Middle ground gone in the Daly River

Hot on the heels of the Barra Nationals, the Barra Classic and the Top End Barra Series event, the Daly has been confirmed as a river of very big fish and very small fish.

Kev O’Brien trolled his new biggest Reidy’s B52 through “pluming” water up the Daly to find this 114cm stonker last Monday

Hot on the heels of the Barra Nationals and the Barra Classic down the Daly River, the recent Top End Barra Series event confirmed once again that, this year, the Daly is a river of very big fish and very small fish.

This was round three of six rounds to take place this year at different venues.

Shane Moon’s silver one metre barra was a great catch in round three of the Top End Barra Series

TEBS co-ordinator Glenn Dinwoodie said competitors were greeted with extremely windy conditions on the Saturday morning and this continued for the whole weekend.

“This made the river from Catfish Creek down very difficult and uncomfortable to fish, with the water dirtier than expected and the chop quite unbearable at times,” Glenn said.

“It was the first time that I have been trolling in the Daly surrounded by white caps down in the Paddock area.

“The wind was a big factor in spreading out the field and there were crews scattered all down the river.

“There were certainly no hot spots, with the two big fish caught coming from very different methods and areas.

“The Bigfish Graphics/DUO Lures biggest barra of 108cm was caught just down from the S-bend by Kai Argent. Kai got smashed early Sunday morning whilst casting a small lure into the edges, so he was a very happy man.

“The other big fish was caught by Shane Moon, and measured one metre on the dot; it was caught fast trolling at Alligator Head.

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“With the neap tides and windy conditions, not many trolled Alligator, with most crews trolling in tighter water upstream or casting to eddies, timber and creek mouths.

“Our results certainly followed the same trend as the other two competitions that were held on the river last month in that there were not many mid-range fish caught – 89 anglers caught 50 fish of which two over a metre, nine in the 60cm range and an amazing 39 measuring 50-59cm.

“This is quite amazing considering that, only a couple of years ago, the Daly River was chockers with mid-range fish … where have they all gone?

“On a positive note, the river is on the improve from last year and hopefully it will keep on improving. There were more fish caught than last year and there are many more fish in the snags.”

It seems that there was also an abundance of sub-40cm barra in the system, which really does augur well for future years.

By all accounts, sharks were a major problem during the TEBS third round.

“The numbers of sharks in the river is just incredible; six of my fish were taken, either before I could get them to the boat or after I released them,” Glenn said.

Kai Argent was the man to beat in round three of the Top End Barra Series, catching fish measuring 51cm, 56cm and 108cm.

Kai Argent was rapt with his 108cm Daly River barra that helped him win round three of the Top End Barra Series

Shane Moon caught a pair of 54cm barra and a stonker metrey to claim second spot for the second time in a row.

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“These two were well clear of the rest of the field, with Dean Blackman rounding out the top three with barra measuring 55cm, 53cm, 57cm and 58cm,” Glenn reported.

“We are now halfway through the season and so far there are only nine anglers who have scored points in all three rounds, while Shane Moon has a comfortable lead in the series.

“Coming second is Kai Argent, followed by Peter Cooper, Greg Shields and James Park. The next round will be in Darwin Harbour on August 30 and 31.”

Still on the Daly River, it seems last Monday was the day to be there for the best chance at a big barra.

Kev O’Brien is a Daly River regular who planned his assault meticulously over the weekend and Monday.

“Monday was definitely the day for it, with that ‘pluming’ water I like flowing up above the main Rock-bar,” Kev said.

“I followed it up and around the corner, hanging in close to the flotsam as the tide peaked.

“I was trolling the new Reidy’s biggest B52, and it was smashed. This big barra came out of the water with the lure planted to the side of its face.

“It jumped five times, and when I landed it, I measured it at 114cm.

“After pics, I swam her for a while before releasing her to swim away nicely.

“It was a beautiful day.”