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.........