi.

Once on the brag mat she measured at 111cm (43.700787 inch)! 

This was definitively the biggest Barramundi that I had ever caught.

If you look at the smile across my face on this picture, I think that I slept and woke up the following day with the same smile.

I do think that I got very lucky to land her, as my line had gone straight in the gills, and I could not unhook her without cutting the line first, as it went from the mouth, throughout the gill.

But after a very quick measurement and a very quick photo, she was released.

We had to swim her a bit, but in the end, she kicked and bitted and swam happily away.

Swimming her before the release.

Kicking away.

This had been to me, an incredible experience.

Between the sheer strength and force of the fish, and her weight, it had me exhausted and happy.

And now I want another one!

Even if I realise that it might take a very long time before I am able to get as lucky as I got on the afternoon of the 31st of January 2015.

Seeing that in just two troll runs, in twenty minutes apart we had got over two metres of Barramundi in the boat, we decided to try for more.

But as we looked on our side we saw what I would call a rather nice storm coming our way:

Tropical storm coming for us.

In no time it was upon us, and we had to resort to the rain coats:

Is that tropical fishing?

The rain fall upon us with no mercy, and we couldn't really see that far no more.

Rain in the creek.

With the intensity of the rain, we decided that we already had been blessed with two really good day of fishing, and that we should start to make our way back.

We then sailed towards Sampan creek, to arrive there under a beautiful and warm sun.

We then trolled the mouth of it long enough to dry our shirts and made our way in direction of Shady Barrage and the boat ramp.

On the way I was looking at the landscape and was thinking that we are very lucky to live in such a beautiful country.

Sampan creek.

At the boat ramp, we were met by more boats than we had expected. Yet it didn't take that long to get the boat on the trailer and to get rolling.

When we finally left the dirt road and arrived on sealed road, the mud had got the car and boat just a bit dirty:

Dirty car and boat.

Yet, I still believe that it was worth it. This was a great fishing trip, thank you Craig for inviting me on your boat.

Now, what does the lure that got me these big Barramundi look like?

Well, here it is, it is a Reidy's Big B52 in the 008 colour:

My lucky lure.

Yes, I am going to retire this lure.

As the Australian saying goes, 'it will go straight to the poolroom'!

After the success I have had with this very lure over the past few years, it has caught me most of my good sized Barramundi, it deserves to be preserved.

But that also mean, that I will now have to buy another one just like this one.

But hey, it could be worse.

Have a good day,

Me.

First Barramundi Of The Year.

Hi there,

Here comes the tale, of my first caught Barramund this year.

• I hooked up five fish and boated only two.
• It was my first ride in Brett's new boat.
• Brett caught more fish than I, once again.
• All our fish were caught casting lures, soft plastics and hard bodies.
• I caught my first Barramundi on a Cultiva Tango Dancer.

I had not really had the possibility to go and do some serious fishing yet this year.

So when Brett invited me to have a go at fishing on Darwin harbour in his new boat, I jumped on the offer and said yes in no time.

And has usual, serious fishing with Brett, was full of laughter and it was a very good day on the water.

Brett picked me up from my home a bit before 11:00am, and we were soon launching the new boat from a ramp not very far from my place, nearly at the heart of the city.

The plan was to go at the top of Sandgroves Creek, and to be locked for the low tide, behind the rock bar.

And this is pretty much what we did, after having a look around in some mangrove first to see if we could sight cast a fish or two. But the water conditions, certainly due to the previous rain, was not in our favour,  so we went back to plan A and up Sandgroves Creek we headed.

We arrived a bit before the tide started to recess, and already we could hear a little boof here and there. I started to get excited, with the anticipation of catching my first Barramundi of the year.

Sandgroves Creek at low tide.

As we arrived I started to cast on the right hand side corner and just after a few cast, as my lure was passing the corner, I felt like if I was hitting the mud or a snag. So I gave it a very soft pull, to make sure that I had not encounter any timber. The line suddenly tensed and a little Barramundi started to show us how good it was at aerial acrobatic.

Yes I was on!

It was no monster but it was in my eyes, legal nonetheless and I started to get in the "I am more excited than I should" mode.

But it was not to be, as this feisty little fish was not only good at acrobatics, but it wasn't too bad either at spitting lures.

I didn't like this demonstration as much as the jumping one...

But hey, now we were sure to be in the right spot, fish were around.

This one had been hooked and lost on a soft plastic, rigged with a single hook.

Not discouraged, I continued to cast in the same spot, hoping that it would have a few brother, or maybe even a big sister hanging around the same ambush point.

And yes it took just a few casts to be on again, same lure, same trajectory, slightly smaller Barramundi... And same result...

A few jumps, and an award in lure spitting/escaping 101 for the fish.

Red card for me...

Well I tried to think that there is always another round, and that I would get my revenge.

It took a bit of time but it eventually happened.

We had moved to another arm of the creek and we could see the Barramundi boofing around us, but we couldn't manage to tempt them with our offering.

Having already lost two fish with soft plastic and single hook, I decided to try a hard body with trebles, as a way to turn the odds in my favour.

So I elected to use a little Tango Dancer.

I had heard by many people that this was a great surface lure, and this is no secret that love fishing with surface lures. At the moment my favourite walk the dog type of lure is with no doubt the DUO Realis Pencil 110, but I was afraid that it would be too big compared to the bait that the Barramundi were feeding on, this early in the season. This is why I choose the small Tango Dancer, as I don't have any of the smaller DUO Realis Pencil.

Well truth to be told, I now also really like the Tango Dancer in small size.

Why?

Because it got me my two fish of the day! And got boofed a few other times, where I lost the fish.

Brett, told me to look where the bait was shimmering on the surface of the creek, and to cast straight on it or just behind it.

So I did it.

We saw a school of bait being very nervous on the surface, next to a couple of trees standing on the mud, and we both casted in the direction of it.

Brett a soft plastic and me my surface hard body lure.

We couldn't see Brett's lure but I was attentively looking at my little lure, walking like a puppy on the surface through the bait school who got even more agitated. 

The lure going right, left, right, left, ri Boof!

No more lure on the surface! Where is my lure?

The straight line pulling away from me, and a Barramundi jumping at the end of it told me quick smart where was my lure, and with whom...

Oh I didn't want to loose a third fish, it wasn't very big, but I really wanted to finally land my first Barramundi of the year.

Because of the smallish hooks on the lure, I had my drag rather loose, and the fish was able to take a few nice run, and even when it was close to the boat, it dived again, and made me turn around the boat to know where it was going.

finally, with the fish boat side, I grabbed my leader line, and pulled it inside.

First Barramundi for 2015!

First Barramundi of the year.

It was not very big at only 57cm (22.440945 inch), but it was also my first legal Barramundi on my new combo and I decided to keep it. My little family was going to have some fresh fish to eat.

After that, I was happy, and the day could have gone without another fish for me, that it would have been the same... Yet, being a fisherman, I could not stand there, and not cast a lure, while Barra were boofing around us. So I did a cast in the same direction of where I got my fish, and didn't got another fish.

I then saw at least three simultaneous boof just at the back of the boat, so as quick as could be I flicked my lure in the middle of all this foaming watery commotion. This was literally my second cast after my first fish, and I was on again!

It gave a better fight and jumped more, but was in fact a smaller fish, by one centimetre.

Second little Barramundi.

At 56cm (22.047244 inch) it was just one centimetre over the minimum size, so we decided to let him grow a bit more, and in the creek it went again.

Brett was starting to say that it was very impolite to out fish your skipper, and I couldn't help to smile at that. As any fisherman would do, when the skipper is a good mate and you know that you can laugh about this kind of thing. I even pretended that I knew and that this is why from now on, I would just miss all the fish that would gobble my lure...

I shouldn't have said it, because this is just what happened for the rest of the afternoon. 

(Karma anyone?)

Brett would reel in fishes, and I would loose them, either boat side, or just after the hit...

I became good at that.

By example we were just about to move from a spot, when my lure got boofed on the surface, just a few feet from the boat. It made me jump in my shoes! I love seeing the sudden attack of a Barramundi on a surface lure. It always brings jitters to me, it is hard to beat.

As This Barra boofed the lure, it missed the hook and swam away, none the wiser that it might have just avoided capture by the people from above...

Seeing this, we decided to persevere a bit longer on the spot.

And of course, another Barra took my lure with gusto, and of course, I lost it too!

But this one gave me a bit of a fright, because once boat side I realised that the lure had lodged itself under the gill of the fish. Now, it is never a good place to have one's line, as the gills have razor sharp edge, and I started to get afraid that I would loose my lure.

Brett even got the net to try and quickly net this strangely hooked fish.

We could see the fish swimming with one of the gill wide open, and the lure inside of it. 

Even if it had been cold weather I would have started to sweat looking down at that.

Just as the net was ready and the fish close to the boat, it dived another time and made a funny kind of twist, which freed the lure and he swam away.

The line had very small damage from the adventure, which surprised me.

But by now Brett had spotted just opposite of us on the other side of the creek, some Barramundi boofing their head off, so we silently made our way in their direction with the electric motor.

Once there, it didn't take long for Brett to hook is first Barra of the day:

Brett first Barramundi of the day.

Yes it does look like the both of them are poking their tongue to me, as to teach me to show more respect to my skipper... Lesson learned.

The fish was in the 70s cm (27.559055 inch) and was going to be the biggest of the day.

Even if I think that Brett missed a much bigger one on a big Tango Dancer.

Brett missed a few fish there, I didn't even get a half hearted hit. Obviously, my lure was not the one to entice this bunch.

So we moved back to our first spot, where I had missed two fish earlier on, at the start of our fishing day.

On the way there, as I was saying that maybe my lure was good earlier but not anymore, and that maybe I should change it. As we were slowly moving with the electric and casting around, a fish boofed my lure, but once again didn't hook. I need bigger hooks!

So I kept the same lure on.

Brett then got his second fish, and it was a keeper too:

Brett second Barramundi.

Yes it was a keeper too, but we didn't measure this one, as it was obviously a fish of legal size.

Not long after Brett got his third fish, and because he already had two fish for himself in the esky, he decided to let it go.

Yes that was now three fish for him, and two for me, I had been defeated.

And yes, we did laugh about that too.

Which is a thing that I like about fishing with mates, the good camaraderie that enable us to laugh and relax about simple thing. A way to forgot about all of the world insanities, and to keep a good mental health.

Thank you Brett for inviting me on your new boat.

Now how big was this lure that got me my two fish?

As a fisherman would say: It was big like this!

My small Tango Dancer.

Yes a lure rather on the small size, when we think about Barramundi fishing.

But it seemed to match the hatch on the day, and I think that I will keep it in the tackle box, ready to use for my next fishing excursion.

Even if I do think that I should definitively change the hook on this little lure.

But hey, it could be worse.

Have a good day,

Me.

Two Nuddies From Moz.

Hi there,

I was lucky enough to received just before Christmas, a present from Moz: two of his own handmade  fishing lures. He even asked me if I would prefer them as nuddies or painted.
I said nuddies.
(Nuddy or Nuddies, are the lures left without paint, on which we can appreciate the colours of the wood that the lure is made of)

In this post you are going to read about:

• Two timber fishing lures.
• Both nuddy. 
• One I will use to fish, the other will stay dry in the collection.

Yes Moz is the maker of the now well regarded Stick With Eyes, a timber lure that has earned its strips on the Darwin Harbour mud flats. With a great amount of Barramundi already caught by this little lure.

Why a name like the Stick With Eye? Well maybe because that is what it simply look like.

Look for yourself:

The Stick With Eyes.

I am sure that now you understand why...

At first glance it does look like a stick with eyes. 

But if you look at it closely, you start to see that it is shaped for swimming.

Hydrodynamic of the Stick with Eyes.

I can tell you that this very lure will be swimming, and hopefully bring me back a Barramundi.

This is what dream are made of...

And yes, it is signed under the chin, like a hipster tattoo:

Signed under the chin.

That to me is a fishing lure, who own its beauty in great part to it simplicity.

The rightly named Stick With Eyes.

At 9 cm long (3.5433071 inch), it is small, but has already proved it efficiency, it is power in a small package at its finest.

Now the second lure, called the Fall Out, is a lure that I have never fished, but this one will stay dry and safe, in my little collection.

It has already proved itself a good fish catcher too. After all, Moz caught a Barramundi that was over the metre mark on it in 2014. What other proof does one need?

And it is a rather beautiful one too:

The Fall Out.

Yes this one is a nuddy too. The more it goes the more I start to love my fishing lures to be "Au Naturel". I am yet to decide if they have the same fishing capacity as the painted ones, but on pure look, they have won my heart.

The Fall Out is a fishing lure of small size too: only 8 cm (3.1496063 inch).

Like the Stick with Eyes, it is rigged with double hooks instead of the more traditional trebles found on many hard body lures.

In fact I have myself equipped some of my Reidy's B52s with this type of hooks.

I then use them mostly when fishing land based, in very rocky places. This help to avoid getting snagged on the first rock or oysters that your lure bump into.

But I have to say that I didn't invent the system myself, no, in fact I had seen a post about it on the great blog: Secret Barramundi, written by Hiro, a legend of land based Barramundi fishing in Darwin.

Portait of the Fall Out.

When it is looking at you, you know that he means business.

From a profile point of view, the double hook, actually look like the fins.

Side view of the Fall Out.

This look like a small lure that would have a great action, destined to go snags bashing and extract fishes from the most unholy places.

The bib is made of aluminium.

Here is one last image, for the road as they say...

Dreaming of catching big fishes.

Both were made by hand, in Darwin, Australia.

We are pretty lucky in Darwin as it seems to be a revival of the cottage lure industry. It is very nice to see so many people making artisanal timber fishing lures; so close to home.

This is two lures that I really like and am very happy to now have in my possession.

Thank you Moz, that was a great Christmas present.

Now, it might be a few months before I will be able to show you a fish caught on the Stick with Eyes, so please be patient, and indulgent.

But hey, it cold be worse.

Have a good day,

Me.

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Two Reidy's Prototypes

Hi there,

I am showing you today, two soft plastic prototypes, from the reputed fishing lures company Reidy's.
Reidy's is an Australian fishing lures manufacturer, based in Darwin, Northern Territory. Their lures are very popular with Barramundi fishermen in the Top End of Australia, but are also gaining momentum on a national and international level.
All thanks to the dynamism of Colin, the director of Reidy's; and his team.

Well Colin was kind enough to visit me last evening, and gave me these two prototypes.
Yes they are prototypes, and might well go through a few modifications before being put on sale, yet they already look pretty good to me.
Do you want to see them?
Here they are:

Two Reidy's soft plastic prototypes.

On the first look, they look rather similar to the traditional rubbers from Reidy's, yet look at them a bit closer...

The first obvious thing is the size of the paddle at the end of the tail: it is enormous!

As such it should provide a deadly action, even in the slowest retrieve possible, or just on the drop.

Talking about the drop, the weight is lighter on these new lures. So they should have a slower dive speed, but still have good action on the dive, because of the previously mentioned big paddle finishing their tail.

Now the eyelet to put a stinger hook, under the chin of the lure, seems to be a bit larger than before too.

Here come two more photos:

Prototype in the Karens Pearl colour.

Prototype in a colour unknown to me.

Yes, the second one look a bit like the Yellow Belly colour, but with a see through belly...

I don't know much more about them, except that they have already been tested in Mackay, Queensland, where they proved very effective on big Barramundi.

Now, I can't wait to go and test them, and hopefully catch a nice Barra with them.

In how long will they hit the shelves of your favourite tackle shop?

No idea about that, honest.

Which is a pity, because I would love to get a full bag of them for the incoming season.

And I am afraid that they will not be fully ready and available before the run off...

Oh and please, be indulgent with the quality of the photos.

I was so excited about these lures, and wanted to do a post so urgently, that I just did the pictures with my phone instead of getting a proper camera...

But hey, it could be worse.

Have a good day,

Me.