Trip Report - Darwin Harbour 20141002

6am start to get on the water in the pre-Dawn light - so nice to go fishing midweek. The boat ramp was empty.
Met up with one fly fisher at the fuel pump on way to ramp (Wayne from Show Ponies team) -
Him to work, me to fishing - what can you say!
Someone has to do it!
He was muttering something about something being unfair, but what?
I can't see it!

First stop Shelly Is - nothing
Wickham Point - zip!
Weed Reef - a few splashes then nothing
Mandorah rock bars - very quiet!
I crossed over the harbour to Cullen Bay - quieter still
Headed towards East Point and a little action bird and slashing fish - hope rises

Finally, at 9:30am I managed two mackerel quickly in succession off the extreme outer edge of the reef now at the high tide level of 5.3m
A few more bust ups on bait on the drop off of East Point reef - a 60cm queenfish this time.

Then quiet again.......casting,,,,casting,,,,for naught!
The decision was then do I go to Lee Point knowing the wind would increase at lunchtime and it would be a rough ride back into harbour in the afternoon

I chose to go the other way (softie!) - and went round the corner from East Point into Fannie Bay.
Here birds were working, mainly in small groups but there was one large flock of birds worth investigation. Firstly I thought it would be mackerel - not the best to chase around as very skittish. But the slashes were different to mackerel.

It turned out to be large packs of 50-60cm queenfish, while very sporadic in their appearance and almost always out of casting distance when they did show up - I chased them around Fanny Bay amongst the kids learning to sail.

I stop counting after 20 fish to hand, they all seemed to fight above their size and weight class. It was tremendous SWOFFING! heaps of fun!
I used clousers and surf candies on sinking lines - neither fly showing any dominance over the other. The fishing was so good I switched to a floating line and a crease fly but after only a few follows went back to the deep setup even though only in 3 metres of water (best for a faster stripping style)

I was looking around the area for fish with the fly hanging in the water and fluked a 55cm mackerel on the stationary fly I wasn't even looking at - don't think that one counts! (at least ethically maybe)

Interestingly when I was netting this mackerel, a large seabird dove into the net to grab the fish. I told him it was mine!

The bird (I think its name is a Brown Booby(?)) seemed quite lazy in its attempts to feed, just sitting on the water and occasionally putting its head under the water searching. I got focusing on fishing again and next thing the bird is sitting on my console not a metre from me. Eventually it took off after some rest time.

A few of the fish vomited up some bait, the bait varied in length from 3-5 cm - which help explain why the smaller candies and clousers were taken aggressively, rather then the half-hearted attempts of fish at the large flies I tested out.

Having had my fill of chasing fish around the bay, I needed a different fish under different circumstances - so headed up into the harbour, back towards my eventual take out point at East Arm Boat Ramp. It is not often I leave the fish biting in search of new horizons.

The wind was already starting to blow harder, so was thinking of heading back to boat ramp given the great Swoffing already experienced but around 11am about an hour after the turn of the tide, I stopped off in a little bay called (I think) Katlin Bay between Cullen bay and Larrakeyah

First thing seen was a couple of very small surface ripples in the opposite direction of the wind waves
Once closer the tell tail indication of yellow flash tells me Golden Trevally. There was a couple of schools the size of a small car, working the area.

To start with and from a distance, they looked quite small and right in the shallows, but the first hookup immediately told me differently. As usual the Golden's fought much harder than the same sized Giant trevally.

One took me into my backing very strongly in a matter of seconds. but my leader parted after a few minutes of back and forth. Bugger! would have liked to seen that one, definitely bigger than the others I had been catching, giving its determined long run with that tell tale trevally 'thumping' on the end of the line.

After fifteen Goldens to the boat up to 55cm, they didn't want to play anymore. But my day was done so no issue. The wind was increasing and it had been a great morning SWOFFING Darwin Harbour.

A little mischief to explain as well
Fished by myself this trip but I had asked a few mates to come - my regular deckie had to work (in Court all day so couldn't take a sickie), one on a course he couldn't get out of, another moving house, two others that didn't reply to my messages and emails - so all the time I was fishing, well when I caught a fish - a photo was duly taken and sent to them with a count of fish caught.
One said he hates me, one asked for a fillet or two from the Goldens, the one on the course sent back 'Grrrrrrr!" - me laughing the whole time! hahahahaha lol lol lol lol!
Love SWOFFING Darwin Harbour!

Enjoy the video - (up soon)