Darwin Harbour Fly Fishing - Part 2

So we have launched, visits first island, visited Shelly, then Wickham, then finally Weed Reef...
and that is the only the first few potential harbour hotspots covered in the previous blog

So what next?....

After Weed Reef which at times can be quite barren of scales and at other times a fish a cast....
We normally head towards Talc Head and then to the corner of the beach between Mandorah and Woods Inlet.

I have fished the creek behind the beach once and it screams fish but none came to hand on that occasion. I have been told by old timers that a few years ago there were a series of sand bars through here and permit were seen. The flats extending to that behind the beach creek mouth is well worth the slow drift to see what is about (especially when wind howling from offshore as its quite protected).

The main reason we come here is a T shaped rock bar on the corner. Its not showing in the Google earth screen shot shown here - but once we were casting to tip of rock as tide came in and got brassies, casting past the tip got queenies, casting away from rocks got grey macks, and if we let the fly sink right down face of rock ledge  - got Golden trevs. I have also caught jacks, cod and small coral trout here as well.

We then visit the area past the wharf and look again for reef drop off areas, tidal lines and working birds. Of which the birds can be very active in the areas between the channel marker bouys usually above better sized queenfish - I have blogged about the fishing here quite a few times.

We then cross the harbour to Cullen bay for a quite look at where I have seen more balls of golden trevally then any other place in the harbour (other than previously mentioned area just out from East arm ramp and an awesome 2nd session I had last Melbourne cup day out from the Esplanade )

Next spot for investigation is East Point. I caught my first harbour longtail here, the month I first arrived - landbased (I was so so lucky!).
But haven't been lucky enough to catch another yet - despite having a boat.
Found them, chased them (for hours!) - been absolutely frustrated by them!!

But there area few confluence current locations here at East Point always worth the time to investigate, also a few low but baitholding rock bars - so check out the area for working birds and actviely feeding fish slashing about. take your time look carefully.

From here, while a few spots along the way, we normally head straight for Lee Point
We do get distracted by disturbed water and feeding birds but usually fringe finned trevally (biggest get 20cm). They make a lot of commotion but don't quite make the grade as a fly target species. Saying that they are great for kids with a 4wegiht and a size 4 flashy clouser.

But you have to look - it just might be a big school of what you do want to catch. once with just one bird and the tiniest of slashes we got on to a big school of pelagics

Note - watch out for a low rock island (only an island at low tide levels). It is approximately west of the hospital half way to Lee Point from Nightcliffe ramp - stay wide till you get to Lee Point plus the tuna, well for me, like water around 30-35 feet deep. And you do get them along this stretch of water.

So we finally get to Lee Point - particularly the close in reefs..........

Between the two parallel reefs in top right corner of image above is where we first started catching fish a couple of years ago. Here you can find packs of marauding queenfish and trevally harassing baitfish and herding them against the reefs as the water pumps through.

However, lately we focus on the curling and 'U' shaped reefs sections north west of the main Lee Point beach
Here as the tide goes out (according to Peter an hour or so after the turn from high tide), the water starts to push against the reef rising upward rapidly to form a pressure line along the reef. Here the bait have issue with the pressure and hold against it creating a buffet for predator species.

It has been our most successful spot of recent times - grey and broad barred macks, tarpon, trevally - most species, queenfish. reef species too. If the pelagics species don't get the fly first as it drifts near the reef and its pressure wave. If you can drop, sink and drift your fly down the ledge of the reef - stripies, bluebone, small snapper and many other species are options. dont forget the tuna out a little wider, if you have the fortitude (fuel too!) to chase them as they mostly are quite sporadic and spread out between the porpoising slashes they are known for.

There can literally be thousands of yellow tail pike and garfish here at times sitting on top of the reef, but given how they periodically all leap out of the water as a large predator goes through - keep a 10 weight rigged with a larger fly if you want to target the very big queenfish and macks that zip though. On the reef as well, are so many tiny baitfish they darkening the water such are their numbers. I have seen the sounder screen full to the bottom from the top in 30 plus feet of water with massive schools of baitfish moving through. At times when being hammered by predators they hang so near the boat for safety such is the pressure upon them from the predators that gorge themselves on these small see through baitfish. When this happens I usually net a bucketful for my aquarium fish in the science lab at school - video somewhere on this blog about this.

We have caught fish one after the other, with multiple double hookups countless times, till despite fish slashing all about us, finally have to sit down to regather our strength for a few more casts. but also not seen a fish - though not often as the good times.

We came here once and about 8-10 boats were surrounding water frothed to a frenzy by fish attacking baitfish. We couldn't get to them due to the other boats which were lure tossers and bait fishers surrounding the working school of predators. However, they just couldn't match the hatch for the size of the baitfish nor the see through nature of the bait, nor work that top 15cms of the water column the way you can with the fly that is needed on this reef.
We put in the occasional long cast between boats when the opportunity came and caught a fish every time. With Peter doing his usually 'whaaaa hooo'ing and over acting the bend in his fly rod - the other boats still not catching fish, got pissed off at us and left the feeding fish behind. Then we moved in closer and caught grey mackerel after grey mackerel for the next few hours. Go the fly!!!!

Bring it on again!!

Hope that helps you get a tight fly line! Enjoy those Darwin harbour hotspots

Darwin harbour fly fishing - Part 1

Sorry I didn't get to come along on the planned trip on the 28th. Trailer and boat issues, and school reports due on the Monday.

So thought I would write up what I do when I fly fish the local Darwin Harbour.
While as to the what where and when.....
There is far more info out there then I know, and I fully admit my limited knowledge
What follows is the info I know and I share it so it might help u catch more fish more often
You might also share your exploits and I can learn more as well in turn.
I also know I am still learning every time I go out, which is the mind set we all need when on the water.

If you want to put a bend in your line regardless of species - these are the spots
Great spots for kids and beginners - as the casting is short, the stripping not crazy, the flies the simplest there is - clousers and surf candies.

So here we go....
I usually put the boat in at East Arm boat Ramp
Quite good since built, only the lowest of tides stops it being used. I have got in on a 0.75m tide but it was tight! Unlike Dinah Beach Ramp which can b almost cut off in any tide under 1.2m. plus it is a fairly short and straight drive from my place!

For East Arm ramp, watch the mud banks straight out and to the left of ramp, is a bit of a curve path out to island with deeper water on eastern side to get out into main shopping channel
Also a sand bar coming for island out front of ramp that comes toward and a bit to the right to the ramp to watch out for

The bay to the right of ramp as you head out can have queen fish about but I mostly work my way along the mangrove line edges casting towards the branches . Best time is just as the water is leaving the leaves. Barra and threadies I am told. Seen them but not had the skills to catch them yet.

The island out front of ramp is always worth a quick look as you head out to the harbour proper.

The inside bit of the curled sand bar on the ramp side is well worth the time to stop and look as you can get predators harassing baitfish trapped behind the sand bar as the tide rises and drops - middle part of the tide best

Have caught some large but mostly average sized golden trevally here and the shoreline the sand bar points to in the image above.
Once with my 4year old daughter (at the time, she is 6yrs now!), we caught 50cm to 60cm+ golden trevally here for two hours. (see link)
I would cast, she would strip fly and hang on for dear life as the goldens surged away with flies she had helped me tie the night before.

Great father, daughter time indeed. Two years later, she still brags about her fly fishing exploits that day.

It was amazing the number of boats that zip past fast as they took off from boat ramp to go to harbour. None looked to the writhing mass of fish around our boat - so take your time, stop and look, observe - you will catch more fish.

I look at about 8 or so locations on way to my current 'favouritous' harbour spot - Lee Point. But on the way always looking for current confluences and working birds. Sometimes the fly fishing found on the way to Lee Point is so good that I never get to Lee Point. Then again sometimes I drive around the harbour for four or so hours before finding fish. But that is the fun of it, isn't it?

The far tip of this island out the front of East Arm boat ramp can also produce queenfish  and trevally at the midway point of fast tides as a little eddy forms on the down current side that disorientated baitfish and thus the predators get quite active

The shoreline to the west of island, has a rock bar easily seen at low tide that can and has produced small trevs and skinnies. But once a pack of rolling gold kept me very busy as they gorged themselves on jelly prawns. Peter Cooke caught a great golden here another time. Most times it is a rising tide here that I get the best or more consistent results near this rock bar. Peter absolutely loved the casting to a boiling mass of goldens and picking out a nice fish from it. watching it zoom to his fly and take it - who wouldn't!

Some company is currently building of a new wharf that might change all this location's hotspots, even may change the sand bar location as the earthern wharf effects tidal flows. Time will tell - but most likely get very shallow right through here with less water flow due to position of this new wharf but that might be good for flats species??????

The corner from these rocks as you head into the back bay mentioned earlier also produces.
So I normally check all these spots for movement before heading out toward other spots.

Next spot would be Shelley Island, out from the east arm wharf

I prefer to fish the wharf side of island in an in flowing tide.
There is an easily seen tide line that forms here on an incoming tide (timing is about half way up tide) and predators hide in it and behind it, waiting for baitfish to swim past.
I anchor my boat a casting distance from tip of island, cast to the point of it
Then I drift the fly as it sinks across the face of this tidal line, keeping a slow strip to keep in touch with the fly
When fly line is straight down the tide, I fast strip in and repeat the whole process
At times you can see them or at least the evidence of their presence - skittering bait or underwater swirls, if not it only takes a few casts to know if they are there
Once on 30+knot winds and nearly metre swell after a very 'so so' day Peter and I cleaned up here on large queenies for over an hour till the tide rose too much and the tide line disappeared - loved it!

Next spot is Wickham Point - only a short run SW from Shelly Island

The 'U' shaped rock structure at extreme end of the rock bar pointing towards East Arm wharf, can hold plenty of fish, mostly small queenies and trevs but but I have caught a large Metre plus queenie here. Lost a few bnig ones here too!

At top of the tide, you can sometimes find large queenfish hiding in the top leaves of the couple of mangroves that hang onto to life on the top of this rock outcrop

But my favouritest spot on this harbour hotspot is the gravel bar between the couple of mangroves and the land. As the tide drops and the water gets skinny over the top of it. The predators line up wait down current of the gravel bar and scoop up anything small coming over the bar. There are plenty of rock piles in area so keep a look out as you might be in a metre plus water only to have a isolated rock grab your prop, if not scrap your hull. see blog - Melbourne Cup Day outing

More than a few times the fish have been writing mass behind this gravel bar more than a few times for me. Absolutely love when this happens. One time with my older daughter, Emily it was a fish a cast - she loved it and cant wait to come back up to Darwin to do it again.
You portion yourself a cast length down current of gravel bar and land fly on top of it and began stripping. Far too easy a times!

Next spot to visit is Weed Reef. Travelling between Wickham and Weed is across a large mud flat so be careful at bottom of tides. Suggest taking a wide berth and rather head to Weed Reef from in front of the deckchair cinema. even so there are a few other mud bars between the Esplanade and Week Reef. it is quite eye opening to see them on an extreme low tide - well worth the time to do so!

Once at Weed Reef, the spots to target vary depending on the tide and light.

I love to fish it just after dawn just as tide is starting to drop. The gravel bar (see map) is the place when tide has dropped enough to see most of the mangroves. When about a meter of water running over the top of the gravel bar. Great fishing especially when you get the cleaner water of the neap tides. Peter Cook got his PB harbour queenie here - 92cm to fork.
Check the City side of the front rocky area - trevally, queenfish and more at times

The trees closest to West Arm (see map) are good too at very top of tide with just the highest leaves exposed. Peter Cooke got a nice golden here that took him into the trees several times before coming to the net. had many a trip here se older blogs - Father and Son 1 Father and Son 2  Father and Son 3 

If I am wanting to be chasing Barra I fish a dawn top of tide here at Weed Reef till half way down, then head up West Arm to fish that last part of the dropping tide in the creeks. Then come back out before it's too low to get out and target Weed again as the tide comes back in.

More hot harbour fly fishing spot details in next blog.........

if u cant fish - you can tie flies

With trailer soon to be stripped of good parts, then all the rusted struts, cross beams and other bits cut up with 9" grinder and sent off to the tip
Also not forgetting the boat high and dry at the side of the house

Means no fishing for me for a while

So I might as well tie some flies and while watching catch up TV

Today, I am tying some clousers with a skirt of calf tail around the tail material to assist in less tail wrap of this craft fur
Added a two pronged mono guard as well, as last time out i needed tiny white clouser to be cast right into snag territory and I didnt have a single one with a weed guard
So I am tying up 25 of them today

trailer is stuffed

Got the boat off the trailer by tying back of it off to the rear fence and driving trailer away - well after a couple of attempts
It is now sitting on some wooden pallets

Also found out hydraulics for motor is again on the 'fritz' - bugger!

Once I got it to school and a covered work area, I attacked the trailer with hammer to knock off any rust.









Well talk about 'any' rust - it was all rust!!!

I found at least four parts of the trailer that were paper thin


So it is time to right off the trailer!

Bugger! Why? cause with the wife so focused on the house we are about to build - my fishing with a boat is way down, and I mean way down - her priority list.

I was quite optimistic about repairing the trailer, until the hammering took place and the hammer went through the chassis with the slightest effort

So also looks like a couple of land based trips - Dundee Beach north of town, city beaches like Cathie's recent sojourn to Dripstone area beach (awesome stuff by the way Cathie!!)

Then there is a few holes in my fly boxes that need filling to occupy my time

Well until Peter gets back from his trip home to Canada to see his folks

So down but not out!

i 

Trailer repair - #!

So,.....

Been majorly blessed by a mate who has given me a TIG/MIG welder and a regular arc welder plus a few other tools

AWESOME! ----  Thanks buddy!!!

But I did buy one of those new welding helmets that have those visors that darken automatically as soon as the welding starts (in 1/20000th of a second the promo tells me).

I am a crap welder - so need all the help I can get!!

I have cut some check gal plate out - one for top one for bottom of crack area, got a put a little bend in it on the day of welding to match the trailer chassis.

Will do some grinding also at weld points to ensure good contact for welding and to remove any rust or gal from old trailer and new bits of steel, specifically from join areas
Then weld in to place the steel gal plate
Finishing with a touch of anti-rust paint over the welds

Then the trailer is ready to rust some more when I launch the boat next weekend
Hopeful this fix-it-job will help the tailer last a year or so more
Or until the next area of trailer has rusted through and needs its own extra bit of steel plate welded on to it. Soon might be more steel plate than the old trailer - lucky I have my own welding equipment now!

right now though i am off to tie a few white clousers for a trip in Darwin Harbour on the 28th, two weekends time - Bring it on!!!!

Another rod to put a bend in

Just picked up a nice older version Strudwick 8weight, not sure of the year model
Been in the back of a friend's shed for several years
She thought I might use it and gave it to me - thank you nicely, don't mind if I do!

And it is not as if I don't need another fly rod, as we all know there is always room for one more rod in the boat, or at least the rod locker or rod stand - no matter the condition. In my retirement I might start finishing off some new rod blanks with accessories and might even repair a rod or two like I did 20 plus years ago, so I will basically take what anyone will give me,even if to store it for a few years.

I also have a couple of old cane rods tuck away in storage left to me by my dry fly purist English born grandfather who brought them with him to Australia after the First World War, that are going to look awesome above my fly tying table in the new house we are building this year. One of them is not in the best condition with the cork grip gnawed a little by rodents, a few cracks, lose thread and the sealer on the guides almost turned to dust, but they were the first rods I cast as a 9 year old. One is a Thomas and Thomas rod signature cane rod just under six feet in length, a two piece 4 weight that has to be pre-1920s. The serial number's first half is unreadable. Given its state of disrepair, I would never be able to use it as it currently is and it was only ever built for dry fly fishing for speckled ferals, I wouldn't want it restored by someone else either. One day I might cast it to a large brown trout in the river near my daughters home near Invercargill,  South Island New Zealand and its mighty Southland rivers.

But this other rod I got today from the back of someone else's the shed, still looks new if a bit dusty, it is a stiff fast action rod, heavier then more modern rods but still usable - even all day
It has an intermediate line on it and a fair condition large arbor reel (will strip it down and service the drag etc but seems to be OK, if also a little dusty). I used to have a 10w Strudwick rod when they used to recommend a 10w to catch flathead on the east coast a long time ago. I wonder if it is still going strong for who ever bought at the yard sale I had 15 years ago when starting my life over after my first (and hopefully only - touch wood!) divorce.

This 8# Strudwick fly rod casts quite well when I tried it this afternoon - in fact it turned quite a tight loop - (a rarity for me! with any rod!)
Can't wait to get something big bending it to test its limits and power!

But before any on the water testing I have to weld my boat trailer up where it is rusted and broken - This work planned for next weekend - photos and write up will ensue, I promise!

Day Two on the water was a predawn start again

Day Two on the water was a predawn start again.

We headed to the same first up location as yesterday

Arms quite fatigued from the plethora of casts made yesterday during the 6:30am to 6pm, that’s a 12 hour Day1, but after a few casts the smoothness soon returned ready for Day2’s 9 hour day (6:30am to 3pm)

The first hour of Day2 certainly didn’t set the world on fire but I eventually got a good toga and 9 or so small tarpon from the very back corner of the shallow bay.

Still dropping fish though – bugger.
One was a huge slab of fish, so mega deep in body depth it was heart breaking to drop it – the size was readily seen in the roll it made as it attacked the fly. Had it on for a few minutes before the line went slack metres out in open water – uuggghhh!

To add insult to my already wounded pride and fishing prowess - very next cast I get a 25cm catfish

We ventured back up the billabong to a place that Peter got four Saratoga in quick succession yesterday. Again it fired for us. I got one, dropped a few more and Peter got three.

We started to sink our flies deeper along the edge of the lilies. Wait for the fly to sink and then a few slow strips and we were on to bigger fish for a change. Smaller flies working for us rather than larger rabbit Barra flies I have previously had success with.
Peter got his biggest Saratoga this way – 63cm.

Tarpon again proved hard to get, especially the bigger ones. Which again impacted our score cards, unlike the top teams and participants.

Was grateful for the talk given by the eventual individual and team winner about how he did what he did to get the first place honours. we targeted the gapes between long weed lines, where he chose short length weed/lily patches let the fly sink deep amongst the lilies and then stripped it out. His all yellow size two hook clouser also attracted attention of the Tarpon allowing him to catch a full scoresheet line of tarpon (20 fish of a species on a line allowed) and even upgraded as bigger fish came to the net. Catching high teen figures of Saratoga numbers as well – especially when the total centimeters of saratoga and barra were doubled in value at end of the day. Interestingly the winner didn’t catch any Barra (or maybe one can’t remember – or could have been none like all but two anglers given low water conditions). Though Lord Jim who was not fishing the comp found a heap of Barra right up the opposite arm that we fished - when hardly anyone else could mind you - great angler is our Lord Jim! - see his recent blogs on the NT Fly Fishers blog site - Flood Drains and Love my Weekends

So back to the ramp at 3pm for lines in and once there Peter handed in scorecards to Tony and that was it for the comp - just debriefing to go

So in the end I managed just under 600 points for Day2 but still well below what I expected to get. I gained a few places from Day1 to end up coming 27th place. Peter dropped one place ending up 11th. Though he still caught seven good Saratoga, it was less Saratoga and tarpon than the others who were in front of him. Our toga on Day2 were bigger on average than the previous day due to us fishing our flies deeper under the lilies

At the debrief and finger food back at the Tavern, I got door prize raffle of a gift voucher from Voyager Trailers (much needed for my poor and busted rusting trailer). Peter got a large box of fly materials ($200 worth) for his door prize (hoping to pinch some of that on the sly!). For coming 11th – he got a six pack of sponsors beer, a hat etc. Plus for catching the biggest Saratoga for the comp he won a new TFO fly rod. So while wanting to end up higher in the teams and individual that he did get, Peter was still very pleased with his outcomes from the competition.

So I feel I let the team down considerably as a team we came 10th out of sixteen teams. We are keen for next year to improve our results.

Our team '2FLY4u' got 2492 points in total - first place had 4799 points. Seems those dropped toga of mine were crucial - and the lack of bigger tarpon as too a full line of them (usually easy points).

As such a few practice sessions are planned, well once a few size 2 hook yellow white clousers with lead eyes are tied (images and details blogged about this process soon) . And when Peter gets back from two weeks back in Canada with his Dad and one week in Cairns with some old friends over the next month.

i may not get a fish while he is away as my boat trailer is still not roadworthy – but I am working on it with my limited metal working skills and experience. Thinking of welding on a large triangle of plate steel that encompasses the broken part top and bottom. Also need a new electric motor before I head to the billabongs in my boat such its the need to be in the right place and the right distance from the places the target species would be waiting in ambush. So many things to do so little time and money!

More Fly fishing (SWOFFING) blogs to come soon – stay tuned.

Day1 of two hard days of competition at Corroboree Billabong

First day found us on the water before dawn but already several boats out there on the water given the number of empty trailers in the carpark. The ride out to our first spot nothing but spectacular!

One boat got on to the water at 3am to ensure they got one of the very few water flow channels into the billabong before anyone else. The backwater wast covered in herons, cranes and other water birds indicating the abundance of baitfish. As we past them just after lines in (6:30am) one of the anglers was hanging on grimly to a very bent fly rod. Later found out it was an 87cm barra – well done for the early out of bed effort (thinking I am getting too old for that sort of thing!). They caught nearly all of the barra caught in total during the comp. This team eventually came second for the competition mostly due to this extra effort to get out early onto the water and some prefish investigations before the comp started.

We headed right to far end (30+ minute run) of the billabong to a shallow bay (average 12feet deep) that is fully lined on all sides with lilies and deep grass, we had caught all the main target species of the comp here in the past.

I got a 42cm saratoga second cast off the front corner while Peter was still rigging his rod, then a smallish tarpon on the fourth cast – so really thought I was going to do well for the day.

The intricate pattern on a saratoga’s sacles never ceases to astound and fascinate me. Magical!

But not so – 9 dropped toga for the day for me, and only one to the boat, as well only two small tarpon left me with only 125 for the day. A few years back I was the FW Tarpon King, catching the largest tarpon for two competitions. A full line of tarpon is easy most trips, so it shows I wasn’t fishing too well at all. The front runners of comp were getting 1000 plus points. Very sad for me. The other guys in club know I can fish and asked me if I had forgotten how to fish later that night at the debriefing – quite embarrassing – but we all had a good laugh about it.

So for the first day, I was 30th out of 32 anglers with my 125 points. I might add two of the participants had never used a fly rod or fished in tropical waters before Day One and one of them did better than me on Day1. Time to quit maybe was the thought more than a few times. But the nest day was beckoning and the eternal optimist of a fly fishing had me quickly dreaming of better success.

My fishing partner had a much better day although he dropped 7 toga himself – I netted 9 toga for him (largest 50+cm) and 10 tarpon (mostly small ones largest 35cm)

Peter was 10th at end day one with just under a 1000 points – both of us regretting those so many dropped fish. Team wise I was really letting down the team score.

We were mostly using Peter’s smallish orange collared black tailed fly, Peter’s flies had a touch of gold prismatic flash while mine had none. Peter also used pink and black as shown here pinned in the corner of a Saratoga's mouth

Normally you can pick up lots of tarpon on outer edge of lilies. You cast way back into the lilies and use slow strips, always anticipating the subtle slow take of ‘toga (but at times they hit like a freight train, especially larger ones). Then once out of weeds a meter or two, you leave the Saratoga zone behind so start a crisp staccato strip to entice a tarpon to take the fly. But not today. Peter got a 28 and a 35cm tarpon this way. I hardly got a follow – lack of flash issues???? Who knows just wasn’t my day, bad karma maybe? And the more you miss a fish or drop a fish - the more you get too tense and the even less fish you take – bad circles of grief all round! We did chop and change flies a little but it didn’t change success rates too much. Man, we needed a plan for Day Two. (well maybe just me, peter was doing OK)

Thinking on it, we only fishing the top meter or so of the water column – which we found out next day we should have fished deeper.

But aside from my low score card, both of us had a great Day One, so great as always to just be on the water. I actually danced a little jig when we started motoring to back of billabong such was my excitement and anticipation. So, great day fly fishing, although the day was also frustrating with too many dropped fish, as too weather stiflingly hot at times and not many tarpon of size.

That evening with all teams siting down for a combined three course meal at the Corroboree Park Tavern and some debriefing and scores presentation for day one, and then straight after, I hit the sack like a dead man till the alarm buzzed at 5:15am next morning, to do it all over again.

Day two up on blog soon!