Darwin cup day

A public holiday in Darwin last Monday - time for SWOFFING!!!!

Had 20 grey over white clousers tied for the pelagics
Why tie one when you can tie 20..........
I tie these very rough and untidy - adds to the subtlety of the fly

Peter and I head off early for Dinah Beach ramp, on the water by 6:30am as sun peaking over the horizon - and then to Lee Point again (why not, as fish always there on dropping tide)

Forecast was for strong winds all day so we thought an hour at Lee Point and then onto creeks to try for some Barra and such on mud flats as last of tide dropped out. the low was just after lunch at just a little more than a meter so we would see a lot of structure we hadn't see before or for a while so a great opportunity to explore when the inevitable wind started howling across the harbour

However, the fish were all over the reef at Lee Point.
At first with so much water over the reefs (max spring tides to 7+m high at eight a.m.) the fish were spread out and tentative

But still we caught fish and were the only boat out there, other boats off in the distance but we had the whole of Lee Point close in reefs to ourselves

As the tide dropped the fish started to get more aggressive towards the fly and the bait hugging the reef

By 9am the water had glassed off (see video at end of this blog) and the fly fishing just got better and better. At times a fish a cast.
I needed a few fish for a school subject (dissection and identifying gut contents) and the variety of species proved fortuitous
Large stripies, goldens, GTs, grey macks, small narrow barred macks, queenfish, yellow tail pike, longtom and even one foul hooked garfish - a large one good enough to even fillet.

Till 1pm we had calm seas, mirror calm, and fish action all around us. Then in seconds the wind came up, shifted, and white caps pushed us off the reef

We then headed for the creeks, however with a stopover at Cullen Bay ferry ramp for a pit stop (me) and the most awesome hot chips i have eaten in a while. Which Peter's lovely wife brought to us. We headed back out to the wind towards the creeks and we heard a loud whistle.

Initially we thought it was the plethora of birds of prey (Brown Buzzards) swirling above us and the entrance to Cullen Bay Dock area, but it was Peter's wife again (man! Has she got a whistle) - in that wind, with us almost out of the small bay....

She had forgotten to gives us the prime reason for the stopover in Cullen Bay - the remote for the electric Peter had forgotten this morning. they live on the waterfront at Nightcliff but the water was too far out to get in to Nightcliff wharf, let alone the silted up boat ramp there.

Now off to the creeks....
Fairly slow fishing, tide was already rising - we had missed my favourite time of tide for creeks - the very last of the outgoing tide. Just love casting to the ends of 'snake' drains and the muddy plume that flows from them as they are perfect ambush points for the predators - namely Barra and Threadfin salmon.

For the next few hours we cast and cast but to no avail. We sighted a few disturbances of bait being harassed. But only had one half take from the boil, flash and location a Barra - my Barra nemesis issues continue!

Before we knew it it was 5pm and we had been going since hitting the water 6:30am
Long day. Lee Point proved awesome again! We learnt more about Darwin Harbour creeks - soooo much more to learn .

Short Darwin Harbour Trip

Despite the windy forecast Friday morning started off quite calm

So after playing around with the daughter’s new pony – feeding, poo collecting, brushing, putting on saddle, riding, walking (i.e. boring!!! And a ‘job’ that is going to interfere with fishing most Sundays from now on!) – and the 'calmish' wind conditions - I suggested a boat drive around the harbour for the kids (with a bit of fishing tucked in of course!!) Yes was the answer. so while they washed the horse etc I head home to get boat ready.

Crank battery was flat, so while loading up boat with ice, drink and tackle – gave it enough charge to get it started then family gets home and its off to the water with all and sundry. much less gear when i go by myself and easier!

One of my older daughters from my first marriage has been visiting and since an episode when a toddler when I launched my boat with her in it - alone and she thought I was sending her off alone in boat she hasn’t exactly loved fishing or boating – or water for that matter!

So when she consented to come out on the water with us I was quite excited. The wife and my youngest two were soon covered up for sun and life jackets on, Emily has all the trappings of a fly fisher on - buff, pants, fly fishing shirt – so off we go.

Impeller not working the best at low revs, so have to look into that quite soon before it causes any damage, but off we go.

Not much chop, wind in the right direction, first stop Shell Island near the ore/cattle loading wharf of East Arm. Nothing about. So continued the boat ride for the family back past the new gas plant being built for a look at the progress of the construction.

Next thing I knew the littlest daughter was asleep driving the boat. Yep, one minute she steering the boat with me while sitting in my lap and then she is asleep! 

So who is boring now!

Dropping the wife and youngest two back at the boat ramp freed up older daughter and I for an hour or two of fishing! Yeeeh haahhh!!

Wickham Point was the first spot. Hour after dropping tide should have heated up the sand/gravel bar at back of Wickham Point rocks but nothing about. We used the electric motor to travel west along shoreline towards the liquid gas loading wharf.

A few fish showing, a boil or two – then absolute mayhem amongst the rocks on the western side of the beach area as a pack of Trevally about the size of a family car exploded the water harassing bait against and up onto the rocks. I pulled one 45cm trevally out of the writhing pack of fish. My daughter astounded by the actively highly visible fish right next to the boat - fish oblivious to our presence such was the trevally’s focus on eating so voraciously. Quite a spectacular scene having several hundred fish gulping down baitfish on the surface – huge open mouths and backs out of the water.

The commotion brought in queenfish that could be seen flashing past us to join in the feeding frenzy. My daughter was wearing polaroids so was seeing all the action around the feeding fish as well, follows of multiple fish on the fly she was casting on a spin rod. We saw rays and sharks much to her enjoyment of the outing. Eventual all went quite. Well mostly due to my anchor activities.

My lead blob anchor got caught around some rocks and I made a fair bit of commotion trying to get it loose. I left it there with the ball float to come back at a lower tide in a hour or two to try to get it off the rock it was attached to.

To fill in the time while waiting for tide to drop, we ventured over to Weed Reef. The wind had been dropping all the time we had been on the water so the trip was relatively smooth travelling. My daughter even had a drive - wooohooo!

On arrival at Weed Reef, the dropping tide was putting the gravel bar into play for the predators and baitfish

As the tidal rush went over the gravel bar it created a barrier line for the bait and the predators were slashing away at the bait on the up tidal flow side of the gravel bar where the water was almost glass. With the water also being so clear we could easily see the predators (goldens and bigger queenies) moving about the 4 foot deep flat.  

Daughter, Emily, was very much enjoying casting to surface disturbances and particularly watching the multiple fish slash and charge after the fly she was using.

She hooked up a few and so did I, then it was time to leave. 

The multiple active fishing locations, the exuberance of the aggressively feeding fish - reignited my daughters fishing fire - so awesome! 

Now to get her SWOFFING again like when she was 10 catching carp with roll casts in Lake Liddell near Newcastle

Blob anchor still there at Wickham Point near the beach rocks - even with me jumping in the water to try to dislodge it.

Overall it was a great couple of hours on the water. Well worth the effort

Still a few litres of water in bottom of boat for those couple of hours – so more investigations needed there!

See you on the water.

NT Swoffer

20150705 - Lee Point and glassy baitfish

Started off this last Sunday morning in Peter's boat at Dinah Beach Ramp before the sun was up

The wind that was in our faces was so way off the forecast that someone should sacked. The wind was howling 10-15 knots rather than the 1-5 knot forecast and in the opposite direction! The 30cm chop that pounded the boat ramp as soon as we were in the water – was not encouraging! Given it was supposed to be a lot calmer.

Still we headed out to Lee Point with no stops along the way - getting pretty wet in the wind swept and choppy harbour as we headed out to the front of the harbour and Lee Point. we wove through a large number of naval boats here for exercises in the Timor Sea in the next couple of weeks, even a large black submarine off Talc Head was seen. 

Once we arrived at Lee Point, while the water was very clear, we were still about an hour before the top of the ‘springish’ tide – and absolutely nothing was showing fish wise - and worse there was still lots of wind and a heavy chop coming all the way across from Shoal bay.

We moved around a bit searching the various spots near Lee Point. We hung around the area because we knew even though nothing was showing at the top of the tide as soon as it dropped a bit the baitfish would be funnelled around and over our favourite reef and its Spot 'X'.

It was pretty boring with nothing happening fish wise - so I was being lulled into sleep mode by the chop and wave action waiting for the pelagics to start slashing at the water surface.

At the reef we mostly target, the tidal current goes the opposite way you would expect given the swirl from Shoal bay and the flow in and out of the main harbour. High tide was 8:15am and at around 10am we started seeing action around the area. We chased a few in the area around the reef but quite flighty and inconsistent. So we kept heading back to our Spot X about 500m North-West off the tip of the beach of Lee Point. It’s a semi-circle reef section  that corrals the baitfish to gaps in the reef. Sadly for the bait fish the pelagics gang up on them in front and behind the reef as they slip though – but awesome fun for us. as it tells us where to cast.

Plus the wind had started to back off - so it was feeling quite nice out on the point 

For the next two hours it was if someone had touched a switch changing the attitude of the fish in the immediate area – total mayhem after a hour or two of nothing. Macks to 50-60cm, queenies were small 40-50cm but the odd big one over 60-70cm mixed in. 

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There were some absolutely huge slashes at times in the distance and once a large number of meter plus macks and queenies were right under the boat in very clear water easily seen harassing the big garfish and yellowtail pike who were also gorging themselves on the prolific numbers of small baitfish. The 20cm size garfish and pike were jumping everywhere to get out of their way.

The pike were also jumping about and flicking out of the water - right at the back of the boat. I was wondering why, when I finally had a closer look I saw a patch of the small baitfish next to the prop of the outboard, seemingly sheltering for safety near it. Thousands and thousands of them were in the area between us and the reef. I even scooped a few up to feed my large tropical fish at school. 

See video here for a clip on the bait hiding at the back of the boat around the motor.

We kept a few macks for the table and a couple of the bigger queenies. Off the side of the reef Peter got a nice 35cm stripie - one of the biggest I have seen since coming up here to Darwin, and we both caught a plethora of other reef species. There was a short period when the golden trevally were about but we only got one of them to hand. It was so brilliant in its yellow hues. I think the flies never got deep enough for them, with the queenies and macks taking most flies we cast

Once Peter was on a hot streak with the macks and as the new Deckie I would net the fish, and as we wanted a few for the table, I would wack its head to calm it down (that is kill it!) and head to back of boat to de-head it, bleed it and clean it. But before I had time to finish he had cast again and was hooked up again. He had three in the net and the one I was cleaning all in four casts. and the poor deckie wasn't getting any fishing in!!! wah wah wah!  poor me!

We used closuers of any type and colour – only size seemed the main criteria – if the fly equal to the size of the bait fish (4-5cm) and you got follows and hits. I mostly was using a grey over white clouser on size 1 hooks with beadchain eyes. We also used a silicone based surf candy I made up 20 of last week - which were if a touch longer than the actual baitfish - were an almost perfect match texture, colouring and size for the glassy baitfish everything was eating. note: I feel the silicone has a different sink rate to an all epoxy surf candy. Adding a different bite and feel in the mouth to the predator fish too.

After over two hours of great SWOFFING with fish after fish, and multiple double hookups - we left the fish biting and slashing at the bait and our flies as sadly I had to be back home for afternoon family stuff and we had a change of shift at the boat ramp between myself and Peter's wife and her daughter - for their family time (a picnic on the low tide sand bar off Cullen Bay). I hope the wind stayed calm for their outing.

Adding to our excitement of our SWOFFING was that it was another time when the fly reigned supreme with Peter and I being to only ones catching fish of any numbers of the 6 or so boats working the area. You just cant match the size and action of the targeted baitfish with metal slices or soft plastics which sink too fast - most of the takes we got where on subtly stripped flies rather than rapidly stripped ones. Casting the flies across the tidal current to drift the across the edges of the reef worked the best. It wasn't just cast long and strip fast - you had to think about it and cast accurately to the actively feeding fish. Longer cast were made almost full line length (wind assisted in my case) but most casts made were only 40-60feet. Even caught a few fish after dehooking a fish and tossing the fly to sink slowly right at back of the boat while washing hands of fish slime, such was the aggressive mood of the predator fish.

So now to clean a few fish I kept and cook them up for dinner.

See you on the water.

NT Swoffer 

Got an email from Jeff Watson - a fellow Darwinite SWOFFER - with this photo asking if this was me and Peter fishing. That's Peter up front and me in back with yellow shirt right on Spot X. Twice now he has been on the beach at Lee Point and seen us getting into the fish. He was land based and targeting sand whiting on the beaches. 

Wind, wind, wind, wind...........aahhhggggg

Nothing but wind, wind, wind, wind, wind, wind, wind, wind, wind, wind, wind, wind, wind, wind, wind, wind, wind, wind, and more wind, and stronger wind............................

See video for a calmest part of the day

This was Thursday with volunteer bus driver from school
Not a fish to be seen, wind everywhere and huge chop and waves
White caps everywhere, even on leeward side of headland and islands etc

So not the best day for SWOFFING or driving a boat
from Wickham Point to the ramp it was every wave splashing into the wind and covering us
very very wet and wild today

maybe next time (thinking about Sunday with ex-deckie in his boat)
until then
tight lines and fast fish

20150622 – All over Darwin Harbour – Twice

First Day of school holidays and first time using my own boat in several weeks

Was going to take out the volunteer bus driver from school but he was a bit under the weather

So it was just me fishing, which was fine…..

Up a little later than normal due to dropping Youngest daughter off at day care. Found out later in day she told everyone who would listen that Daddy was fishing today. Must teach her a new word – SWOFFING! As far better than fishing or dangling let alone trolling!

Having fueled up and iced up the day before so as soon as daughter was tucked into day care, it was a straight road to the boat ramp. Was on water by 7:45am. Would have been earlier but left chain on boat and after three attempts to jolt the boat off the trailer I remembered I stopped undoing chain as bolt had rusted frozen and needed pliers to get it undone.

Once up ramp a bit, undid the bolt – at least I had put the bungs in (who hasn’t at one time or another done that!) Steering free and easy, motor starts first try – awesome (has the school holiday curse been lifted????)

Quite windy, chop short and messy – I must have toughened up since my last sook about windy conditions the harbor seems to be producing, because I head out quite optimistic (unusual I know!)

Headed out to Shelly Island first – tide had two more hours of inflow before reversing, so the wharf side of island usually holds a few fish as this stage of tide.

Fish not in the usual tide line but out the front of the island, every few minutes bursting the surface attacking bait pushed up against the island shallows. Trevally, queenfish the main but a few of the typical slashes that suggest small macks mixed in with them. I hook up almost instantly, lost a few flies to macks, kept a bigger trevally for dinner. Tossed the rest back. A half hour of fun and they just disappeared as if they were never there.

Sorry pic not in focus - only one I took for the day too! have to pick up the standard.

Next stop was Caitlyn bay – nothing

East Point – macks about and lost two flies to them, Then some BIG queenies zipped in and out without taking my flies and scaring me as to their size and potential fight (that didn’t happen!)

With only a bit of incoming tide left, I raced out front to Lee Point (Deckie Peter in his boat in the previous afternoon wind lull got into a heap of fish, so I was hoping  they were still there)

On arrival very windy and subsequent swell and chop, no fish seen. After a half hour of blind casting I got two macks, and a queenie. But thought I would head back into main harbour to see what was about out of the wind

Would find a few birds working make a few casts catch a fish or two – then quite again. So off to another spot, rock bar, reef or current confluence. I made it all the way to back of Harbour and the Elizabeth River and an island just at mouth. Caught a few macks here, one with a perfect V cut behind its anal fin – just like one its mates had taken a chunk out it.

Back to Shellie Island, a few more fish on the outgoing tide. Next was Wickham point – now this was a great time

The water levels were dropping so the sand bar at the back of Wickham point was funnelling the water and thus  the bait through a narrow chute, confused and disorientated as they transverse the sandbar making them easy takings for the queenies and trevally waiting for them.

By the time I caught three the tide had dropped too far and the bait moved else where as too the predators.

First time for the day visit to Weed Reef – not much showing at usual halfway down tide locations. A few more of the usual for some blind casting.but that is boring. I love casting to fish busting up the surface. So off to Mandorah T bar reef south of wharf. Only very small stuff here.

Wind had been dropping off all morning – so headed for East Point. Nothing here of note. So out to Lee Point again.

Water was bubbling all over the reef. Mostly larger macks to 70cm, under them some 40cm goldens.

Was losing heaps of flies to the macks, so added on a haywire twist of 20lb single strand wire in front of the fly. Figure eight knot on end of wire to tie the mono leader to with a uni knot (slides down to figure 8 knot). Not much wire just 5cm or so. Still it impacted strike rates on the small white clousers I was using.

Caught 6 macks and a couple of goldens before it was time to head home. I have no nav lights so had to back at ramp before sun went down.

Had a 70cm+ golden on but lost it on second netting attempt after 15 minutes of struggle - where is the deckie when you need him!!! oh that's right working!

On way back in I fished East Point, Caitlyn bay, the area in front of the Deckchair Cinema and Shellie Island again for a few fish each location. Nothing huge, nothing constant – at least 50 fish over the 10 and half hours on the water but it seemed a hard day.
Averaged out to five fish an hour but lots of travelling time to and fro.

Twice around the harbour. Well maybe not around twice but at least it was out and in twice and lots of swerving from one side of the harbour to the other side and back.

It was almost the holiday curse back as I pulled the boat out. While the boat was on the trailer half way up the ramp I stopped and pulled the boat bungs - SADLY about 20 litres came out - damn! another keel crack!*^&*&%&#$^%#

But on filling it up with water when home not a leak (one very very tiny one (not near keel either) but certainly not 20 litres worth. So why why why...?????

Then I remember I haven't taken the boat out for at least four weeks which means the rain storm from three weeks ago was the culprit not a crack - thank goodness!!!!

It’s been a long time since I fished that long, let alone half the day in 5-10 knot winds.

What’s next? Thursday looks good for another time in and out of the harbour.

Until then..

One more thing on bungs -when I was pulling out after a long day - a couple of young blokes had left their bung out when they launched and by the time the ute driver got back to the boat the little tinnie was a third full of water. We hauled it up the ramp and let the water run out. Took four of us to haul it but tide was coming in so once water was out they wouldn't have issues relaunching it.
So make sure your bungs are in before launch next time out!

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20150614 - Lee Point Trip report - Goldens, Macks and queenies

Spent late Saturday afternoon helping Canadian Pete, putting in a 24 volt battery system and his new toy - an 80lb motorguide GPS guided trolling motor.

What a huge electric thruster. You can even get 36volt version now. I remember buying one of the first models available in Australia - a hand tiller one I had on a canoe to fish Hinze Dam on the Gold Coast – it was a no combustion engine dam. Would have been late 80’s early 90’s

How things have changes. Track memory, anchor points, home points all at the touch of a button

The scary thing was drilling those holes to hold the plate down and getting it right!

 so absolute 

Once that was done – the rest was easy.

Still a few more things to do – wiring on trailer a bit iffy and get another 120amp battery (using one 

of mine at the moment)

So with that done a little sleep and up at 5;30am to get on water at Dinah Beach ramp before the sunrise.

Weather was going to be windy but manageable in Peter’s higher sided, thicker hulled boat when compared with mine.

We head out to Lee Point with a short stop in Caitlyn Bay – just in case some Golden trevally in that same corner on that same stage of the dropping tide – but not today.

Once out to Lee Point several other boats were there but none fly fishing

Around these boats, fish were readily seen busting up bait that was huddled for shelter over a reef that was being exposed by the dropping tide

The other boats were casting lures and baits for no effect except some small yellow tail pike

Second cast I was on to a mackerel, Peter not much later.

We had double hook ups and at least one of us hooked up most of the next two hours.

The other boats – almost nothing. You could hear them talking about how they wished they had taken up fly fishing.

we had a great time, watching the mackerel react to the flies in very clear water. they were just rolling around in amongst the bait. You could even pick the fish you wanted to cast to - awesome  fun!

It was almost embarrassing the fish numbers we were catching (when compared to the other boat working the same area – Golden trevally when you let the fly sink right down to edge of reef, - yellow tail pike, queenies and mackerel depending on the stripping action you put on the fly and location of cast. used clousers in white,  blue over white, and surf candies  blue, charteuse, and all white. I don't think fly type mattered as much as size, stripping action and location cast to.

While Nothing big - heaps and heaps of fun - Queenies to 45cm, mackerel to 50 (but quite solid in the hand not skinny like previous outings), Goldens to 40cm (kept a few of these Goldens for dinner)

We ventured off to find bigger fish. Found some tuna but they were quite sporadic and only in ones and twos. Bust up here, bust up over there – chase them and they wold bust up  where you once were!

No luck with the tuna - quite frustrating to see them and not get them!*(^*^$*^%#^&%#

Spent rest of day visiting our favourite spots around the harbor for not much else – a queenie or two, a Mack. Once Peter got a small Strippie that got muscled by a huge dark shape that stayed connected for a while before breaking the leader and shredding part of the fly line.

So tough day but plenty of fish early on – best part no one but  fly fishers getting in to the fish at Lee Point – GO THE FLY!!!!

When is the next trip???????????  

(four weeks of school holidays coming up  next week so should get more SWOFFING in - I hope as usually something goes wrong with the my boat in the first trip of school holidays and I don't fish for the rest of the holiday break!

Here is a very bad bit of filming of a small golden under the water just before netting and release

Juvenile Goldens are so vibrant in their colours and in their never say die fighting style that makes them  feel far bigger then what eventually get to the net!