We really can’t complain about the fishing can we? Ok, March has been dry but still there’s plenty of fish about. If predictions prove correct, a monsoon early April will be just the ticket to round out the wet season so here’s hoping. Lots of ‘metrey’ and ‘high 90’ reports every week now. Shady and Daly mouths mainly, but just now the fish are moving up and reports are just starting from upstream locations. Looking forward to this year! The Bluewater has been damn strong too…Goldies and Jew pretty thick from Dundee to Chambers Bay. Come in and see us folks…we will keep you up to date, that’s a promise!

Why do I have twinging stomach cramps? Why am I not sleeping well? Why do I have the runs? Why am I forgetting everything?

Welcome to the anticipation of perhaps the best Run-Off sessions we will remember! All this anticipation is getting the better of me and I’m suddenly feeling ten years younger. The word is out, the aerial pictures have gone viral and we are pretty much sitting bolt upright waiting for the day that roads and accesses re-open.

So far, the wet season has been everything we could have wished for and now we can only hope that the next month or so can continue the theme toward April. The Daly has been up for some time now, Shady Camp looks as good as ever, the top of The South is reported to look like an inland sea and I’m getting impatient…but I figure I’m only normal, I know I ain’t the only one.

For those few who aren’t facebook fanatics, check out the image inset…look at the water up on the floodplain top right of picture! That is Shady Camp…if you look hard enough, you can see the barrage. This image from Outback Helicopters went viral via our Facebook page late last week.

I guess the next few days will still see congestion at the roadside culverts until such time as The Arnhem Highway re-opens, but when it does it will be all go and I’m sure the ‘metrey’ images will follow.

Welcome to 2014 Run-Off folks…I’m Excited!

Craig

Who said Darwin Harbour has lost it’s mojo? Isaiah Strong doesn’t seem to think so…. put right on the spot by his Dad Mal. Check out this Coral Trout….this rounded out a good session of reef fish from Middle Arm. Gotta love that!

Well some might call him a legend, including himself….and I suppose I might just have to agree now! Here he is again at his second home, The Daly River…That Tony Hare must be happier than a barra at Bamboo Creek.

No wonder he keeps going back, that’s a ripper eh!

It appears to me that the 2013 barra drought has been broken! Reports during the last fortnight have been electric from the coastal saltwater sector, Shoal Bay taking prize honours for the pick of locations. That place can rock and it’s been rocking alright. The old die-hard fisho’s (yes, that includes me) are still hell bent on the BDSI 8ft Killalure Barrabait for coastal rock work, convinced that the fish don’t change their habits, only the fishermen do. Whether that is true or not, you can’t ignore the results from this fantastic lure. It’s my go-to lure for Shoal Bay Rock in particular and is right up there for my Dundee ventures too. Much to my despair, I recently discovered that this colour had been removed from the Killalure Catalogue…..What the..?…..this cannot be happening!! That problem is now solved and it will form part of our exclusive ‘Bling’ range of lures here at Craig’s Fishing Warehouse…code named ‘BDSI BLING’.

Just this morning, my mate Nick Billias (ala The Canopy Man) and I experienced yet another ‘Barrabait’ session to remember. This time it was our Red Bling version. With conditions near on perfect, second cast saw the lure swallowed by an early 90’s fish. Shortly after, Nick was beaten about by a high 80’s fish that launched hard and shook it’s head as if to say ‘no not this time’. Then I was hit by a freight train….it was one of those that couldn’t get itself out of the water. You know they are big when they look bulky from quite a distance. Anyway, I was beat on that one too…and that image of it’s head thrashing about, then leaving a hole in the water I could’ve jumped in is currently haunting me.

Back to Shoal Bay, I’ve heard it all….’9 over a metre’, ‘3 over a metre’, ‘110cm’, ‘116cm’ and the rest. Aside from the usual hard-bodied stuff, those brand new Zerek 6 inch Cherabins are off the scale with results right now. These things require retrieve patience…but once you get the slow twitching action right the big fish don’t seem able to resist.

So there you go folks…who said it would never happen. It is happening…but who knows for how long.

Good luck wherever you go, and for goodness sakes…watch the storms, particularly in Shoal Bay.

Regards

Craig

Roll up, roll up folks…it seems the weather will be good for a little while yet and here comes the neaps again! Last week, the springs were good for the land-based fishos with barramundi starting to fire again around our foreshores. Channel Island and Lee Point were the two stand-outs, with saltwater Barra to 69cm engulfing Reidys Junior B52’s with vigour. The big moon and increased water temps have finally worked some magic on the billabong barra too…’HOORAY…ITS ABOUT TIME’ I hear you say….my staffer Robby Rees and crew hit ‘em hard at Corroboree and managed fish to 93cm and a number of other reports included Barra to 83cm ‘exiting the water like guided missiles’ during the night time full moon surface sessions.

Back to land-based…..East Point fired for keen fisho David Waite. With Milkfish the target, it was mission accomplished with some ripper fish taken on bread baits. It wasn’t without incident however…his first attempt ended in disaster with his drag washers melted to his spool following a blistering run. Enter a new aluminium spool, and the game was back on!

On the blue-water, I will predict it a Gulp onslaught this weekend. Both the new Nemesis and Squid Vicious will be working magic on the reefs particularly wide of Dundee, The Perons and around The Vernons.

No doubt the barra boys will be hitting Shoal Bay Rock and King Creek for a big one. It should be good…no ‘water temp’ excuses now!

Good Luck folks

Regards

Craig