First Barramundi Of The Year.

Hi there,

Yes, I finally got my first Barramundi for the year.

• We fished on the Adelaide river.
• We got all our fish on soft plastic lures.
• We got all our fish on the cast.

Jason had asked me if I wanted to go for a bit of Barramundi fishing on the Adelaide river.

Of course I said yes!

It is still early in the season, a bit too early in fact, but who could resist a fishing trip, instead of staying home doing some cleaning and other important stuff?

So we were on the road very early, and it was still dark by the time we launched the boat:

Launching in the dark.

But as opposed to all the other trips that I had done on the Adelaide river, this time we had decided to go down river, instead of upstream. This to me was a first, and I was excited to go to discover some new territories.

We stopped as the day had started, to a little creek and started to flick our lures across the little stream flowing in the river. We were using large hard body lures, and didn't register any hits, but who could hear and sometimes see little boof here and there around us.

One fish was rather constant on our left.

We casted many time in it's direction but couldn't get anything to have a go at our lures.

I even tried a fizzer, in the hope that it would provoke a strike.

Just as we decided to drift past a bit lower, we changed lures and both of us had now soft plastic lures on our lines.

I made my first cast with it towards the spot where the little Barramundi had been repeatedly boofing.

That was not the best cast in the world, and my lure ended in the weed bordering the water. I gave a sharp jerk on the line to get it off the weed, the lure dropped in the water, I gave one turn of the handle, and said: Oh! I just got a hit!

But it wasn't just a hit I was on! in fact the fish had then been swimming parallel to the boat and it did take me a few seconds to realise that I was on.

The fight wasn't very long, as the fish was no monster, and once at the boat, I just grabbed the leader line by hand, and pulled the fish in the boat. I had just boated my first Barramundi of the year!

First little Barramundi of the year.

This little run off Barramundi, made me very happy, it is alway nice to catch the first one of the year.

And lets be honest, this happen only once a year...

I had caught it on the first cast of the day with a soft plastic, surely this was going to be the lure of the day ... Well yes and no... Yes, because it caught me my best fish of the day, but no, because that was also going to be my last Barramundi of the day, for me.

But not long after that, as we arrived to another little run off, Jason was on!

And his fish was better than mine:

Jason and his Barramundi.

This fish too was caught on a soft plastic and on the cast.

From there on, the long desert crossing started...

No more Barramundi were to be caught for the day...

We did try every little colour change that we saw, like this one:

Colour change on the Adelaide river.

But to no avail.

So we went back up the river, as far as Beatrice creek. First as we arrived we had the place for ourselves. But it must have taken about all of ten short minutes, to have at least five or six other boats around us, all casting or even anchoring about where we were flicking our lures ten minutes before...

The junction of Beatrice and Adelaide, with a few boats.

Some of the boats even had stereo blasting some night club music...

I might start to be an old fashioned kind of guy, but when fishing, I still prefer the sound of nature and the birds than the Duff Duff music...

Anyway we persisted there for a while, and Jason got two very good hits, but none stayed connected.

The sky was starting to grow darker and more menacing by the minute, and a few lightning started to be seen in the cloudy sky.

Dark sky.

So we made it back towards the ramp, and turned in one last little creek to see if we could get lucky, one more time.

We got lucky with the rain, that is for sure, as it fell upon us like there was no tomorrow.

The positive in it, is that it was refreshing.

And then the rain stopped... For a few minutes and restarted... And stopped again, and started again, a few time.

Flood plain from the last little creek.

In this little creek I actually got a fish, but it was either a Garfish or a Long Tom, not sure which one of them.

It was of the same colour than a Barramundi that would have spend the winter in a billabong. Never I had seen one of this colour before.

But between the intermittent rain and the lack of Barramundi, we decided to call it a day and to head home.

The sky was still full of rain:

Clouds over the Adelaide river.

when we arrived at the ramp, we saw that a lot of people had the same idea than us, and it was a bit busy.

Waiting next to the ramp.

But it wasn't that long before we were able to put the boat back on the trailer, and on the road again, home bounds.

Thanks again to Jason for inviting me fishing, it was great to finally get my first little Barra of the year.

In this trip I used 18 different hard body lures, and four different soft plastics, for a grand total of two fish caught...

I think that this is the absolute proof that I needs more fishing lure...

But hey, it could be worse.

Have a good day,

Me.

My Sunday Fish.

Hi there,

Yes last Sunday, I went fishing with my good old mate Double Haul.
It was a long time since we fished together, and I was very happy when he called me to go fishing on Darwin Harbour, to try for some Barramundi.
After all, Double Haul, is the man who put me back on the Barramundi fishing, after I had spend a few year not catching any of them, and concentrating on getting some other prey from the rocks around town. It is also with him, that I have caught, my biggest Barramundi so far, and it was the first one I got after my previously mentioned, few year long Barra drought.
The fish was 91cm, and I still remember it.
So this little fishing trip promised to be a good one, filled with laugh and maybe a few fish...

Double Haul picked me at 9:00am, and we were in the water not long after that.
The plan for the day, was to go not very far from the boat ramp, and to try to get some Barra and Salmon, casting small lure against the mangroves and snake drains.
With the morning high tide, the place looked promising, despite a relative lack of bait fish in the water.
But in a very short time, my little Hell Raiser lure had a hit. I had casted just against a tree, and a nice drop off was sitting in front of it. Just as the lure arrived above the drop off, a flash of silver, and I was on. The fish pulled the line, came quickly back to the surface, made a little jump, it was a small Barramundi, it showed us his back fins, and gave a good head shake, and was gone...
I had lost this little guy.
But we hadn't fished for very long, and this made us think that this was going to be a great day full of fish...

Well, nothing much happened, for a little while, some half cooked hits here and there, but no real action.
So we finally decided to move further away, and to go in a creek nearby.
Upon arriving at the creek mouth, we found that the water had already dropped and had to find the channel to get in.
Once in there, we saw some pelicans gorging themselves on fish.
If they were able to get some fish, we would do the same!
Well, that was the plan anyway...
We casted a few thousand times, for not much.
So I changed lure, and put a Little B52's at the end of my line, explaining that I really liked this lure. As I once had a great session with this very one.
And to prove it, on the third or fourth cast with it, I was on!
But the fish didn't fight like a Barramundi, and Double Haul started to have a funny smile on his face...
When the fish came to the surface, I understand why: I had a little catfish.
He had totally engulfed the lure, and just the  head and eyes of it were coming out of its mouth. Both treble had found their marks. This was a two pliers job to unhook and release the little critter. And this is only once it was gone that I realised that I had not taken a photo of it.
This made Double Haul laugh, asking me why on earth I would want a picture of a small catfish?

We moved a bit further, and at a little creek/ big drain mouth, we saw some jelly prawns being harassed by some big Threadfin salmons.
Here was something that we wanted to catch!
So we casted left, right and centre, to no avail.
So we changed our hard body lures for some soft plastic ones.
I choose a little green Zman, that was given to me by Arrabmundi.
We were looking where the prawns were starting to show on the surface, and before they really started to go berserk we would flick our lures among them and hope to get a hook up.
This was very shallow water, and we could at time see the Salmon, rolling just under the surface, their sides breaking the water, feeding on the tiny prawns. It was exciting and frustrating at the same time, as we couldn't get them to take our offering.
Then as I had sent my lure to what I was thinking would be a great spot to catch a salmon, it finally happened.
I had left the little soft plastic drop to the bottom, and was just making it skip on the creek's bed, just slowly, a little bit at a time, with pause in between. Suddenly, a little bump on the line, just as I was to give the lure another skip, and the line start to head towards the centre of the creek.
I am on! You got him! Said Double Haul, and I started to get all excited.
The fish was taking line, and I thought that the drag on my reel was free, but no, so I started to hope for a massive Threadfin... Then the line seemed to come near the surface, and in one nice jump, a few feet above water level, the fish revealed itself.
And it was not what I was thinking it was, no.
As we had finally switched off from chasing Barra and were gunning for some Threadies, I got an interesting by catch... It was a Barramundi!
Off course, I then wanted this fish even more, and begin to stress that with just a single hook from a weedless lure, the odds were more in favour of the fish than I.
And yes salt water Barra from the harbour, have great force and stamina. I was surprise at how easily he would take some line. when it finally came close to the net, I started to be more confident. But just on eyeing the net, it put the back burners on, and dived straight under it and went back for the creek. Ha!
Second attempt was rewarded with success and the fish was boated.
I still wasn't sure that it was legal, and Double Haul laughed and said to put it on the brag mat: it went 62cm and some dust (24.409449 inches).
And here it is:

My Sunday fish.

This fish made me very happy, has it was my first legal Barramundi in a few months.

It was going to be good food.

We could have stayed there a bit longer, but a storm was on it's way.

Storm over the creek.

So we decided to get out of the creek, before we got locked in by the falling tide, and to try and get refuge closer to the boat ramp. On our way out of the creek, we saw some poor fellas who didn't negotiated the mud flat very well, and were stranded high and dry.

Waiting for the tide.

They had missed the channel and would have to wait for the tide to get back up, and might have had to weather the storm up there.

This was bad luck for them.

On our way back to the ramp, we saw what the storm really looked like and tried to rush past it.

Here comes the rain again.

But we got rained on and got soaking wet.

To keep warm, and because we saw some splash in the water, I casted a popper with all the vigour I could find. But didn't got any fish game enough to have a go at it.

We then moved closer to the ramp, but had to wait for the tide to be high enough to be able to get to it.

So we cruised up and down the creek casting as we went, as some big Queenfish kept busting all around us.

Then they stopped, and we hadn't got any of them...

The water was high enough, and we felt a bit cold, so we decided to call it a day.

To me that had been a great day, of catching up with a friend, and fishing under the sun, and the rain too, yes. Thanks for the invitation Double Haul.

Now, what happened to this Barramundi I caught?

Well some of it was turned into a delicious fish soup:

Barramundi fish soup.

This was the first time I had a Barramundi fish soup, and now I want some more!

So I guess, that I will have to go fishing again...

And no, we didn't caught any Salmon.

But hey, it could be worse.

Have a good day,

Me.

If It Smells Like Rain.

Hi There,

If it smells like rain, it will probably rain...
I should have remembered that.
We got the first rain of the season, and of course, it happened on a day when I was going to spend just a short time fishing in a new spot.

A member of the FFF forum called called Olfart, said that he would show me around the traps of Lee Point.
Lee Point as a good reputation on big Queenfish and Trevally, for land based anglers.

So at around 5:15am, I was there waiting for him, and in the darkness, I could not yet see the sky...
This should have been the first warning sign, as it was supposed to be nearly full moon.
But hey, I was so happy to go fishing in a new spot that I wanted to try for a long time, that I din't even think about it.

Olfart arrived and we went on the beach where the day was rising...
What a sight...

A cloudy morning.

We were yet to get any rain yet this year, and these clouds just seemed to be passing through.

Still when My fishing buddy started to walk in the water, to commence fishing, I should have known better, just looking at the sky.

Heavy sky.

We fished for a little while.

And he kept saying, ho maybe we should get out of here before the rain hit.

And I was like, no we will be fine, way too early in the year for the rain to come.

So after a bit of unfruitful fishing, he told me, Hey turn around and look behind us:

Clouds to the top of the sky.

We were surrounded by a sky leaden by dark clouds.

That was the first day this season that the havens looked so cloudy.

Which finally made me come to my senses, it was time to pack up if we din't want to get drenched.

We packed up quickly and started to walk back along the beach, and the sky then unlashed some serious rain on all the unsuspecting anglers and walkers who had stayed there.

And we were not to the car yet...

First rain of the year!

So we rushed to the car, and headed back home as there was no way that we could have continued fishing there in these conditions.

I had to drive very slowly and carefully as it was hard to see what was going on.

The first rain was not messing around, it was falling hard.

Driving in the rain.

Now don't get me wrong, the  first rain is generally welcome and the end of the dry season.

But why just at the time when I was fishing a new spot for the first time.

Now, I may have to wait the start of the next dry season to fish that spot again.

Waiting all the time, with an imagination full of big fish...

But hey, it could be worse.

Have a good day,

Me.

P.S: And don't forget about my international giveaway by clicking just there, time is running out...

Cyclone Warning.

Hi there,

We are now on cyclone watch, with a chance for a cyclone to hit latter during the day.
At the moment it is just a tropical low, but it is moving towards the coast and might become a cyclone.
The rain and winds are already pretty intense.
So it might be a few days before the next post on this blog.
But hopefully it will miss us and fizzle.

The little one is very disappointed, because they closed the schools...

But hey, it could be worse.
Have a good day,
Me.

The first dragonfly

Hi there,

Since a few days now we can see the first dragonflies of the year in Darwin.
And for any fisherman of the city, seeing a dragonfly spell the start of the blue water season.
Usually the dragonflies arrive with the end of the wet and spell the start of the dry season.
All the different festivals should get going soon.

The first dragonfly, the best one of them all.

Which mean the pelagic season is going to begin soon... The chrome slices are going to come out, and the reels are going to sing again...
The water should become clearer, which is all relative in Darwin muddy sea. And the sky will be blue again.

The blue sky will be back.

So in principal, from now on the weather should become better and better.

But in earnest, we are not out of the wet season yet.

To the extant that the bureau of meteorology is not sure yet if we are going to have a cyclone hitting Darwin by the end of the week. The low is just behind the Tiwi islands at the moment.

So every body is waiting to know what the forecast will be for the next few days.

And to be honest, I am starting to be a bit over the rain and can't wait for the dry to really kick in. I would be happy to not have to worry about cyclones for a while too.

But hey, it could be worse.

Have a good day,

Me.

So much rain that it was a storm

Hi there,

Today we had a big storm...
As we had been flooded on a similar day in the last wet season, I rushed home from work during my lunch break, and the rain was pretty strong.

Our street started to get flooded...

Water from one side of the street to the other.

Then the water was rising and cars could not go down the street anymore.

I started to think about sand bags...

So I went and dug some sand from the little one sandpit and made some sand bags from it. Got drenched doing it.
Started to put them in front of the door, but the water was starting to go down.

So we did not get flooded this time. Yet I have trouble to understand how the council can say that every thing is alright and under control when we get either flooded or nearly flooded every years.

Where is a good planer when we need one?
This remind me of a song from the Pet Shop Boys that go a bit like this: Where is a policeman when we need one...
Strange how the brain works and makes some association sometimes...

But hey, it could be worse.
Have a good day,
Me.

How cruel is that?

Hi there,

So two days ago, I was quietly plodding along at work, when this message from my mate Sheeby came in:

Hey mate,

I was at East Point cliffs all morning...there are a lot of fish around!

I had the worst luck today.

First I hooked up on to a GT and then it spat it just after. Another had a go at the lure (a stick bait) but missed and flew a couple of meters into the air.

Next there were good macks around the rocks. Some were easily a meter long. I had a live gar out and it kept getting bitten in half just before the hook! A guy and his son fishing beside me were having the same problem but they eventually hooked and landed a 1m spanish mackeral.
I had a big queenfish chasing my gar around but it wouldnt take it! Agggggh!

Once the tide dropped right down ( about 3 foot deep over the flats) there were big fish cruising around. I had a live bait out which got smashed by a small mack when I was on the phone and I missed it. I put a bit of dead gar on and casted near a dark shadow swimming past. The shadow turned and ate it and I was on. It was a BIG barra and it charged out over the flats, stipping a good 50m off the saltist...The 60lb LEADER snapped!!!! 

I think anyone within 500m would have heard me swearing.
The mackeral must've bit the line and weakened it and I hadnt noticed.

Ended up with two huge longtom. 

I have a score to settle tomorrow.

Oh How is work 

I just replied: "Work is great thank you!"

Now how mean and cruel is that to send me this kind of message while I am trying to get some work done...

Ok, he is the guy who gave me a just caught Mackerel last weekend... Still... I then spend the day thinking about fishing.

The following day, I got a call at work from another mate, to go fishing in the evening , with a third bloke.

So we went to a river that I had never fished before...

Well, let me tell you that the place had Big Crocs written all over it, and around 10 billions of hungry mozzies... Very hard for me to relax and enjoyed the moment, thinking about what might be lurking under the muddy waters.

And between the three of us we didn't raised a single scale...

We said that it was because of the storm we went trough on our way to the river, it had cooled down the water temperature and shut down the fishes...

View from the car on our way to the river...

Good fishermen always have a valid excuse...

But hey, it could be worse.

Have a good day,

Me.

Frogs Party

Hi there,

Today it has been raining like if it was the wet season...
Albeit just for a few hours, but that was nice to see, and feel.
(And it washed the car too).

The garden's frogs were happy as...

And even if it is early in the season and it didn't last for a full day, I am sure that some old frog told themselves that it was nice.

Even if we are still to have the stinking buildup, and then the wet in proper.

But hey, it could be worse.

Have a good day,

Me.