Arnhemland, the earth's eighth wonder!

by Jarrod Day on 14 Jul 2011 Like floating logs in a river, Crocodiles are top of the food chain, yet it is what’s sharing the water with them that has hundreds of keen anglers descending on Arnhemland each year.

Located in the Northern Territory, Maningrida is one of the most remote and unspoilt areas of the world. Accompanying this, it is also one of the best fishing destinations in the world. From Sailfish, tuna and trevally offshore to Barra, Jacks and salmon up the creek; this location delivers it all.

As remote as it may sound access to this wonderful location is really quite simple. The Arnhemland Barramundi Nature Lodge is one of the last remaining lodges in the area and is the best way to explore such untouched fishing.

The Fishing:
With such a large variety of fishing on offer, one can become perplexed as to what to do. While fishing in Maningrida, your guides will have your trip pre-planned taking you to right where the fish are.

Due to its proximity to the Bluewater and brackish creeks you’ll have the ability to experience both fishing styles in an afternoon.

The boat ramp is located on the mouth of the Liverpool River. From here it is only a short journey up stream before putting your casting arm into action. While the Liverpool and its feeder creeks are teaming with Barra, Blyth to the west and Junction Bay to the east are equally as productive.

Fishing the creeks heavily revolves around targeting Barramundi although many other species can be caught as a by-catch. These include various trevally species, mangrove jack, estuary cod, and giant herring amongst plenty of others.

If you decide to sample the Bluewater, be prepared to be dazzled by what’s on offer. Even while travelling from reef to reef it isn’t uncommon to pass schools of busting long tail tuna or brassy trevally. When sighted, casting into the schools with poppers and surface stick baits can be one of the most visual forms of fishing you can endure.

Surface luring is extremely entertaining for any angler to experience and if it’s not casting at busting schools of fish, then working the edges of the exposed reefs will yield a good catch. Big trevally and queen fish patrol the outskirts of the reefs in search of any potential meal. A blooping popper or scurrying stick bait is irresistible.

That aside there is an abundance of Spanish mackerel all willing to take a trolled lure. Hot favourites are 180mm Yo-Zuri Hydro Magnum’s in the red head colour, Bolt Mystique 314B and Strada’s Raiko. What all these lures have in common is that they dive to 7 meters, an ideal depth to attract mackerel.

Jigging is also popular amongst anglers wanting to reveal what lives below. Small metal slugs, jigs and soft plastics work exceptionally well but expect to be blown away on occasion. There are some pretty big fish lurking around and what they don’t grab, the mackerel will. Unfortunately you will lose a lot of jigs doing this but it is one of the most effective ways to fish bottom.

Correct Tackle:
When fishing for Barra bait cast style outfits offer precision accuracy when casting to snags. Being successful when fishing these parts does warrant the lure to be cast into the snag or at least within 30cm of it. Barra and the like are quite territorial and hide amongst the timber awaiting a meal. Lures must be cast right into the thick of it to attract attention, if not you will make many casts for little result. Bait cast reels should be spooled with 30lb braid and as 60lb leader a minimum.

There are hundreds of lures available for targeting Barramundi and providing you have a mixture of shallow diving, deep diving hard bodies and soft plastics you can cover all bases. At times you may be casting to the banks yet it may drop away to 10 feet or greater. For this, deeper diving hard bodies with a diving range to 16ft are recommended. These include Strada Mayan and Luana’s along with Yo-Zuri Deep Diving Crystal Minnows. For the flats, stick to shallow diving minnows ranging 2-3 meters such as Strada Tera 125’s, Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnows and Hardcore Minnows. On the soft side of things, a wide selection of soft plastics will enable you to reach all water depths.

When out in the blue, a variety of lures is also recommended. Trolling, jigging and casting are the main styles of fishing and your lures should reflect this. Stick baits, poppers, metal jigs and soft plastics all work well and you can’t take too many.

Suggested outfits for fishing the Bluewater can range immensely but providing you have a 5000 series reel loaded with 30lb braid and 10-15kg rod you’re on the money. This outfit can be used for all styles of fishing but is more suited to casting and trolling. For the jigging work, I highly recommend taking a light jig rod in the PE3-5 range. This can also be used for trolling but is best used when jigging the reefs.

Getting There:
Arnhemland is a fishing destination that should be on every anglers bucket list. It is an extremely remote location that has to be seen to be believed and with your own private lodge providing you with some truly unimaginable fishing, why not book a trip to find out what this little piece of paradise has to offer.

If you are thinking of venturing to this location, log onto www.barralodge.com.au or call Rodger on 08 8983 1544 to find out more.