Fishing the Daly River
It is no secret that Tracey and I have recently been up in the Northern Territory fishing the Daly River for Barra. No secret because we were so excited that we were telling everyone possible. Fishing the Territory for Barra has long been on my ‘bucket list’ and having fulfilled this dream is really special. However I won’t be crossing it off my list because one trip is not enough and has left both of us wanting more.
Our trip was always going to be a bit of a flying visit, having not planned for holidays at this time of year we could not really afford to take more time. However when the invite call came through we did not hesitate in making this happen and quickly organised the logistics. Not knowing what to expect we sort the advice of our fishing guide for the trip David Green. Greenie gave me a shopping list of must have lures; Classic Barra’s, Poltergeists, Jonesy Lures amongst a few others. Friends on Facebook too were quick to add their favourite must haves and we topped up the tackle box with a few other randoms. On top of this we also threw in a good swag of the new area TT snakehead Jigheads and a range of soft plastics including Thready Busters, Z-Man, Berkley Hollow Belly’s and Squidgies all of which got a good run.
Great stories flowed out of the 2011 run off and flooded back to fishing circles, guys raved about it being the best season ever! Scores of fish had been caught and we had heard of 100 fish caught from one creek mouth by one boat. This was the fishing that dreams were made of and anybody who had fished the Daly in 2011 told the same story. Early reports coming to us before our departure had revealed that the 2012 wet season had not seen the same rise as the previous year and as such the fishing was much tougher than what folks had hoped for. However we remained hopeful and with Greenie and team Dead Fishy just being pipped at the post to finish second in the 2012 Barra Nationals we were confident that Greenie would have the river sussed.
I recall our first run down the river, the colours and the crocs were there in their splendour.
The river bared the scars of the wet vividly, you could easily picture where the water level had been. You could see where the current had eaten the bank edges and the newly the fallen trees still green now at one with the river. We were to learn the art of snag fishing both trolling and casting. I had never seen snags so thick! Underwater jungles with long lines and mazes of trees. With very little experience trolling between Tracey and I our first few runs were spent getting our lures out of the snags.
Greenie explained the art of driving a lure and drawing it through the snaggy country. We were quick to learn that there is more to trolling than randomly dragging lures behind a boat. Well selected troll lines, good use of the side and down scan imaging and a sensitive touch and quick reaction on the rod. The fish were in the snags and we had to be as close as possible but being close was tough work. Once hooked up to a fish the real fun began the challenge was to get the fish from the snags without being stitched up. Early in the trip Tracey was stitched up a few times on big fish because they won the race to the snags. We did get our own back on a few who had us well and truly wrapped around trees and with patience and the use of the ‘prodder’ we managed to free them and get them to the net.
The prodder is a must have tool when fishing the snags, an extendable pole with a line spiral at the end, it is run down the taught line and prodded at the lure and snag with finesse to free your expensive fish lolly. With the cost of lures you cannot afford to fish the snags without one, we also used a ‘tackle back’ on a number of occasions in deeper water. All up for the week we only lost the one lure and that was on a fish. It wasn’t unusual to come up with more than one lure from a snag so all up for the week we came out ahead.
Tracey and I travelled up with 4 rods each 2 Baitcasters and 2 Spin Rods and all rods got a run. The challenge when travelling on flights is to make sure your rods are well protected in a tube and you must check with your airline to make sure of the length allowance. Be sure to pack all reels and line and other tackle in your checked luggage otherwise you will have issues at security.
The fishing was tough but we still managed 10-15 fish a day on our boat with the biggest going 80+cm. For every fish we got to the net another stitched us up, sometimes the hits were explosive only to end with no result. The most memorable being Greenies freight train that ran 100 metres before we could blink! We also hooked up to a few other species including sharks and tarpon. This was a great introductory trip to the Northern Territory, our learning curve was sharp and the fishing different to anything we had experienced no doubt leaving us both hungry for more! If you have ever considered a trip to the NT my advice is to do what it takes to make it happen!
