North Australian FISH FINDER TM forums

It was sad to hear of a couple of arguments on the water at Shoal Bay last week.
It seems there needs to be a set of rules for trolling and bait fishing in productive areas.
At least one of the incidents could have been avoided, when someone anchored in the middle of a trolling run which three boats were already working.
The anchored boat's crew then started livebaiting.
I didn't see this incident, but I saw a boat do the same thing at the same spot a few days earlier.
If you anchor in a trolling area that is already being worked you can expect to cop abuse.
Likewise, if you are going to join in a group of trollers who are working a small rockbar or hole, you have to keep your wits about you and work with the other boats.
Don't cut corners or do unpredictable turns, or run over people's lines.
Sadly there are incidents on the water caused by people who like to stir it up, as well as those who don't know better and bumble their way into trouble.
If you arrive at a spot and see boats milling around, establish the fishing pattern before joining in.
If someone is already anchored on a spot, they have every right to be there - you should move elsewhere or fish a respectable distance away.
There has also been complaints about big breeder barramundi being kept, which is not illegal in the NT, but is generally considered bad form.
Barramundi are all male until they reach a certain size - about 80cm in length.
That means there are far fewer female fish in the water than males.
One big female barramundi can lay 40 million eggs in a sitting, so it is obviously smart to return any fish of more than metre in length to the water so lots of barramundi eggs are laid each year.
Take a photo and let the big ones go.

i hate the ones who go past at full noise in the narrow creeks, don't even look out for your lines