Darwin radar May 23, 10.36pm

You don’t usually see this sort of rain over Darwin in April, let alone the end of May.
Don’t get too excited, the run-off is done and dusted.
Everyone wants a dry season now, a nice cool one.
It turned out to be one of the Top End’s driest Wets on record.
Only a late, short flood saved it from being a complete “train wreck”.
But as always, the fish are still biting.

Ian Rees with his 107cm Daly River barra

You can still catch great barra in the Territory when the Wet is kinda dry. Craig’s Fishing Warehouse says: “With The Daly all over the shop, timing is the key. Those that timed it right during the last phase of ‘the drop’ may not have found numbers, but they did find big fish. Barra from 102cm to 122cm were caught … more than enough to re-ignite the enthusiasm. Rob Rees from Craig’s Fishing Warehouse put his brother Ian (pictured) on the spot for a ripper 107cm fish, the first metery to Ian’s credit. I see the river is back up around 8m. That can only be good … let’s hope it can stay that way for a while.”

Darwin-to-PNG solo adventurer Craig 'Crackers' Hand in the Gulf of Carpentaria

If you haven’t been following the adventure’s of Crag ‘Cracker’s Hand, now is the time to start. He is travelling from Darwin to PNG via the Gulf of Carpentaria in a 15ft half-cabin boat. And it’s not a new one either!
This is his THIRD such trip. He takes goods to a tribe in PNG and catches fish and meets new people along the way.
Not to mention a diet of mud crabs, crays and barra.
It’s not always easy, he has just spent several days on a mudflat, then his motor broke down.
Read it all here … http://www.facebook.com/FriendsofPapuaNewGuinea

Discussion has started on the www.fishingterritory.com forums about the NT CLP fishing policy pre-election release, which includes a promise to buyback a significant barra net licence and close Chambers and Finke bays to nets … read it here.

However, the following poll shows that NT fishermen are split on whether they will be voting on fishing policy, or something else … click here.

The Labor fishing policy release is here.

And here’s the latest barramundi in The Metre Club.

The latest Metre Club entry on the FFF forums

"ruti79" posted this 111cm Adelaide River barra at The Metre Barra Club

If you haven’t seen this site, you should, it is The Metre Barra club at www.FishingTerritory.com (FFF) … seven pages of mouth-watering metre-long barramundi. Or “horses” to use the Territory term. Click here.

Rob Cunningham with a cracker of a barramundi

The big barramundi came thick and fast at Easter, which coincided with huge tides and good floodplain run-off.

Here’s just one fish, caught by Rob Cunningham near Shady Camp, fishing with champion angler Justin Jones of Obsession Fishing Safaris.

Shady Camp fished well at the mouths of Tommycut and Sampan Creeks. The Roper River region has produced the biggest fish, with at least three over 1.3m taken.

The Daly River is the place to be now, with the greenwater running and good trolling expected.

See all the latest reports here.

Full Kakadu Klash 2012 results and discsussion here.

Matt Rawlinson of Team Rapala with his 106cm barramundi at the 2012 Kakadu Klash barramundi fishing competition

A 131cm barramundi from the Roper River

They don’t get much better than this, caught by Brendan de With, at Roper River’s Blackfellow Creek.

Picture sent in by Warren de With of Katherine Rod and Rifle.

Discussion here … here.