Out Fished Once Again.

Hi There,

Yes I got out fished, once again. Yet, it was still a great day in the Australian outdoors.
Sarrge had invited me to go fishing with him at Salt Water Arms.
We had left Darwin early in the morning, with the plan to get into some Barramundi, and have a good time on the water.
We spent the travel time on the road talking about life, work and stuff. And as soon as we were on the water, the discussion turned to fish, fishing, and... How to catch some fish...

But not longer arrived to one of Sarrge favourite spot in Salt Water Arms, that we saw some bait being harassed by bigger fishes, between submerged trees and mangrove roots.
Quick as a flash, I flicked my lure straight between the branches and started to reel it back in. Nothing...
Sarrge did the same: nothing... But another big boof just against a tree. My lure flew just past this tree, so I could swim it past just right next to it. And... It got firmly stuck to an underwater root, no way I would get it back, the line broke. I was one lure down, and the fish were still smiling...

Sarrge told me to tie the boat to a branch, and we would be able to cast our lure just on the ther side of the tree, where it looked like there was even more action than on our side.
Tie the boat I did, and started to rigging my line with a new lure.
Sarrge, started to work a little walk the dog type of lure, and a Barramundi tried to boof it but missed.
Haha, we must be on the right side of the trees was our reaction.
So he flicked the lure a second time, walking it slowly on the surface, and bang! he was on!
Not to a Barramundi, to a very decent Queenfish who immediately started to go for a few jumps, and a long run. Like Queenfish do.
It went and started to jump near a partly submerged snag, and got Sarrge worried that it would wrap the line around it and break free.
But as worried as he was, Sarrge continued to fight his fish, from the comfort of his chair...

Sarrge reeling in the Queenfish.

This was a good fish, and went for a few more runs before ending close to the boat.

Now I had to net it, and it didn't want to. It turned away from the net a few time, before finally facing it, and guided in it by Sarrge. 

Happiness was definitively of the party!

Nice Queenfish on Barra gear.

This was the first catch of the day, and it made us very happy, I even thought that maybe this was the day that my fishless trips was going to end...

Was I wrong...

Anyway, as Sarrge was dispatching this fish for the esky, I had my gears ready and started to cast around a little fizzer, in the hope of a comparable catch.

There was this beautifull colour change, and we could see the Mullets swimming on the edge of it, in the clear water. And once in a while, a Barramundi would come out of the cafe coloured water, swim very slowly towards the Mullets and try to boof one of them. Sometime with success sometimes not.

This was a very exciting sight, well worth the trip in itself.

And of course, one Barramundi, came towards my little lure.

My little lure which was going: Fizz Fizz, pause, Fizz Fizz, Pause.... And as the Barramundi came under it, I paused the fizzer, the Barramundi came really close to it, and boofed! 

Just one or two centimetre on the side of it...

It must have been a cross-eyed Barramundi!

The sound of it had been like if someone had used a pistol just next to the boat.

It made me jump, but the fish was far from being hooked, he just swam back in the darker water, taking his time...

Then I put my lure up in a tree...

Luckily, I got this one back, and decided to change it for a small shallow diver.

By then Sarrge was ready to fish again.

And he just showed me how to catch a Barramundi:

Sarrge showing me what a Barramundi is.

Being just 56 cm, this one was put back in the water, to grow a bit more, and become more of a good feed later on.

The funny thing with this Barramundi, was that when I was about to put the net in the water to try to scoop it, it actually jumped out of the water, and landed straight in the net. 

With no doubt, the easiest netting I have ever done.

So yes, it was two fish for Sarrge, and none for me.

The day was still young, and I was hopeful to change that...

Yes, hope is a beautiful thing...

With the action seeming to slow down we decided to move and try to troll the narrow, and other place.

This was a great idea, on a tourism point of view, but on the piscatorial front, it was a disaster.

Not a fish, not a hit, just some nice landscapes.

So we decided to go back to where we had been able to glean a bit of glory earlier in the day.

The tide had fallen, big time, and after negotiating our way back to the mouth of the creek, through the sand barre and mud flats, in which we saw a nice stingray making a fast doughnut around the boat, (was it trying to tell me something?). We finally saw the extend of the snaggy terrain over which we fished in the morning.

And I could see the lure that I had lost previously in the day, now high and dry.

So Sarrge "beached" the nose of the boat, and I jumped on Terra firma to go and collect my lure.

Well Terra firma, was rather muddy, but I was able to walk through it and picked up another nearly new lure on my way to mine. So it was nice to get my lure back, plus another one that I had no clues would be on my way.

This plus a special lure that Sarrge had given me for my lure collection on the same day, mean that I now had two more lure, the kind of little thing that keeps me happy.

Walking among the mangrove roots to get the lures back.

(Photo © Sarrge)

After that we trolled a bit for not much and stopped up the creek to eat some sandwiches.

Looking on the mud bank, I saw these little crabs, running everywhere. They were so brightly coloured, that they looked like if they were already cook and ready to eat.

Not cooked, but alive and well.

No, I did not grab one to taste it, but to me they definitively reminded me of a nice big mud crab just cooked. Except that these were much smaller in size.

After lunch, made of soggy sandwiches while dreaming of mud crab and mayonnaise, we started trolling again.

This is when Sarrge, hooked a nice Barramundi, that must have been in the 80 cm.

Yes, the keywords here are: "must have been"...

As the fish made two or three quick jump to show us what it looked like, and then swam straight towards the boat.

But between the fish and the boat was, unknown to us, a nice set of underwater snags.

This is exactly where this Barramundi went. 

Sarrge could feel the fish still on the line, with the line rubbing against the branches, and this was not looking good.

After some tussle and some pull and trying from every sides of the snag, the lure freed himself and came back, without any fish attached to it...

And this, was the last action of the day.

Not long after, we started to make our way back in direction of the boat ramp, stoping here and there to have a few cast to some snag, but without any recompense we quickly abandoned and decided to get back home.

Despite, being once again out fished, this had been a great day, with two fish coming onboard, some good laughs, in some very beautiful places. The kind of days that if I was a doctor, I would prescribe to all of my patients.

Thanks again Sarrge for the lure, and for inviting me on your boat.

Yes, I still would love for this fish drought to be broken...

But hey, it could be worse.

Have a good day,

Me.

My First Tripletail.

Hi there,

Not long ago I caught my first ever Tripletail (Lobotes surinamensis).
And this is the story of it.

I was very lucky to be invited with my friend and colleague Gavin, for one day of fishing on Peter's boat: Barradiction. Now every times that I went fishing on this boat, it has been from an angling point of view, absolutely memorable. This time it was going to be even better.

Our target for the day was to be the great Barramundi, and the location was to be some costal creeks not far from Darwin.

We sailed early in the morning full of anticipation, hopping for some good Barra action.

Sunrise on the way.

We arrived to our destination, and on the first snag, Gavin landed a nice little Mangrove Jack on what might have been his first or second cast. This was the first Mangrove Jack that I saw in the flesh, this could only be a good sign. I then missed a little Barra from the same snag, and Gavin got a little cod. Then I got a small Snapper from it. This was a great mixed bag in a very short time, from the one spot.
How promising was that!

My little Snapper.

I was very happy to have caught this little Snapper on a DUO lure that I was trying for the first time, it worked well.

The fish coming from that snag were numerous, but rather on the small side. So we left them biting, and went on the search of bigger prey.

Peter and Gavin and a few fishing rods.

We started to troll, and some blue salmon were quickly snatched from the depth, but like spoiled kids we wanted our Barramundi and nothing else.

Then a bump in my line, followed by tension and a bent in the rod, and a feisty little Barra started to jump at the end of the line.

Not even of legal size, but big enough to let us know that indeed, Barramundi inhabit these water.

First Barramundi of the day.

Sometimes little fish can be sweet, and this one was one of them.

Just after that I got a small Blue Salmon, so we knew that a lot of them were swimming around.

Blue Salmon.

Peter managed to get a good Barramundi not long after that. 

Peter fighting the fish.

And Boated!

Peter, then started to show us how it is done, and why a few years of experience always make a difference. 

He got a few Thready Buster lures, he offered the grey one to Gavin and took the pink one, I had another yellow lure...

Peter first caught a blue Salmon, then another one, Gavin and I got nothing...

Gavin being a man of science then asked if in the interest of science, he could have the pink one and Peter the grey one.

This was to prove a great move for Peter, as he used this grey lure to land the Barra of the day, a nice 95cm (37.401575 inches) Barramundi.

Pure chrome Salt water Barramundi.

This fish was as beautiful as they get, pure chrome in colour, fit and healthy.

I do not know if this was by pure unconscious dejection or by accident but not long after Gavin broke his fishing rod. Never a good feeling when this happen, either to you or a good mate.

I was then hopping that he would soon get a good fish to bring back a smile on his face. 

It happened, and what a fish it was:

A nice Threadfin Salmon.

Here was a very fine specimen of Threadfin Salmon (Polydactylus macrochir).

It went directly in the esky.

Not long after that I got my last Barramundi for the day.

Happy fisherman.

Yes I was very happy with this small fish, as it was my first Barramundi on a Reidy's Goulburn Jack a lure that I was testing for the first or second time only. I kept this fish to feed my little family.

Out the mouth of the creek, we saw some birds cartwheeling over the sea and went to investigate the commotion. Being a very keen spinner, I could not hold it very long and casted a chrome slice in there...

And a little Spotty Mackerel came back with my lure.

My first Spotty ever.

This was really a day of first, and the best was yet to come...

Pretty close to where this little Mack was caught, Peter being the good skipper that he is, noticed a few tree branches floating on the water.

He motored toward them, and gave Gavin and I a baitcaster each.

This was our chance to try for a Tripletail. We knew that the museum in Darwin would have been happy to get a new one for its fish collection, and I was super eager to catch my first one ever...

On my first cast we saw four of them swimming behind my lure, and one of them detached itself from the group and went for it. I was on! And what a surprise it was to see how easily it went back in the branches, like if the drag on my reel was just a minor inconvenience. It managed to bury me in the wood and to freed itself. I had though that because of the location I didn't risk to be snagged and hadn't put my drag too high. Realisation had been rapid and brutal, I should have got it a bit stronger.

And this I did.

We turned around the floating pieces of wood, and casted with not much success. So we swapped our hard bodies lures for some soft plastic ones, but that was not much better. And now we had a little shark turning around the boat, looking for a free feed.

Peter made us change lure once again, and we went for some scented Gulp, with relatively heavy jig head. The reasoning behind that was that we might have spooked them by now, and they might have got down a bit deeper in the water column, so we needed to get our lures in front of them if we wanted to have any chance to get one of them.

And this we wanted.

We came in line with the biggest branch, and I told Gavin: You cast on the right and I will cast on the left, so one of our lure is bound to fall on their nose.

That was a good plan, for me, as it was my lure that was nailed.

A short but fierce battle and Peter netted the fish!

My first ever Tripletail.

It was not only the first tripletail that I caught, it was also the first one that I had ever seen.

And because it was destined to the museum collection, it was also the first time in my entire fishing life that I had hooked on a fish that was going to end-up in a museum. Now this might sounds childish to some of you, but at the end of this great fishing day. Even if I had caught this one and only fish, I would have been very happy and that would still be one of my more memorable fishing trip. I had caught a fish for a museum!

Even if that meant that I would not be able to taste this fish which is supposed to be delicious, I was still  happy like a kid who just caught his first minnow.

It was then time to get back home.

Peter and I on the way back home.

It had been a great day on the water, with some very good company where once again, I learned a bit more about fishing.

Thanks Peter and Gavin for inviting me to fish with you.

Yes it is true, that now I dream of my own 95cm Barramundi, and of another Tripletail...

But hey, it could be worse.

Have a good day,

Me.

P.S: And don't forget my little competition to win a free lure, just click here to see it.

2012 Top End Barra Series Round 5.

Hi there,

Last weekend was the 5th round of the 2012 Top End Barra Series, and it was taking place on the Drawin Harbour.
Being able to fish on the harbour of the very city where ones lives, is nearly a luxury in today's world, and trust me it was much appreciated by most of the participant.
My usual skipper was interstate for work, so I gladly accepted the offer from Dean's to be his deckie for the round.
We started reasonably early at around 6:30 am on the Saturday morning, and were greeted by a glorious sunrise as we arrived at the boat ramp.

Dinah Beach boat ramp in the sunrise. 

We went to one of the harbour arm in some spot where Dean had caught some good fish on some previous set of tides.

And he did get a little Barramundi, not big enough to be a point scorer, but big enough to get us excited, thinking that we were at the right spot...

Dean's first Barra of the weekend.

Well this little fish was the first one and the only one for a little while...

Enough in fact for us to wonder what was going on.

As we were changing from one spot to another one, either trolling or flicking our lures at any snags or rocks that we could see, I got what seemed to be a hit.

Something had grabbed my lure, and was flapping in the water behind the lure. Yet whatever it was, it was not giving me a fight similar to anything that I had seen in the past.

I called it for a small fish tangled in some seaweed.

But not it was a different kind of surprise:

Mud crab on the lure.

This Mud Crab was a female, and was full of eggs, so it was released as quick as possible.

Basically as soon as I could get my lure out of its claw.

In all my time of fishing this is only the second time that I have a crab catching one of my lures while it is moving. Both time it was during a round of the Top End Barra Series.

So we moved a bit further and trolled a favourite spot of Dean, in a little harbour creek.

Dean got a good whack on the line, but it didn't connect.

Then it all happened, he got the strike and stayed connected.

The Barramundi jumped at least four times, high and clear of the water. This was a good fish with a gusty temper. Jumping and making runs all over the place, constantly changing the direction of his attempted escape. In the end it was close to the boat, but still had it in him, not to surrender.

Each time that I was thinking that he was ripe for the net, he would dive and make another run for it.

But the run were shorter and shorter, and finally in the net it was.

Scream and shout of joyce must have ben heard from one end of the creek to the other.

We had a fish in the boat that was a point scorer:

Dean's biggest fish of the weekend.

At 71 cm (27.952756 inch), this was a good and healthy harbour fish. In the Esky it went.

Dean described this fish as fighting and jumping like a Doberman on acid, and that was a fitting description of the fight that he gave.

The monkey was off Dean's back, now we just needed to get me a fish... This was going to prove itself more difficult than planed. 

First Dean was going to catch a nice little Flathead:

Darwin Harbour Flatie.

This one was not big enough to won a prize, but it was a nice fish nonetheless. It was put back in the water, to grow a bit mpore till the next time.

By now the afternoon was starting to make itself known, and after talking to Mozz and Liam, we decided to scout towards Muntzy to catch up for a little chat.

Zooming on the ocean.

Mozz and Liam through the waves.

We did meet up with Muntzy, and not long after Chris arrived from the opposite side, followed by Sheeby and Cuddlescooper on another side.

We ended up five boats who rafted together, for a little chitchat and some refreshment.

Well it started this way anyway.

And it was in the end four boat who stayed tied to each other till the following morning, drinking, singing and cooking. While the fifth one took the fishing competition more seriously, and went in the pursuit of better fish. 

For the four vessels that stayed together, I was on one of these. But I think that what happens on the raft-up of the Top End Barra Series, should stay on the raft-up. A bit like what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas... So I will apply some kind of media black out, and not show on this family orientated blog, any of the picture that I made during that night...

Being a non drinker myself, I was one of the first to wake up, and as so far I only had for my name a big fat donut, I started to flick a lure around in the hop to catch a fish while every body else was still sleeping.

It didn't work, but I did caught a strange little worm on a popper:

Worm on the hook.

At one stage, there was literally hundreds of them swimming around the boat.

I didn't taste it to see if it was tasting like fish or not, I just dropped it back in the water.

Then every body woke up, some had a light breakfast, some other didn't felt like it.

Then, simply because boys will be boys, one of the lad started to run some donut on the river with is boat:

Yeeehaaa!!!

Dean and I went to explore some new spot in the hope of doing better than on the previous day.

And there, on my first cast of the day, using a Terrif DC-9 Bullet by DUO Lures, the same lure that got me a crab the day before, I finally got my first fish in the boat!

No, it was not a Barramundi, it was just a baby Rock Cod, but that was enough to make me happy:

My baby Rock Cod.

I then told myself that this was a good sign, surely it was going to be a day filled with numerous catch!

Well it didn't exactly panned out like that. It was a great day on the water, but not filled by numerous captures.

We went to another creek for not much apart a dropped Barramundi for me, and a few little Trevally for Dean. Then moved to another one, where we saw Billster, and started to troll the same troll line than him. 

On the bank of this creek we saw a Jabiru and I wanted a quick photo of it as we were going to pass next to him. I put my rod in the rod holder, and walked at the front of the boat to take a quick pic:

The juvenile Jabiru.

I had not yet made the photo that I wanted, but glanced in the direction of my rod: The rod was totally bent in the rod holder! But not bouncing up and done like when a fish is starting a fight and gives some serious head shake. No, it was just bent and the line was peeling from the reel.

I told Dean that I must have got snag on something, to which he replied that no he thought that I had a fish on.

So I grabbed the rod, and give it a jerk, thinking that I was going to prove my point...

The line started to fly of the reel twice as fast and still no head shake or splash like a Barramundi would do. So I called it for the mother of all Catfish. Dean said that no, he believed that this might be a Barra.

The fish didn't came to the surface, and was very heavy, every time that he was close to the boat, he didn't came up and jump, but just dived a bit more, and took some more line again.

At one stage I started to panic and said that I was going to be spooled! Dean in a very calm way, looked at my reel and said: "No don't stress about that, you still have plenty of line on your reel, at least 10 meters" and burst out laughing. Typical of the kind of thing that I needed to keep my cool! 

It was time for some serious rod work and under the good advices of Dean I got it back to the boat. Where for the first time it came close to the surface for a very short time and Dean said: It is a Barramundi, did you see it, it is a Barra! We got even more excited, and I started to think that I had just hooked the biggest Barramundi ever. Or at least my personal best. This fish was delivering me the best battle that I had ever encounter. Just as it was under the boat, one of the hook popped and the rod had a little jump in my hand when it happened. Even Dean saw it and said that I must have popped a hook.

Just another way to stress you even more when you are fighting what you are now sure is your biggest barra ever.

Dean got the net ready and on the first scoop got the fish in it.

It was suddenly very hard not to shout very loudly how happy I was.

This had been the best fighter I had ever had on the line while chasing Barramundi, even if it wasn't my personal best.

My super rocket fish.

Yet at 76 cm (29.92126 inch) it was my best Darwin Harbour Barramundi. I was not going to have a zero fish round in the harbour and I was full of joy.

Also, I was going to get some good fish for my little one, and this made me happy too.

So head first it was pushed in the esky.

Billster came by and joked that they had been trolling this stretch all morning for not a single fish and that on our first troll in there we had a decent fish: totally unfair from his point of view.

I nearly apologised, but was too happy for it, that wouldn't have ringed true.

We did get a few very nice hit in the same creek, one of them bending the hook of my lure, straight on the hit, without even the hint of a brawl. I just didn't got the time to do anything... This made me think that maybe, just maybe, I should ease my drag a little bit...

Then Dean got a nice little Queenfish:

Queenfish in the sky.

It was released, and we could see Muntzy who had joined us in this creek, getting some nice fish.

Dean then got a rat of a Barra, it was definitively too small to give him any point. But we had fun making a photo like if it was a very big fish:

The giant little fish.

Mutzy just to show us how to do it, got another fish:

Muntzy with a point scorer.

Fishing solo, he was doing a great job at steering his boat, reeling in and netting his fish all by himself.

But it was the end of the day, it was time to call it a day and to go back to port.

The wind had picked up a bit but it was still a nice trip on the harbour:

Homeward bound.

This had been a great weekend, with a lot of laugh, and some good fishing too. 

After all getting fish like that just next to a capital city is still a really cool feeling.

Thank you Dean for taking me onboard of your boat.

Then at the prize presentation, I didn't get any prize for my fishing, but I got a lucky door prize!

And when I say lucky, it was more than lucky.

Dean had got some really cool prizes in the previous round and had made a donation toward a prize for the round five. Sheeby won the door prize, but because he had won the second place in the round five, and had already received a very nice reel, he said to redraw the door prize so someone else get a chance at it. And that was me!

Here is what I got for my door prize:

KO Lures.

A voucher to be spent in the KO Lures shop in Darwin. 

For those of you that don't know KO Lures, this is a new brand of fishing tackle accessories, by a Darwin company. I have not yet fished with any of their lures, but they do look good and very robust, so I can't wait to try them.

Thank Top End Barra Series, Dean, Sheeby and KO Lures.

The two little soft plastics at the bottom were a present as a bonus from the boss of KO Lures, very kind of him, I will swim them as soon as I can!

How and what was my score in this round?

Well I arrived in seventh position for the round, and this placed me in number four on the overall scoreboard. 

One point higher that at the last round.

This is great, but I will not be able to climb higher on the ladder, as the three first ones, have way too much advance for me to catch up with them in the next and final round. Even if I was to win the next round (which I don't believe I can), I would just stay in the fourth position. 

And realistically, there is a lot more chance of me loosing a few point in he next round, which will take place in a billabong where I have fished only twice in the past.

But hey, it could be worse.

Have a good day,

Me.

I Was In A Fishing Magazine.

Hi there,

Two photos of me practicing the noble art of angling have been published in a fishing magazine. On one of the images, you can see me still in the heat of the action, bringing a Barramundi to the net. In the other one, it is the more classic "bragging pic", where I proudly hold my catch.
The magazine is nothing else than the very good North Australian Fishing & Outdoors.
My favourite fishing magazine, as it is about the only one that issue after issues is relevant to someone fishing in Darwin.

Here is the Magazine:

In this very issue.

In both photographs I am wearing the fishing shirt that Colin, the boss of Reidy's lures had given me as a present. In the first photo, I am also actually catching a fish with a lure made by Reidy's, called The Judge.

And here it is:

A very focused Rambling Expat.

In this image, the Barramundi was just about to jump out of the water and make a last run before being netted.

And now, lets brag:

Look at that!

In fact it is not the same fish than in the previous image, it is from another day, but still with my lucky shirt.

Both fishes were caught during the Top End Barra Series last year.

The first at the mouth of the Adelaid River, in Arrabmundi's boat. The second one in Darwin harbour, from Dingo's boat.

I did not send any of the photos to the magazine, but I suspect that Dingo, one of the organisers of the Top End Barra series has sent the images. 

This was a good and amusing surprise for me when I purchased the magazine.

And yes I know, in none of these photographs I am holding a metre plus Barramundi...

The Metery club hasn't open it's doors to me yet.

But hey, it could be worse.

Have a good day,

Me.

Top End Barra Series Round 3

Hi there,

It was time for the round 3 of the Top End Barra Series, and this time the action was taking place all over the Mary River Billabongs.

I was ready to be deckie in a new team with whom I had never fished before. When on the Friday before the event I found myself boatless, as the skipper had to attend some very urgent family business. 

All seemed to be lost for my weekend of fishing and I put a message on the FFF forum asking if any one had a spot on his/her boat for me.

Well I did get very lucky to be offered at the last minute a spot on Arrabmundi boat for the Sunday, and even if I had never met him before, as soon as the offer came in I said yes in a heart beat.
I was not going to regret it.

He told me that he would pick me up at 5:00am, so as a very eager kid, I woke up at 3:15am and could not fall asleep anymore...
So I got up to check my lure selection one last time and the overall state of my gears... 
Then before I realised it, he was there and I jumped in the car and we hit the road, destination the billabongs.

During the trip, I asked him as innocently as I could: "Have you fished the billabongs before?" and the reply came simply as any inexperienced angler who was going there for the first time would have dreamed it: "Hundreds of times mate".
Great I was in with a chance to catch a fish then!

Because yes, I had never been on these billabongs yet, and kept reading about it.

We had a quick stop at the Corroboree tavern for a few snack and a quick chat with Bullet and Co about the previous day of fishing, and then in no times we were at the boat ramp.
Where, as discretely as possible I was trying to scan the water for any signs of crocodiles...
None were around, or I did not see them, and off we sailed first towards the Rock Hole, to try to catch the first action of the day on day break.
To say that the weather was nice and fresh would be an understatement, And I started to wonder if I should have taken a pair of mittens with me...

A nice and fresh morning on the billabongs.

Yet it was a great thing to see, a place I would love to take my child to, one day.

Any way as we arrived to the spot we saw Zulk and Uncldug casting away in front of a Pandanus, and not far away Dingo, Doors Off and Muntzy doing more or less the same.

Casting lures in front of the pandanus.

The skipper decided to troll and that was absolutely fine by me.
First I used a Big Lucifer and got a strange hit wasn't too sure of what was going on...
I started to reel it in, thinking that I had a strange lump of weed, or maybe a baby catfish, a billabong's kitten maybe...
But no, I had a Glossamia aprion, a fish that most anglers know under the name of Mouth Almighty.
This was the first time that I saw one, what a great looking little fish!

My first ever Mouth Almighty.

In fact I did show the photo to the fish specialist at the museum today, and I was told that this was a very pale and interesting specimen.
And I was told that I should have brought it back for the museum collection...
I told them that I did not eat it, that I just put it back in the water, honest, scout honour and all... But now you know if ever you were to catch one of a simillar size and colour, the museum would be very interested to have it in the collection. I was told that this is because usually they are darker.

So we troll again, me just happy to look at the scenery and to have seen this nice little fish when bang! 
Another hit and this time with more punch than the last one.
I started to reel it in, but the thing do not jump at all just go for the depths and in a very amateurish kind of way I say: Maybe it's a Toga? (Remember that at this point I was yet to have ever seen a saratoga in the flesh).
To which I am told no, this is a Barra!
And sure enough this is a clean little Barramundi that Arrabmundi scoop easily in the net.
Ho yes I was happy! Only 61 cm, but hey I got it!

Look at the chrome on this fish.

Do I look happy or what?

Now, usually if you have a lure that caught you 2 fish in a few minutes, you stick to it... Well being who I am, I told myslef, time for a change of lure...
And I put a little Shaker 60 SR made by Ofmer, in the gold colour...
This was a good move, not even 15 feet in the troll run and I was screaming: I'm on! I'm on! I don't even think that this little lure had the time to descend as deep as it is made to swim. First a good pull on the line, then nothing... Then another pull and a nice jump, then another stronger pull and the line start to peel from my reel and .... nothing ... 
I got busted in open water...

I usually alway check my leader after each fish and I didn't do it after the first Barra...
Should have, this is a lesson that I hope to remember...
That was a nice little lure, and I had only one like this, but apparently a nice Barramundi liked it more than I...

This would have been the fish of the day, and it showed, albeit for a very short amount of time, how this little lure could be effective for Barramundi fishing.

And this was nearly the end of my fishing exploit for the day, and Arrabmundi turn to shine.
During the rest of the day, he was to boat 7 Barramundi, one Saratoga, a Giant Gudgeon and hook quite a few Tarpon too.
Here are two of his fishes:

A Barramundi on soft plastic.

A Saratoga in close-up.

And the full animal.

This was the first time that I saw a Saratoga in the flesh and not just in a magazine, they are very nice fish too. The colours on them is just amazing, for a fresh water fish.

He was getting most of his fishes on soft plastic...
I tried poppers, diver, walk the dog styles of lures, fizzers and finally decided to try some of my own soft plastic...
I did get a few little hits, but no hookup... And he kept telling me: You should try one of mine....
And I kept telling myself: As soon as I'll try one of his, I will loose it to a snag...
And finally by the end of the afternoon when he caught a 64cm Barra just under my nose, his 7th Barramundi for the day, I had to ask: Can I borrow one of your lure for a few minutes please? ...
He smiled to me and said: This is what I told you to do for the past few hours... 
So I did, and guess what?
Just after a few minutes of trying, just where he got his 64 cm Barra, I got an Oxyeleotris selheimi, more commonly called Giant Gudgeon.
This once again was a first for me! And Arrabmundi then said: I should have forced you to use one of these lures...

My first ever Giant Gudgeon.

Made me very happy.

Now, this is the folks at the museum who told me that this is a Giant Gudgeon, and that it is not a sleepy cod.
Apparently the difference is in the fins and some little spots on them. If it has some darker spots on the dorsal fins, this is a Giant Gudgeon.

(Thanks again to the good people from the Museum in Darwin for all the information about fish that they keep giving me)

We also passed by Itsinmeblood and Turtle during the day, they were busy casting some scum frog in the lilies...
Not long ago if someone had told me that he or she had spent the Sunday morning casting scum frogs in the lilies, I would have wondered what was that all about?...

So all together, this was a very relaxing day on the water. Very enjoyable with quite a few new fish caught or sighted to me. 
In a truly fantastic location, where I had planed to take more photographs... But got myself busy with the fishing...

But I did manage a few photos of a White Bellied Sea Eagle, and here is one of them:

A magnificent bird.

Thanks again  to Arrabmundi, I had a great day, in a place that I really wanted to see.

So yes with just one Barramundi of 61cm, I was on the board, as this round proved to be hard fishing for most of the participants in the series.

It gave me the 10th position in the round 3, and on the overall board for the Series I am now 13th.

For a total of 38 participants.

And yes on the score board, I am very very far from the 3 first ones.

But hey, it could be worse.

Have a good day,

Me.