Queenfish at Six Mile Buoy

Started a bit earlier this trip and the tides very different to last trip – as in that this trip was neaps instead of the spring tides of a week ago. Low tide was before dawn and only a bit over a metre of movement to the high at 10:30am

These tides made chasing the million dollar Barra hard – and for someone like me who could not catch a Barra (let alone one with a red tag!) to save his life – impossible!

I don’t “live bait and wait” under a canopy, or blindly toss or troll lures - sooooo boring!!! Troll all day for two or three fish – no way. But cast a fly or two all day for a few tiny fish – any day of the week

The flats would also have far too much water for sight fishing too.

So current lines and rock bars were my options – as too the ever present Darwin bread and butter species – Queenfish or Brassie Trevally – I really just want to catch fish don’t care what they are.

I head out into harbour from East Arm ramp and immediately there is a swell and once past the army/navy loading ramp, the harbour chop is soooo annoyingly thumping into the bow of the boat. The weather report was wrong again – wind direction and strength of it!

I hug the shoreline past the cinema and the esplanade areas of the city slowly – thoughts of a very bad day with nothing appearing - let alone being caught - invade my mind

Given direction of wind, the sloppy chop and swell – I head to the Mandorah side of harbour hoping for some calmer waters – but quite slowly due to size of swell and chop

Still nothing seen

I remember the previous night’s news and its fishing report mentioning tuna and queens at the Six Mile Buoy

Although present for the last five months - I doubted the tuna were about given the time of year and water temps but visiting Mandorah and then going by the buoy (hoping tuna are actually about) on way to East Point and then onward to Lee Point - a viable option

Nothing at Mandorah but in the distance birds showing around the buoy – WOT time – yeehaaahh!!

When I arrive five or six boats working the area – all metal lure tossers

Some yahhooos come racing in hammering into the chop almost throwing the guy on the bow into the water with every bounce, they charged right into amongst splashing fish (and through the other 5-6 boats already working the pods) – typical young dickheads – they have a few casts – no results and then they take off ‘full boar’ again further offshore – bye bye and good riddance.

Thankfully the remaining boats work the fish better – casting from edges, aligning boats ahead of the feeding fish as they feed into the current and wind. It’s tough fishing with the swell and chop even standing to cast. Line blowing off casting deck – once almost wrapped the fly line into the slowing ticking over motor – very lucky!

The splashes are queenfish whom are under a few hundred birds in an area 300-600m NW of the red Six Mile Buoy – lots of 40-50cm fish, some 80-90+ but some much bigger - some look HUGE!!!

I use the tactics mentioned above too – I putter the boat to in front of the pods and drift back into them. I cast to the edges of the mayhem – first one I catch is an 80cm size but the fish it pushed aside to take the fly basically out of its mouth – damn! - was humungous and I mean it – it made that 80cm look puny! Very deep in body, at least 1.5 times the size of the 80cm version I hooked onto.

It wasn’t all tight lines and fast fish – as I cast short, I wrapped leader around rod tip, I would chase a pod and when I arrived the fly line is sooooo tangled, at other times impatiently I would cast one side of boat after they had disappeared - for them to blast around the surface only a rod length away on the other side of the boat just as the fly line lands on the water in the opposite direction!

Rookie mistake after rookie mistake – you wouldn’t think I have fly fished for over 35+ years.

But it gets me every time – the sight of fish actively feeding – splashing, slashing, fins on top of the water, seeing large fish, the flash of their broad silvery flanks - every time it makes me tremble, drool, and lose all bodily control of my arms and hands til I have no coordination!

And in turn I missed many fish- deer hunters call it buck fever.

I got broken off on a couple too, this on very, very strong fish – I have to be gentler and take the time to bring a fish in (when will I learn????). Would have loved to have measured how big those ones were as they were soooo strong compared to the 80-90s I caught – they fought down deep too not like the little ones, cavorting across the surface with leaps and jumps when hooked.

Time flies and the world disappears from the mind, as I chase the pods for four hours, the lure tossers come and go – not amused enough with the larger queenies as most only get the 40-50cm size but for my time I get 7 of the larger queenfish for the day, with the smallest that first one of 80cm, the biggest was 94cm. I had heaps of follows and was regularly changing flies – interestingly I had more luck with large flies than my usual safe bet for the harbour – the 1/0 silicone surf candy

I was also catching heaps of the small queenfish (didn’t even tally these) – they are so super keen for the fly and regular get the stripped flies off a big queenfish already chasing the fly – Man! I wanted those big ones

You could see them surfing in the wind chop waves and by waiting till the right size is about and casting to specific fish – and if the stars aligned and the fishing gods are smiling - I would get a bigger one - sooo much fun and all in sight of the Darwin city skyline.

Most times the bigger fish were 20-30m from the main melee of splashing, froth and baitfish leaping out of the water. I focused on these pods. The fish cruised about rather than rushed about – then when the moment came they crashed the baitfish rapidly and then resumed their casual cruising style. 

Except for not hooking them up every time - so cool to watch in the clear neap tide water

I was after a few fish for a cook up for the family the next day - so I knocked a couple on the head 

and placed them in an ice slurry but all the rest went back into the water after a few minutes of keeping the fly line tight before coming to the net

With wind, swell and chop increasing - I was off the water by midday – fish prepped for the next day’s family lunch by 2pm – boat clean, gear stored, batteries on charge – enjoying some aircon before the chaos of my kids coming home after a day out with their mum.

Who would live anywhere else? Gotta love Darwin and its fly fishing opportunities!

Go on – tie some flies and go get them wet – even for easy always there ‘bread and butter species’ like queenfish who are more than willing to ignore your mistakes like they do mine! Far better than sitting at home thinking about exotic places and species - and the money needed to chase them!