Day One - Bynoe Sheep Stakes

So I was off to Sand Palms Pub Motel for the weekend for the NT Fly Fishers Social Mob and its annual Sheep Station Stakes

Arrive Friday midday - had a swim in the motel pool (amazingly water still chilly even after a few weeks of 35 Celsius days!), showered, relaxed, had a snooze, and then had a great dinner. But after working on fencing my rural block for last few weeks, only shortly after seeing a few of the regular faces for a short chat on recent fishing exploits - I went to bed early and slept quite soundly.

Day One gave us an awesome sunrise which found us just off SW corner of Knife Island. Not much about to begin with, we both agreed a half hour later at this spot would make all the difference. And after looking around a bit on other side of island we came back just in time for the action to start up. Most times it is all about that perfect time or window of time for the fishing to get interesting.

Our target species for bonus points were a trevally of any species (changed from specifically a Diamond Trevally due to scarcity of such in this area), mangrove jack, any type of cod, and finally a Threadfin Salmon. Having caught all of these species regularly during my time up here, my hopes were high of catching three or four of the key list species, if not five.

Early on the Macks were out wide of island but didn’t want to play. But inside the sand bar right next to SW corner of Knife Island as the out-going tide slipped over the sand/gravel bar, the fish wanted to play big time. Small Queenfish, GTs and Golden trevally were repeated visitors to the net. Nothing real big but plenty of them. The queenfish were just extra points, while the trevally potentially multiple points if more of the key species were eventually caught. 

The main fish in this area eventually slowed down their enthusiasm for our flies so we drifted with wind and current to the north. Here more queenfish were found attacking baitfish sporadic in location and timing - while having to chase them about the area on the electric, regularly they came tight on our fly lines. So around Knife Island, we both got trevally for our first needed species and Peter arsed a small mack randomly and unexpectedly while doing nothing but a little jiggle of his fly, giving him for his second species of Day One's key species list.

With the goal of five species for maximum bonus points, we leave active fish to pop over to the rocky area close to the pearl farm NE of Knife Island. Here we both got another of key species for the day. However while it was only a 10cm long estuary cod was caught, it put Peter into triple bonus and a few cast later I get my own estuary cod of 9cm that put me into double bonus points. I got a second one a bit later a few centimeters longer.

Even with fish busting up around us (queenfish and trevally) but given the dropping tide we then had to move to locations more suited to our other key species we wanted - Mangrove Jacks and Threadfin salmon.

Earlier we had fished too long at one of our locations chasing species not on the key list, but while still racking up points and regularly upgrading our biggest five of a species, we missed the tide window for my favourite Threadfin flat – bugger it was already high and dry. We then fish the next flat towards the back of Bynoe harbor hoping for a stray threadie or while not on the list a barra or two - but although several indications via slashing in shallow water all our time used here didn’t result in any more fish. We did get a few follows from some Pikey Bream though - but again not on the list.

Again we found ourselves a bit behind in our tidal and location timetable - we fished several rocky areas up the Annie River and given most rocks and gravel bars were already well out of the water - nothing responded to our flies towards getting a Mangrove Jack. Soon the tide was turning and flowing back in and thus the threadfin salmon were already moving into the mangrove roots and backwaters we couldn't get to. Timing is everything when chasing species and restricted to a tight timetable over large distances makes it more difficult.

So back to top of Knife Island with a short stopover at Kiara Rock along the way for a few more 35cm trevally and a quite strange fish, the Wolf Herring whose scales and slim went everywhere when it came to hand, such a weird looking fish with teeth so out of size to its head all on its bottom jaw (see video below for a brief glimpse).

When we arrived at Knife, the wind had changed direction and intensity dramatically. White caps everywhere due to howling 20knot + wind from North. Being only two o’clock, we had plenty of time for other species - like maybe blue salmon and tarpon I heard on the grapevine were about up a creek west of Knife Island. But it was really rough and in Peter's boat (actually any boat in this howling wind) across the face of the waves we would get soaking wet - so we chickened out. Then both of us spoke at the same time about heading back to pearl farm again. Peters boat handles extremely well straight into the wind chop. Other reasons being, the peninsula the pearl farm sheds are on would sheltered the rock strewn area on its SE side from the howling wind. The tide was now rising but casting out of the howling wind a far better option.

Several fish packs were roaming the area and we manage several more fish - resulting in upgrades and fish caught numbers wise but sadly no jacks or threadies! Or for that matter a mack that I needed as too any size of these three fish species for extensive bonus points). 

Then a rolling pack of Golden trevally surged in and out of the area. It was captivating SWOFFING, waiting for the goldens to arrive and casting at the perfect time for their sporadic visit, hooking up to several fish over the next hour or so. With howling winds everywhere else and a couple of hours left to fish in the day – it wasn’t such a bad way to spend some time.

We did spy some weird fish in the leaves of the now high tide water covered mangroves. Forked ghostly tails, and not with the same body shape as the mullet moving about in the same area. They kept moving around and we never got a good view of them to identify them (or catch them). They seems to be eating something off the sunken mangrove leaves. 

By this time the wind had backed off a little, so even though time was short for handing the scorecards in, we went back to Knife Island again and found more actively feeding fish to cast to. Peter thoroughly enjoyed himself heading boat into huge wind chop waves to chase more queenfish and trevally viciously slashing the surface along the east side of Knife Island - he upgraded several times.

We were hoping give tide, wind and location to catch my third species but still no mackerel took an interest in my flies being retrieved, and retrieved, and retrieved, and retrieved, and retrieved!

We eventually pull the boat out with just enough time to hand in score sheets.

Despite being a hard day fishing we did better than most. So much so Peter ended up in first place - thanks to his triple bonus points for three species (only two others got three species) and late upgrades to his various species. With my only two bonus species I get third place – man I needed one more of the specific bonus species. Still Peter caught 30+ fish, and I caught 45 plus fish for the day so we caught plenty of fish. But remember only the best five of each species counts. I had bigger fish too than Peter but it is all about the bonus points of catching the five key species for the day. We caught plenty of other species too – Russell snapper, wolf herring, etc to all add their points to the grand total.

The flies for the day were the silicone surf candy, Peter's pink over white clouser and for me small bucktail or goat hair white clousers. (I will have to put up fly tying videos of these eventually!)

  

Onto Day Two with high hopes. Just before we went to sleep, I lay out a plan of attack for day two to target the five species for Sunday are Barra, Tarpon, Pikey Bream, Mangrove Jack (again) and Golden Trevally. Peter is keen and so am I. After 12 hours on the water, casting mostly in high winds, sleep came very easily!

Until Day two!

Here is video of some of the days action.