North Australian FISH FINDER TM forums

Hey Guys,
I headed out to Hardies 4x4 track, and stopped at a few spots. i didn't make it all the way to the lagoon though because i had to leave early to help a colleague out.

In the afternoon i traveled around to a few places for a look, and ended up spending some time at buff creek.

Didnt see any action but it was good to get back into it. I hadn't done any 4WD'ing before so hardies was a good experience. Also got some good practise casting lightweight plastic with my new rod and saw alot of improvement with my accuracy.

Wish i could have spent more time exploring the hardies track. But i will look into going there again next weekend. And i like the idea of fishing out of the ute. I didn't see any crocs but i was very aware of my surroundings and any movement. But being in the back of my ute would allow me to relax a little.

Thanks for the tips guys. Ill continue using this forum for tips as i start getting back into fishing....

Extremely keen to catch my first NT fish.

Buff Ck is a very good landbased spot. Keep in mind a croc could show up there anytime tho. I've seen people wading up to their chest ... ignoring stingrays, bull sharks, crocs, stingers ... helluva risk to catch a few fish or prawns!

Buff can be good at night during the week when it is quiet, flicking from the ramp down to the rockbar about 50m upstream, at low tide. Real chance of a big barra with a shallow lure or popper.

I might make Buff creek my week night spot because its so close.

I was there from about 3:30-5:30 this arvo and saw people wading in using cast nets.... i thought that was a little brave. I didn't even get my toes wet to be extra safe.

If anyone can put some pics of some lures or plastics that they have had success with that would be good? or if you can list some names and ill source them online.

Mate, the rocks in front of nightcliff pool at low tide and the first incoming push have produced plenty of barra. Use gold bombers. You will get the fish in real shallow water. needs to be reasonably calm.

Thats accross the road from me. So i will definitely try that. thanks!

Just looked up the gold bomber lure.... seems to be a favourite for alot of people. Will head out and get one in the next few days.

Where is the best place to get my hands on one? (havent become loyal to any tackle stores yet)

Haha every fishing shop in the territory has bombers. But BCf sells packs of 3 which is handy if your still learning to cast. I'll on you anther spot to try

Doesn't have to be night time for buff creek, across the low and the first push of the incoming during the day can work, there'll be no boat traffic at this time walk through the mangroves to the right of the ramp and access the rock bars further upstream the fish can be hard up against the bank on both sides so work your lure right to your feet, junior b52's work ok as well, with short erratic twitches to keep the lure just under the surface. Be mindful of the tide, it'll turn and run in about 2.5 hrs after Darwin times but the first push is massive as the tide height will catch up with where it should be very quickly, a couple of metres extra water in the first half hour or so

Im fairly excited to get back out and have another crack. Gonna head to Buff creek this evening and try some of the tips you guys have given. the low tide should fit in perfectly for that time.

So i got out to East point and had a go with a white and red halo rooster…. No luck. This was at about 5:30-6:30 the tide had just started coming in.

And after that i wanted to have a quick go at buff creek with a smaller halo rooster in gold. Taking the advice from Matt Flynn. Second cast i felt something while i was retrieving, it wasn't massive but i can't imagine it was a snag because i cast thru there so many times after and nothing was sticking out. So who knows. I stayed for about 20 more minutes while getting eaten alive by mosses…. I kept telling myself "just one more cast" then finally decided to call it a night. Next time ill come armed with some insect repellant.

Still chasing that first NT fish… Maybe tomorrow evening

Best popper to use there for me has been a black wooden popper made by Forrester. Start fishing 2.5 hrs after high tide on new moon springs in the build-up and run-off. Work the poppers dead slow with big pauses.

Ahhhh good tip thanks. I was working it as many different ways as i could come up with.

I assume when fishing at east point i would crank it in a little faster?

Bushmans is a must on any adventure out side in Darwin. In another month or two it will pay to take vinigar as the box jellyfish become a risk if you put your toe's any where near the water.

Another spot to have a crack at if you head back out to Hardies is the sandbar. If you go down the road into Hardies, turn left after the 2nd cattle grid and drive along the fence line until you get to the water. There will be an opening infront of you, this is the main spot where people camp and is probably the safest spot to cast landbased as the bank is a good metre or so higher than the water. From here if you walk maybe 200-300m left you will get to the sandbar. Have caught heaps of fish here (out of boat) but there is a couple of openings where you can cast. As others have said, keep an eye out for the lizards

Wrighty wrote:Another spot to have a crack at if you head back out to Hardies is the sandbar. If you go down the road into Hardies, turn left after the 2nd cattle grid and drive along the fence line until you get to the water. There will be an opening infront of you, this is the main spot where people camp and is probably the safest spot to cast landbased as the bank is a good metre or so higher than the water. From here if you walk maybe 200-300m left you will get to the sandbar. Have caught heaps of fish here (out of boat) but there is a couple of openings where you can cast. As others have said, keep an eye out for the lizards

And there is at least one big one in that location.

Seano, where abouts do you acquire these forrester poppers?