corroboree doughnuts

And jacks, salmon, jewfish - tell us how you went. NT, FNQ and Norwest.
Post Reply
User avatar
kavera
Silver Member
Silver Member
Posts: 36
Joined: Tue Oct 14, 2014 11:06 am

corroboree doughnuts

Post by kavera »

Made the trek out to corroboree after work yesterday, Fished until after dark throwing plastics, poppers, hardbodies, for no success. trolled for a few hours and only managed a lonely Powertail.....
Not much luck for me fishing up here :banghead:


zulu
Silver Member
Silver Member
Posts: 41
Joined: Sat Apr 20, 2013 2:11 pm

Re: corroboree doughnuts

Post by zulu »

man dont be to upset ive been up here for12 years and last few years i belive corroboree has gone to poop its one of the hardest billabongs to fish up here now i think
User avatar
STANDY
Jedi Seadog
Jedi Seadog
Posts: 1099
Joined: Tue Apr 26, 2011 1:08 pm
Location: Darwin

Re: corroboree doughnuts

Post by STANDY »

Been hard since the fish kill that had all that black water couple of years back and no big wet to flush it...... Found them deeper this year in the main channel but numbers down from 3 years ago

Did get a 86 Toga not that long ago Monster
A Fish in the Boat is Worth Five in the Shop.
User avatar
kavera
Silver Member
Silver Member
Posts: 36
Joined: Tue Oct 14, 2014 11:06 am

Re: corroboree doughnuts

Post by kavera »

Sorry that was meant to be a lonely Powertail.
Anyway, yeah I've done 4 trips up there now and only one 35cm barra. Just so hard going. Going to try the salt next weekend, see how I go, it's a steep learning curve!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
User avatar
kavera
Silver Member
Silver Member
Posts: 36
Joined: Tue Oct 14, 2014 11:06 am

Re: corroboree doughnuts

Post by kavera »

And that is a bl..dy decent toga!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
cuddlescooper
Jedi Seadog
Jedi Seadog
Posts: 3116
Joined: Sun Oct 31, 2010 1:23 pm
Location: Darwin

Re: corroboree doughnuts

Post by cuddlescooper »

Mate fishing the Harbor will usually give you some results from some thing. Might not always be Barra or Goldies ect but any thing is good to keep busy and get a feed. Just got to be careful of tides. Some times you have to make the mistake to learn the channels, where the rocks are ect. I would launch about 2 hours after high tide and plan on being out there through the big low tides so take food and water and a book in case you fark up and get stuck (It will happen sooner or later). Take some notes in your head of where all the rocks are, where the channels are, where the flats are, where the snake drains are, what stage of the tide these get exposed or become a hazard. Do it by just idling around the edges trolling a lure observing your sounder and you will soon stumble on some fish. Even if you get stuck a lot of observations can be made and noted. Stick to small lures for the harbour like little B52s or, bombers or X raps. Take note of the drains pushing dirty water into clear water. These are usually the ones that will have barra and salmon and bait feeding. Fish any rock points that have water running past them and eddies formed at the back side of the current. Take note of when the rocks expose. Its usually just as the rocks expose that they will hold fish or just as they cover up again on the in coming tide.

Get a chart of Darwin harbour and learn to read it. This will give you a heads up on where drying reefs and flats are. There is also a book that can be bought that will tell you about each symbol on a chart and its meaning, basically how to read the chart. See Nautical supplies near at Dinah beach. You should have a chart in the boat by law any way so it's good to have.

Once you have identified a few spots and noted the tide stage it will likely fish, the next trip you will have a better idea of a series of spots to be at at certain stages of tide. With some experimentation and notation you can develop a pattern that you can be fishing hot spots or potential fish catching areas all day through the whole tide. I have found a pattern that I feel confident that I can catch fish through out the tide from high to low and back to high and there are thousands of spots in the harbor that are likely so you should be able to develop your own.

Think like a fish. Two things needed to survive. Food and Shelter. Most fish we target are lazy. they like to hunt in the easiest place to get the most food. Places that funnel bait into a structure, place to hide, Deeper hole on on a flat, steep drop off at the end of a flat ect. All places that bait will be forced to as the tide falls. Fish Know this.
User avatar
kavera
Silver Member
Silver Member
Posts: 36
Joined: Tue Oct 14, 2014 11:06 am

Re: corroboree doughnuts

Post by kavera »

That is the probably the most practical piece of advice I have been given, I really appreciate you taking the time for an in depth response!
I see the term snake drains used a lot, in here and magazines, are they where the water snakes its way off the flats etc on falling tides or something completely different?
I have spent a few hours trolling around the harbor, Checking out the wrecks etc, thrown lures at shallow drop offs on falling tide ( got a hit too, but no hook up)
One thing I'm coming to realize is that up here, majority of the fishing seems to be around the tides, not time of day like where I'm from.
How small lures are you meaning, like xrap 8's and 10's? 50-100mm stuff?
Anyway I really appreciate your help, hopefully see you out there!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
cuddlescooper
Jedi Seadog
Jedi Seadog
Posts: 3116
Joined: Sun Oct 31, 2010 1:23 pm
Location: Darwin

Re: corroboree doughnuts

Post by cuddlescooper »

Snake drains are just tiny channels that look like a snakes track coming off the mud flats. Some drains are better than others and it will take time and experimentation to learn which ones hold fish and bait more than others (why? who knows they just do). usually the deeper sided ones are better as they funnel water better.

Tides are vital in salt water but time of day is vital in fresh. I have found that billabongs will still fish around tides. Big tides, high coincide with morning and afternoon. The low is in the middle of the day. I have found in a few spots that the bite window is usually around those times. All theoretical of course.

Size of lure will depend on what the fish are feeding on. 5 inch is about standard for harbor use. This will vary depending on what bait is around. if Jelly prawns are around down size even more with a rediculously slow retrieve. If it is later in the year a little bigger is better. In general it is hard to beat Prawn patterns like the Zerek or Zman lightly weighted. 65mm squidgies will also get results.

When exploring spend a lot of time close to the bank. If you have an electric motor and some polorised glasses (I use Tonics and rate them highly but any will do) nine out of 10 times you will see the fish sunning them selves. I use my 3.9m Dingy and stay in water under 1m deep for 90% of my fishing in harbors. For barra, salmon and jacks any way.
User avatar
theodosius
Jedi Seadog
Jedi Seadog
Posts: 3258
Joined: Mon May 18, 2009 10:46 pm

Re: corroboree doughnuts

Post by theodosius »

Great advice cuddles. I would add that barra hold in the snaje drains that are 1m underwater and 30m from the bank too, especially on the corners. In the dry you will see more barra sunning themselves in super shallow water. Sneak up, cast the lure 50cm in front and 2-3m past the fish and retrieve slowly so you ddon't scare it.
User avatar
Mud
Jedi Seadog
Jedi Seadog
Posts: 3596
Joined: Fri Apr 03, 2009 3:47 pm
Location: Darwin
Contact:

Re: corroboree doughnuts

Post by Mud »

Yeah what Cuddles said. Always good advice from the big fella. I would also suggest going back to the same place (not corrob atm) to learn how to fish it. When you score take note of where the tide is at (rising falling top or bottom), what kind of tide (neap spring), time of year, etc. Eventually you will hit a hot patch but it will just have been a lucky day unless you take those notes. Cheers and luck
Its not a crisis unless there is blood around.
If there is blood around......well its a police matter...
Quinntreximon
Jedi Seadog
Jedi Seadog
Posts: 752
Joined: Sat Feb 21, 2009 2:04 pm
Contact:

Re: corroboree doughnuts

Post by Quinntreximon »

Great advice there. Kavera you cant go wrong if you persist and stick to that advice. If it is calm, east point and lee point are good spots for pelagics, queenfish, trevs, macks and mixed reef fish. The only thing I need to bring out next time is a RULER. To measure, 1 metre, 30cm from the bank, and the fish if im lucky enough. lol
User avatar
Matt Flynn
Site Administrator
Site Administrator
Posts: 16186
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 1970 9:30 am
Location: Somewhat Southerly
Contact:

Re: corroboree doughnuts

Post by Matt Flynn »

If you are going to fish snake drains for barra try to get out on week days as the best drains are well fished on weekends.

Mangrove foreshores are good too, look for horizontal fallen mangroves as they often have a barra underneath, find a sheltered area and approach quietly.

The mangrove edge on the flat between Sadgroves and Reichardt Creeks near Dinah Beach ramp is as good as any for barra and part of that mangrove edge has a foot high wall where the rising tide backs up before it goes over and into the mangroves, and the barraz and other fish will sit along that edge, especially on a late afternoon rising tide. Any shallow lure will work, or livebaits.

Barra will also cruise along creek banks at a brisk pace and can sometimes be spotted and cast at before they see you. Often there are splashes or sprays of baitfish giving them away, same with salmon and queenies.

Those harbour barra are a great fishery!

And if you succeed, please post a report :mrgreen:
User avatar
drifter
Jedi Seadog
Jedi Seadog
Posts: 1116
Joined: Mon Jul 03, 2006 9:31 am
Location: Saratoga NSW

Re: corroboree doughnuts

Post by drifter »

Also look for Egrets. Especially around snake drains. If they are there, so is bait.
User avatar
Mickfly
Platinum Member
Platinum Member
Posts: 120
Joined: Thu Feb 21, 2008 1:16 pm
Location: Nightcliff
Contact:

Re: corroboree doughnuts

Post by Mickfly »

Some excellent advice here, thanks. :mrgreen:
cuddlescooper
Jedi Seadog
Jedi Seadog
Posts: 3116
Joined: Sun Oct 31, 2010 1:23 pm
Location: Darwin

Re: corroboree doughnuts

Post by cuddlescooper »

The fish are hitting "tail baits" well at the moment. We used the 2 and 3 inch ones yesterday and boated 6 fish to 70 cm in the harbour. We missed as many including a few good sized fish. The weedless tail baits are wicked gear in among the mangrove roots on a falling tide. They also have them in the 4 and 5 inch for bigger river fishing.
Post Reply
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Return to “Barramundi Reports”