North Australian FISH FINDER TM forums

I’m taking a risk of getting Nomad to the point of no return with some more ‘dirty’talk.

Firstly, we must acknowledge we know very little about the river ecosystem and its function.
Having said that there has been 100 different species of fish identified so far in the Daly River catchment, all of them native to the system, this is rare in itself.

It is believed that some of these fish spawn in clear fresh water, others in marine or brackish water. While others may spawn in fresh water but require the eggs to hatch in salt water before returning as fry to freshwater.
It is unlikely that fish spawn in the fast flowing turbid water that’s going past my kitchen window at around 12klm an hour as I type this.

The number of species that can freely move between fresh and salt water is probably low, Barra have this ability. This enables them to travel on to the flood plains and return to tidal water at will.

The annual migration of Barra in the river is driven by reproduction and feeding urges, the Cherabin appear to be a significant influence on this migration.
The upstream migration from the salt to the fresh water of immeasurable numbers of newly hatched Cherabin is undoubtedly a key driver of other fish species to spawn and migrate, providing a food source for the fishes, there is an informative paper on this; http://www.nespnorthern.edu.au/2014/07/ ... -survival/

I have observed this migration by Cherabin and a number of other fish fry in vast numbers, it seem to happen once the river falls a bit and the flow rate decreases considerably
The run off fishing is a matter of concentrations of predators and prey, anglers are part of the predator class as we target other predators (Barra) that are concentrated in locations where prey is being concentrated by the force of water into ever diminishing places to swim in.

This all happens every year, however the rain fall and river conditions in height and duration of flooding has a significant influence on the all the life within the river and the ability to reproduce successfully and survive.

As side note we should consider the devastating effect the cane toad has had on the environment and the disruption it has caused to the food chain, and don’t get me started on MT TODD gold mine!

Great info Wonderwobler, cheers

Dear Wonderwobbler: My 11yo son just did "bedtime stories" on your info. He now understands "biomass", how billabongs feed river systems, and breeding cycles of some fish. Thanks!

He also understands that if he works his arse off over the next few weeks at school, kills the grades, then he might be "too sick" for attendance and "not sick enough" to miss going to the Daly.

Final question (RE: booking time off in advance) how quick does it drop once the weather clears? At the moment Katherine, King, Flora, Fergussen are all carrying lots of water, how many weeks does it need to drop and how can a main breadwinner for his family predict this, take time off work, and not get in too much trouble with the boss or the missus?

PMs, once the rain stops generally(in catchment area) eg Katherine River etc, the river drops real fast, eg 1 metre a day. Its all good to have the river drop but we dont want the wooliana rd to get closed as that cuts off the only public ramp at the daly.

IM sure wonderwobbler will have much more info than this though.

Just use the ramp they built that runs down next to the bridge to nowhere. Oh thats right, they said that we wont need one

Final question (RE: booking time off in advance) how quick does it drop once the weather clears? At the moment Katherine, King, Flora, Fergussen are all carrying lots of water, how many weeks does it need to drop and how can a main breadwinner for his family predict this, take time off work, and not get in too much trouble with the boss or the missus? [/quote]

I was asked the same question by my Sister on Philip Island, last Saturday.

It takes about 1 Week, for the water in Katherine, to get to Daly River Township. Add a few days for the River to drop, and you are looking at around 10 - 14 Days.
This is only a rough calculation, and depends on other Rain, that may occure.

thanks!

pms, do not bank your employment tenure, marriage stability or parental credibility on any information from this web site.

As a general rule of thumb the end of April and early May have, in the past, produced reliable conditions for fishing after an average river flood. The current flood is an average event.

Things that should be factored in is the tide, the river will fall further and faster on neap tides, fresh water and salt water do not mix well, the salt water is denser and will be under the fresh water coming down the river and off the flood plain.

A key indicator of fishing conditions is the number of egg & bacon sandwiches sold at the Adelaide river roadhouse.

pms, do not bank your employment tenure, marriage stability or parental credibility on any information from this web site.

Especially on matters of spelling. Like spoon, spinner, wobbler ...

Some spelling mistakes are made purposely to avoid copy write or trade mark infringements.

The article about the top ten lures in this magazine link https://issuu.com/hookedupmagazine/docs ... 6_flipbook will shed some light on the spelling.

Probably should have said "on any information from me"

All good, Daly info has been good reading, hopefully help some onto a fish or two.