Top End Sojourn - Part 2

Here's part two of my top end magical mystery tour!

After a day lay off in Darwin, we made the 2 hour trip down the Kakadu Hwy, past all the famous rivers such as the Adelaide, Mary, Corroboree Billabong and West Alliagator Rivers down to our final destination...the expansive South Alligator River.

I have fished the South Alligator once before and did reasonably well. I had great hopes of snagging my first monster barra and getting my dad's first EVER barra. Day one we went up-river to hit the run-off flood plains and drains chasing the tide change early in the morning. It wasn't long, i think my second cast, i hit pay dirt. I was flicking 7" Gulp Jerk minnow plastics on 3/8oz Nitro heads in only 6 ft of water. The run-off was gushing so moderately weighted heads were necessary to get down to where the fish were holding.

The take of a barra is similar to that of our southern jewies. Both being implosion feeders the take feels like a single subtle tap rather than the whack of a golden snapper or the multiple tap tap's of a bream. Once you get a used to what it feels like, there's no mistaking it. Sure enough i came tight to a nice barra, the first of the trip and at a moderate 60cms it was a good eye opener. The push of the run-off sure made these fish fight harder and when they turned side on to the current we had to chase 3-4kg fish to land them. What was a 'metery' going to fight like?

Soon after dad got his first taste of barra fever. He hooked up and had a little blighter bouncing all over the river barely spending time in the water. I could see dad's face light up and knew he was already hooked; pardon the pun.

In the ensuing few hours till the tide picked up everyone on board was having a field day. We landed 25 barra but the big one eluded us as the biggest only went 65cms.

Day 2 saw us repeat the same game plan. On cue the barra were playing ball. We tried trolling lures on a famous rockbar first off but had no luck so the day 1 tactic of flicking lures to bank side structure was employed. The tide were growing as we approached the full moon so the window was greatly reduced. Even still we landed 20 barra and i dropped what would have been my PB fish. They worst part is that you actually see the fish you drop. I would say 90% of the barra hooked jumped directly after hook-up. 50% of the time they throw the lure. 100% of the time you can see how a fish you just lost. I was demoralised but eager to make amends.

Day 3 saw us change tact completely. We made the 80km trek down river to fish the mouth and try and diversify our species. To cut a long story short we bombed out. The creeks were full of bait and were draining nicely but the barra were noticeably absent. We tried trolling and foul hoked a stinky 30lb catfish just to show what a bad day we were having. Time to go home...all 80kms. To save the day we stopped at a few drains they were pouring milky water into the tannin river. The colour change looked good and we hooked a few small barra to ease the pain.

Our last day saw the worst tides of the trip. The tide was gushing early and the run-off water only exacerbated the issue. We had a half hour window and made the most of it. I caught the barra of the trip at around 80cms adjacent to a submerged tree at the entrance of a creek mouth; classic barra habitat. It must have been only 6kgs approx but the aerial displays were awesome. The big bucket mouth did everything to shake the lure but with a bit of luck and good management we landed the fish. We boated another 5 or so fish till the tide picked up and we had to head for the airport.

The 8 day trip covering both blue water and creeks accounted for over 24 different species and well over 300 fish; not to mention over 100 jighead fatalities and 3 snapped rods. Probably a story for another time. This will be a hard trip to outdo but i am positive a better adventure will come.

I'm not sure how i will feel about catching bream and flathead now? If there is one thing i can report, every fish you hook in the top end fights like a maniac, even if it's a tiddler!

Top End Sojourn - Part 1

I thought it might be best if i split this report up into 2 sections. I had 3 days fishing the blue water out of Dundee Beach and 4 days barra fishing on the South Alligator River. Part 1 is the low down of the blue water sessions we had...friggin awesome!

We set off from Dundee Beach to make our passage down to the Perron Islands some 60kms away down the coastline, adjacent to the mouth of the Daly River. Due to some overwhelming good reports, on the way we made a detour to the Finniss River to troll up some Barra and get the fishing off to a good start. The river resembled a Sydney metropolitan system cause it was bumper to bumper boats. I came over 3000kms to fish a packed waterway in the middle of nowhere?

The river didn't let us down. We trolled through 2 sticks which i termed the goalposts and every pass was a barra. No monsters but a great start to the trip. The best went 80cms. We were using Manns Boof Baits.

We left the river and commenced to our destination. About 10kms form the island we came across wheeling birds and busting fish. No sooner had we stopped, i had a lure into the melee. Instant hookup! I had a light 3-5kg flick stick and was seriously outgunned. I looked around to see the boys rods all loaded up and smiles across everyones face. This was shaping up to be a killer trip. about 10 minutes later i had my fish to the boat. At around 6kgs i caught my first Mack Tuna. The boys landed a few decent longtail as well.

A decision was made to leave the fish biting, much to my agony, to chase the tides around the Perrons for a session on Golden Snapper. The week previous had seen a mind blowing bite occur on goldies and Mick Beare wanted a repeat dose. We arrived and deployed our plastics in anticipation. While the goldies didn't show up like they had in the previous week, Sean Cremin landed a beauty at 5kgs and put up a great fight. Bouncing plastics over the reef accounted for a variety of species and we had consistent action for the next 4 hours. We landed, goldies, red throat emperor, spanish flag, estuary cod, sharks and other ooglies.

We left the island and decided to trek over to Redcliffs where we were going to anchor up for the night. On passage once again we came across diving birds. We rigged our trolling rods and instantly i hooked up to a rampaging fish. The rpm's on the spool indicated one thing...a spanish mackeral. At 12kgs it was a bruiser and a great adversary. Trolling for the next couple hours saw more longtail and mack tuna come over the side of the boat.

We arrived at redcliffs and anchored for the night. Dad and i being keen buggers kept a few longtail for bait and commenced bottom-bashing for goldies. While i won't go into full details, let me just say the next 4 hours was the best bait fishing i have ever done. Every drop was met with a hungry fish ready to peel line off the spool. I reckon we caught over 50 goldies, 20 sharks, a handful of massive cod, and everything else that fights like a demon in the territory. By midnight i was pooped. Time for bed!

The next morning we tried to flick a few poppers around for GT's. Nothing was doing so we decided to head over to a place called Mack Mountain and Sail City. Once again on the way we came across more busting fish. It was longtail and mack tuna time again. We landed another dozen or so speedsters and headed off to find more spanish mackeral. We got to Mack Mountain and it didn't disappoint. Dad got his first spanish Mack and we got a few more tuna's. It was time to pull out the plastics again...

In about 70ft of water we drifted over a patch of reef that was full of life. Every drop of the lure was met with a positive take. We landed all manner of top end sportfish such as coral trout, GT's, Golden Trevally, queenies, barracuda and every shark known to man. We attrition rate was high on jigheads but the fun factor was sky high. The notable capture for me was a 15kg GT i landed on a 3-5kg stick on 14lb braid. The rod was loaded to the fore grip for 30 mins while the fish dictated terms. Slowly but surely i won the battle. What a fight! I saw my backing more times than a care to remember.

We headed off again in search of the elusive top end black jew. By this stage we had accumulated 21 different species and the mission was to hook as many as we could. A jew would have just about sealed the deal. It was already the trip of a lifetime in terms of fish caught. But as happens, fishing is a fickle game and the jewie evaded us. Just means I have to make a return trip to catch one.

The last morning saw more plastics action. I hooked my PB goldie at around the 5kg mark and a cracker cod. the tide picked up and the fishing died off. Time to relax and gear up for 4 days of barra fishing...

Stay tuned for part 2...

S-Factor

These days there’s no disputing that effective attractants and scents significantly improve your catch rates when using lures. Squidgies new Pro Range with S-Factor is at the cutting edge of this revolution.

Just recently we spent time on the mighty Hawkesbury River targeting the monster blue-nose bream that inhabit the area. We were bouncing little softies down the deep rock walls that flank the river. We tested the new S-Factor scent against the popular Gulp products to see if it cut the angling mustard. We also trialed the new Squidgys range of lures without the application of S-Factor and the results were plainly obvious. We landed cricket scores of bream with the lures that had S-Factor applied to it and very ordinary results on the plastics without. Even the Gulp lures were out-fished by a margin of 5 to 1. Add to this by-catch of mulloway and a massive sea mullet and early indications are the S-Factor scent is light years ahead of the competition. Re-application of S-Factor scent is recommended every 15 casts or so for best results.

The theory behind the S-Factor product is based on a fishes highly advanced sense of taste. After vigorous testing by none other than Dr Ben Diggles it seems our local species respond better to scents that are water soluble than those based around fish oils and pheromones. Research suggests a fish can taste the S-Factor without even having it in its mouth, as long as it’s within close range.

While the science can convince us the S-Factor has it sorted out, it’s the runs on the board that ultimately prove its worth. But if you ask the tournament guru’s if they reckon this stuff works then see how often they apply it to their lures during competition!

What is Australia's No1 sportfish?

Now here's a conundrum - I'll bet if I asked Aussie fishos what they thought was the BEST sportfish in our waters I'd get a pretty mixed response.

I’m sure boys on the east coast and north of the NSW border would say any of the grander billfish they catch off Cairns. Fishos further north in reef country would probably nominate a barrel-sized dogtooth.

I bet the boys in the NT would have a handful of logical selections with the GT figuring highly on the list. The die hard barra anglers would probably have their say as well, tipping in with a wild-caught "metrey". I’m sure some might even select the cobia.

WA fishos would have a few to pick from, seeing as their state is one-third of Australia’s landmass and covers tropical and temperate waters. The species would no doubt be an eclectic mix of what fishos target in their local waters. In the north of WA my guess would be sailfish and in the south, Samson fish.

In SA the boys - in the past - might have said great white sharks, but these days thumping big bluefin tuna out wide or Whyalla’s mind-blowing 40lb reds would be my guess as the fish of choice. If I lived there I would probably select the 40kg plus kings that turn up around Coffin Bay.

In Victoria my guess is your guess. If I had to speculate I think the overwhelming popular choice would be makos or XOS snapper. I’m sure the gummy might rate a mention but is it Australia’s best sportfish? I highly doubt it.

In Tassie, the boys would in all probability say southern bluefin or the hard pulling striped trumpeter.

In my local NSW waters the only choice would be a beakie of some description. There are some decent fish lurking in our backyard but none can truly match the class of the northern species other than our beaked friends. Sorry diehard mulloway anglers!

So I put it back in your court. And the answers can be for a variety of reasons as well. What do you think is our BEST sportfish?

I’ll start. Tally one point up for a GT the size of your front door!

Fishing Knots for Soft Plastics

Hi Everyone,

For those who attended the talk on soft plastics last night at the Panthers Leagues Club attached are diagrams of the two knots that we use when fishing with soft plastics.

Loop Knot


Albright Special

http://www.netknots.com/html/albright_special.html

The actual knot is showed you last night qwas the improved albright which made the 10 turns down the line, not back up the line as domenstarted in this link i have supplied, but apart from that everything else is the exact the same process. If you have any issues tying these knots just let me know.

Fillet & Release???

Recently the recreational fishing sector has come under intense scrutiny from a number of areas. While we often fight against irrational policy making, lack of funding, the commercial sector and other lobbyists, the number one opposition to our passionate pastime are the dreaded greenies. No surprises there!

Apart from critical issues such as locking us out of our valuable waterways, a recent arguement has raised a fair bit of public commentary. Is it ethical to catch & release fish purely for sport??? On face value the question seems almost illogical, yet on further inspection probably commands some further thought.

Firstly, most fishermen consider themselves to be envirnmentalists. We usually all have a love of the outdoors and do our best to keep it in prime condition. Most adhere to the stringent regulations palced on us and follow the generous bag limits imposed. There are also another band of keen anglers who purely catch fish for the sport. They release everything they catch to help protect our dwindling fish stocks for future generations of fishermen. This band of conservation-minded fishos are growing rapidly. This trend has gained momentum from the catch and release tournamnet scene flourishing across Australia.

The arguement by the 'others' is quite basic. It is cruel to catch fish purely for the sport. It is inhumane to subject fish to pain and stress purely for our enjoyment. It matters little if the philosophy of catch and release actually aides their overall outcome of increased fish biomass, simple fact is they dont want anyone fishing.

Their retort to this actually contradicts what they stand for. They would prefer we keep everything we catch, as it it more ethical to fish for consumption than sustainability. Now, what they would prefer is to abolish catch and release in favour of a more dignified approach...fillet and release!

Old school with new tricks

I have had the pleasure over the past 4 or 5 seasons to open the eyes of some very important people in my life to the allure of soft lures. These important people were the cornerstone to my whole outlook on fishing. They fuelled the fire in my infancy, taught me the basics, helped me develop the patience,and gave me the appreciation of comraderie and mateship, beyond what is known outside the sphere recreational fishing.

My dad and grandfather have taken to plastics like any angling challenge in their life. My dad now sports more specialist sp outfits than bait rigs, a hobie to fish out of for his adjacent lake and braid coming out of his ears. He has all the elements in place to be a gun lure fisho. And to be honest he already is. I think it really appeals to his meticuluos nature.

My pop on the other hand is something different all together. Where my father was open to new ideas, listened to the mistakes i made and heeded the good oil to fast track his learning, much like i did when i was in his shoes years before, my pop has really run his own show. We all gave him the basics, told him what gear to use and what lures to use and where but he rarely listens.

I'm not sure if it is part of old age, he is 80 years old now and probably can't be given advice by a snot-nosed thrity-something. He will conceed we are onto a good thing though, but not initially.

I remember our first session together on sp's. It was in Botany. We landed over 30 flatties and good variety of by-catch. I was so excited for him cause he caught his fair share of fish. I was beaming with excitement and all he could muster was "they work ok...but they only catch flathead, no good for anything else". He's is a hard man to please! What made matters worse was he snapped the tip off his new graphite stick i bought him to get into the whole concept. "bloody rods break to easy...not as good as my ugly stick".

From those humble beginings has spawed a love affair for using platics now. He still will never admit it but i know he's keen when he rings me on a wednesday to tee up a session with me for the weekend. He knows i never use bait.

But the remarkle thing is he runs his own race. He used cheap old reels that wobble like a punch drunk boxer on his last legs. His rods are his trusty glass rods that weight more than my Navara. He will not conform. No matter how much i try and talk to him. But in essence this is what i love most. He defys the odds and still from time to time teaches me a lesson or two. It burns!

Last weekend at Botany he did it to me again. He pulled out his rods that barely have enough cotton on the bindings to hold on the guides, out came the DAM reels loaded with braid, probably thick enough to use as anchor rope, a jighead large enough to use off the continental shelf and he kicked butt. Go figure.

As a side note, the bay seems to be firing again. The winter chill has evaporated and the fish are ready to play ball. There a few kings getting around but they are timid. The flatties are VERY hungry and the tailor are a good class. The trevs seem to be a good size too with fish up to a kg roaming all over the bay.