Fishos flock to the best runoff for years

SOME lucky anglers have been catching some enormous fish, including a whopping 130cm barra caught by Lucy Stanton.

At a whopping 130cm, this magnificent barra, which was caught by Lucy Stanton fishing wit

Although for the most part the expected great run-off fishing is yet to get under way, I spoke to one keen angler who smashed the fish down the Victoria River.

Known to all and sundry simply as “Smiley”, he and a couple of mates spent a couple of days fishing and overnighting in their boat way downriver, up inside the mouth of the Baines River tributary.

They fished the mouth of Sandy Creek and the barra didn’t stop biting the whole time.

Smiley told me the biggest measured 105cm, and the barra weren’t at all fussy about what they took.

Elsewhere, it seems no one has been finding barra in a frenzy.

A few have been trying the Daly but launching has been difficult.

The public boat ramp is closed so the only place to launch has been at Daly River Crossing itself, but a layer of mud has made it extremely difficult.

There has been another unsubstantiated report from the Adelaide River: a small grey Oceanmaster was sighted at the mouth of Beatrice Creek with the sole angler on board ripping in one barra after another.

As a lead-up to the first round of the Top End Barra Series this weekend at Shady Camp, it seems a few quality barra up to 107cm were landed at the coastal creeks.

This weekend’s neap tides will see most boats trolling the mouths of Sampan and Tommycut Creeks, and there are sure to be some big fish landed.

It’s been all quiet at the South Alligator, but there is a lot of bait up the top, so that could bring the barra on this weekend.

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Last Sunday’s AFANT Annual General Meeting was enlightening for the more than 120 who attended.

AFANT President, Warren de With, thanked members and supporters for turning up in large numbers considering that it was a great weekend for fishing.

“Once again, it sends a clear message to Government of the importance of recreational fishing in the NT,” Mr de With said.

Both Chief Minister Adam Giles and Fisheries Minister Willem Westra van Holthe addressed the meeting, rightly pointing out that election promises on closed areas and commercial licence buybacks have been honoured.

Several important issues were discussed, including the proposed reef fish changes, the impact of coastal line traps and the proposal to allow demersal trawling in areas close to Darwin.

“The recreational fishing sector is being asked to reduce catches of golden snapper by 50% at the same time as new threats like demersal trawling and fish traps are being used to target or catch golden snapper,” President de With said.

“We have seen a tripling of the non-coastal line catch of golden snapper across the NT over recent years: from 5 tonnes to 15 tonnes.

“The majority of this increased snapper catch is in the demersal trawl fishery and this new catch of snapper does not seem to be factored into future management arrangements.

“Demersal trawl gear is also responsible for significant habitat damage and AFANT has made it clear that we cannot support the development or continuation of this destructive fishing method in areas that will impact on the greater Darwin area; especially given the committed efforts of the recreational fishing sector to address the serious issues with golden snapper and jewfish stocks,” Mr de With said.

Another highlight of the meeting was the talk by Professor Michael Douglas on the impact of water extraction on northern Australian fisheries.

Expect to hear a lot more about this.

Interesting news on the barra fishing lure front was the announcement that a leading global provider of fishing tackle, Pure Fishing, has acquired the Cutting Edge Lures business. Cutting Edge is an Australian provider of tropical and freshwater fishing lures marketed under the Rob Gaden brand name.

“We are excited to add Cutting Edge Lures to our offering, as they provide a strong complement to our current product lines,” commented Phillip Coles, Managing Director of Pure Fishing Australia.

“Cutting Edge Lures’ innovative products and strong design capabilities, paired with our global distribution network, create a compelling combination.

“We look forward to working with Robert Gaden to ensure that Pure Fishing stays at the forefront of delivering innovation to anglers in Australia and around the globe,” Mr Coles said.

Cutting Edge hard-bodied fishing lures are designed for many tropical and freshwater predatory species, and come in a range of exciting colours.