North Australian FISH FINDER TM forums

The Darwin Bluewater Charters/NTMAG $6500 Kimberley Dream Charter winner is Jon "The Fisho" Vogel of Mawson ACT.

Jon will cruise the Kimberley coast later this year on a fishing trip of a lifetime, chasing mega GTs, sailfish, marlin - as well as trophy macks, queenies, and king-size reef fish.

The NTMAG exploratory trip from last year is featured in the latest NTMAG which hits the shelves nationally from about Wednesday this week.

There has been a stack of entries - many thanks to all who entered.

well done to him. what can i say but lucky bugger

did the rounds of newsagencys today, the old ntmag has been taken off the shelves, new one wasnt out yet to egar i think


hey matt, when is the diawa saltist being drawn???

Yep … I know I'm one hell of a lucky bugger – no doubt about it; and this is definitely going to be the trip of a life time - no doubt about that either.

The way I see it, with so much natural talent and hard won experience already on board the MV Hyland-C I figure they needed a rank amateur on the team just to balance the score card.

So, I'm 53(ish), can cast a fly as well as lure (I wouldn’t say well though most times I do eventually manage to hit the water), and I also enjoy sipping an 8yo Bundy after a tough day on the water.

I've fished all my life, but I’ve never been on a mother-ship, never caught a billy, and never even had a guide. My home waters are the highland lakes of the Snowy Mountains in NSW, but I do have limited experience where you don't need waders and mittens – eg: I've fished Cairns, Weipa, Dampier, TI, etc, but I'll be the first to admit not with a great deal of success.

Lesson #1 : if you don't know the waters - and you don't have the rest of your life to learn them – Hire A Guide!

I've fished the Top End only once and that was during the dry of ‘99 after competing in the IPSC Nationals, when I caught a big ol’ boof’n billabong barra whilst a guest of Tom and Marilyn Starr at Wild Plains.

(speaking of Wild Plains – I can’t find any current reference to them on the net and the phone number I have doesn’t answer. Are they still in operation, and how might I contact them?)

Anyway, I latched onto my very first barra whilst skipping a battered red & white balsa popper just on dark whilst my mate (Tommy Starr's son) cooked up a few steaks on a make-shift BBQ. I can tell you now that the steak was flung in the bush and the barra fillets were on that hot plate even before it stopped flapping. We did everything the Top End had to offer that week and what a fantastic outdoor adventure it was.

Luckily my Top End interests are not limited to Barra, but this will certainly be the my first encounter with anything which weighs as much as a bag of cement or is longer than my fly rod. Naturally I'm more than happy to target other salt and freshwater species - even muddies if someone else cooks ‘em (Hi Naomi).

And just so you don't get the impression that I've no other interest apart from fishing, I also enjoy a spot of hog hunt'n and clay target bust’n when the moon is wrong for prawning down the coast.

Last - but by now means least – I’d like to sincerely thank the sponsors who’re going to help make this dream come true - Matt Flynn of FISH FINDER fame, Mal Miles from Darwin Bluewater Charters, and the never say die crew of the MV Hyland-C.

I fish therefore I am …
Jon The Fisho.
<*))))))NAUGHTY<{

Well done Jon.... I am suree you will have a ball..wish I was going too


If you want to get hold of Tommy Star he is now the manager of "The Bark Hut Inn"

2Rods, your better than the Yellow Pages on line. Is there any one you don't know

2Rods certainly has the drop on me when it comes to knowing who’s where in the Top End … but I did manage to find out what became of Wild Plains.

It transmogrified into Bamurru Plains.

Wild Plains seemed a pretty flash setup when I stayed there back in ’99, but I’m sure I wouldn’t recognize it now … or afford it.

When I was a guest most of the mod cons had already been built, but being on a budget Tom Starr set me up under canvas and then his lad and I knocked around the property on 4-wheelers, and further a field in the ute, discovering the pleasures and treasures of the Mary River region. I’ve never had such a fine time in the bush.

Now I see that Bamurru is asking a mere $1390 per night (inc GST) for one-up, or $1960 per couple – min 2 nights stay – and that’s without the air-condition surcharge of $100/night.

Blimey! Still … I can see a swimming pool has been installed since my last visit.