North Australian FISH FINDER TM forums

Whether the barramundi fishing was good last week depends on who you speak too.

Many of those who hit Shoal Bay last Saturday did OK, with several metre barramundi landed.

But from Sunday onward dead fish started appearing.

The fish kill coincided with hot weather and storms, and a Fisheries Group staffer told me they had inspected the bay and suspected that early heavy rain had washed dead water (lacking oxygen) from Shoal Bay's swamps into parts of the bay.

Buffalo Creek has a sewer outlet that also causes fish kills.

I was at the bay on Tuesday and there were dead Powertail and mullet everywhere.

Other people reported seeing dead barramundi and even some large tripletail.

Live box jellyfish, prawns and baitfish were about in the hundreds on the flats, and we saw a school of barramundi on the flats outside Buffalo Creek that were jumping like tuna.

A spectacular waterspout under a large seaward storm cell gave us some interesting viewing for a while but there were no fish for biting on the flats for us - it was dead as a doornail, except for a couple of big GTs that played the game off the rocks at Lee Point.

Those who fished Shoal Bay a little earlier, including last weekend, did better.

Happy Micks' Charlie Chambers said his mate Kevin Eccles was there on Saturday afternoon and landed a 95cm barra after just four trolls.

"A customer was telling me they were there until late that night and landed five between 92cm and 103cm and lost some bigger fish which they think were jewies off a rockbar,'' he said.

"The Rock is still fishing OK for barra but they are not in big numbers. Snapper and jewies are in good numbers with best baits being squid and pilchards.

"Mangrove jacks have also been on the bite at The Rock with livebaits working the best.

"Darwin Harbour is still a good bet for for a mixed bag of fish.

"Barramundi are being caught up all the arms with Middle and West Arm being the pick with fish to 98cm being caught using livebaits and lures.

"Trolling RMG Skin Deeps in the shallows and +10 Classics in the deeper holes works, and best colours have been green and gold.

"Jewies are about in good sizes off Charles Point, Fenton Patches and Town Hall. A customer said that on Saturday every hookup he was unable to stop.

"Snapper are anywhere and everywhere at the moment and are starting to turn up in good sizes too with a 70cm fish landed off the Peary wreck late last week.

"If the rain stays away for the rest of the week it should see the harbour fish well for barra in the arms and pan sized snapper off the rock bars, and the shale bottom off Larrakeyah, but if we do get a few more showers I would try fishing the mouths of Woods Inlet, West Arm and Reichardts Creek at the start of the run out and start of the incoming tides.

"Leaders Creek fished well over the neap tides with a few good sized jewies caught at the mouth.

"Snapper are still in good numbers with some pan sized ones coming off the first rockbar and at the mouth.

"Big snapper are being caught in the channel between the Vernon Islands and the mainland.

"Mackerel are still around wide of the Vernon Islands along with some big GTs up to 18kg. Barra have been quiet but still the odd one being caught on live bait and trolling deep-diving lures.

"Blue and threadfin salmon are still on the bite with blue salmon taking whatever you put in front of them."

Fishing and Outdoor World's Ronald Voukolos said there were some big barramundi caught around the Reichardt and Bleesers Creek in Darwin Harbour's East Arm last week, up to 80cm.

"There have been plenty of mixed reef fish around Bass and Fish Reef too,'' he said.

"Fenton Patches has been fishing well for golden snapper. There are also a few mackerel around, with some people catching them on the bottom at Fenton Patches.

"I had a report of a sailfish coming up a berley trail at Lee Point.

"As the tides neap out there is some good weather for dragging billfish lures around Fenton Patches.

"We went out on Tuesday afternoon and noticed hordes of small queenfish and trevally - we drifted along the Larrakeyah rock wall and Emery Point and we saw a lot of bait schools on the sounder, along with small predators which we caught on small soft plastics and light spinning gear.

"They are good harbour tides this weekend.

"There have also been some big barra caught at the mouth of Buffalo Creek."

Top End Fishing Supplies' Steve Compain said offshore fishing had been consistent for the shop's two charter boats.

"There's not that many jewies about but snapper and trout have been biting,'' he said.

"I went to The Rock on Sunday and there were dead fish everywhere.

"I reckon they died up the top of Hope Inlet in the holes at low tide.

"I reckon it is the heat or the first flush of rain there - the fish have to wait a while in the shallow holes until the tide comes back in.

"The water looked good but it stunk.

"I fished near King Creek and there were people everywhere - we caught a 65cm barra.

"I went to Manton Dam on Wednesday night and caught a 93cm barra on a Skitter Pop on sunset.

"I have seen a few other boats out there but I don't know how they went.

"We were at Middle Arm boat ramp last week and we had a fish opposite the boat ramp and caught a 65cm barra and a salmon.

"There seems to be plenty of barra around."

Got One's Craig Grosvenor said Manton Dam produced two nice fish for his customers on Wednesday night.

"They were 98cm and 99cm, caught on dusk - I couldn't get any further details out of them,'' he said.

"Sadgroves, Reichardt and Bleesers all produced barra and salmon as tides began to build last week.

"Most fish fell to small lures and flies cast up against the mudbanks where the fish were charging schools of jelly prawns.

"There have been good reports of small to medium golden snapper on Middle and West Arm rockbars with local squid and prawn baits doing the trick.

"As usual Shoal Bay has been producing big barra at The Rock and the mouth of King Creek.

"On the last neap tides big goldies were taken on most deep reefs with the Vernon Island region productive.

"Tricky snapper and coral trout have been biting well around the Peron Islands.

"Lorna Shoal and Loee Patches have been fishing well for charter operators.

"Threadfin salmon to a metre have been taking dead mullet baits at the mouth of Marrakai Creek in the Adelaide River.

"Tides early next week should see barra action up on the flats following the neap tides - River2Sea minnows in fluoro green and black-gold combinations have proven effective."