North Australian FISH FINDER TM forums

Headed out during the week for a go at the bridge lagoon got to the ramp about 530pm so still had plenty of time to suss out the prime spots..


As we drove past the ramp my heart sank it had been rising since last time.



O well we're not going anywhere else i thought and began to prep the boat and check out the ramp it had a few spots where the silt was about 6in or more deep but in good nick otherwise.
Put in easily and headed up to the rockbar near mc kinlay r for a few trolls with the big 20 plus x raps. No takers so we went and fished way up inside after driving in with the minnkota for a km or so. First few casts at the good snags and eddys were blown away in the tight country using small tsunami plastics. Throwing into the sticks of the submerged black wattles at a small fork about 2m deep. We persisted through the snags and lost bites and soon got a few landed to 65 and got snapped off by one each. Not a bad start but we thought we would check out our other spots.


Once through the tricky stuff we opened it up down towards Hardies. All the creeks were flowing backwards on the way .
We cast the mouth area but dared not shut down the motor as the current was really pumping through the corner as whirlpools and pressure waves kept me on the controls while my deckie had a few casts for doughnut.

No issues with the sandbars today i thought as we drove over them 2.6m under. We headed further down seeing a few more creeks filling up before arriving at the spot a few tarpon right in front of us lifted spirits , and it was flowing out too. So we got into the swing of it and soon had a few more rats for the tally but nothing too special. My deckie got a piece of poop c@ttie which had us excited for about 2 seconds before we pulled the pin and began the hair raising ride back up the river at full rip in the darkness with the spotties and lightbar blazing turning it back into daylight.

Ended getting home about 3:00am no monsters landed but a few good ones hooked and missed.

I'm still keen as to hit it up again soon. I heard some horse barra feeding on archer fish about 40mm in some of the eddies in the main river. But too far into the paperbark saplings to win even if you did hook one...







Get into it the runoff is on already!

Gold fish, I was out there last Saturday for no joy, The boat ramp was a bit hectic though, slid down the ramp 2 feet with the boat connected up. Check my arse and all is good, not nice feeling when you are slipping and have no control. we found the concrete under all the mud and it was happy days.

I think we missed the flow by about a week from that billabong. Bugger.

Tough place on a rising river. I was fishing at one of the little creeks one morning and had 7, mostly keepers by 9am. 6 went back. Then it shut down. A little while later it twigged that the water had risen a few inches as I noticed a distinctive branch was now only just on the water line.

The sandbars around Hardies have changed a lot over the years but it always flows out pretty hard. Kind of a dangerous little spot, so sometimes we get out and walk the bank for a few casts though I don't recall many fish ever being had there for some reason. Is that the sandbar in your first picture?

Pic is from way down past there almost at the end of the line it's heaps more dangerous than at the hardies mouth and has a fair few boat flipper snags to dodge through.

How much had it risen from your last trip?

The bottom creek running out, pretty tight that one. I went over the sandbar at the end a couple of years ago for a look. Turned around while drifting along at trolling pace to see this massive black croc half out of the water behind the boat. Must have drifted over him and spooked the sh!t out of him.

Ramp will be slightly slippery if it rains on it anytime soon.

All the water was from kakadu no local rain for the creeks on the edges.
It had risen 600mm the other day but hopefully might be dropping off by now so after we fuel up we're off .

Gonna try it again later tonight or tomorrow just a warning be a bit careful with cutting the corners on the stumps and the sandbars and stick to the main channels. Also take it easy through the tricky stuff below Hardies as there's only really room for one boat on the plane through it. Not the spot for a gutfull of p!ss




It's a bit of a white knuckle ride for beginners and punter tourists or townie locals!!!.

We nearly had a massive head on one trip through there a couple of years back. And now we often travel at night to have a chance to see if there's anyone else coming.

Good luck you'll need it......

. if you can see the sandbars abort the mission.

Great report, scary place to drive at night though, you got a bigger set than I do......