A Trip to Remember – By Jason Masters

Let me paint the picture on how this story starts. It all started with a post on Facebook from a mate Gavin, back in June – The main line being “Waiting for a mate”. It then went on to say that he had a spot available for the annual NT trip that the he does as the regular mate had to pull out as he had a few things going on a could not commit.

It then went on and explained the 2 possible dates, late September or late October. Both had their upsides and both could possibly provide some awesome fishing not to mention that the possibility of the October being further into the build up in the NT. It finished with if you were interested then to send Gav a message.

I sent Gav a message and expressed my interest and what would be required and where we may be going. Once I check with work to make sure I could get the time off, I jumped at the chance and locked in the late October dates. I have never done a remote trip like this to the NT – I fished the Barra Nationals back in 98’ but that was in a comp and not remote camping so was looking forward to the trip.

Jas first NT Gulf barra at 64cm – does it get any better?

There were a lot of things that opened my eyes up on this trip. The preparation that goes into a trip like this is unreal and you really have to be prepared for anything. That starts with all of the bits and pieces that may be required for emergency repairs on the car, trailer and boat – fortunately we did not need any of this.

Then it is making sure that the camp is set up correctly and able to withstand any weather that may happen while you are away from camp as well as when you are there and also making sure that you have the shade of an afternoon set correctly, because it can be hot, real hot and the NT storm are unbelievable. It is the little things in camp that make a difference and make camp a lot more comfortable. Luckily for me Gav has done this trip a few times and has a routine and camp was definitely comfortable.

So onto the trip and what went on. The plan was to drive from Cairns to Townsville on the Friday to help Gav finalise the packing and then leave early on the Saturday morning to put in a full day of driving – about 15 hrs – to make Barkley Homestead in the NT by 5pm. There is something about driving through the outback the ever changing countryside and the continued thought of who the hell decided to explore and open up this area.

It does get better, Jas 2nd barra – 80cm of surface caught limit.

We made Barkley in good time and overnighted in the motel accommodation that they have and left 7am after a hearty breakfast and travelled North along the Tableland Highway to Borroloola, our last stop to top up fuel and water that we would need while we were at camp. From here it was onto the camp and to start fishing.

Now I am not going to give too much away in regards to where we were as I was asked not to, but will say we were in the King Ash Bay area on the Eastern side of the Gulf in the NT. That leaves a fair bit of area to cover and explore. Camp had been set up and we sat back to enjoy dinner and plan the next day. Gav had a plan of where to fish and after a quick chat it was off to bed and up at sunrise to start the fishing.

It is an amazing area and what really opened my eyes up is how far you have to drive from the supposed mouth of the river or creek to get into a bit of deeper water. This is what fishing in the Gulf is all about. It was not uncommon to drive a couple of kilometres through the channels from the mouth of the creek or river to get into some deeper water and that may only be a couple of feet deeper, then the opposite again of following the channels into the creeks or rivers.

Like most of the days, there would be a mix of fishing techniques, surface lures over the flats, vibes in some of the deeper holes and ledges, deeper diving lures worked along laydown timber and deeper snag structures, with each style specific for certain locations but in the same time also being able to adapt and think outside the box while hoping you can entice a barra into bitting.

Gav with a 70cm model to get in on the first morning action.

The gear I used was no different to what I fished on the East Coast and consisted of my Calcutta Conquest and Conquest rod loaded with 30lb line and 50lb leader. Plenty to stop a decent fish in the sticks and definitely capable on the flats. If needed, I did have a bigger set up that had 50lb line and 80lb leader but it was not needed.

We were up at the crack of dawn each morning and on the water by 6am. The day would usually start with a top water session and this was dependant on the tide height and water over the flats. This first day was like this and after about 10 minutes we soon had a nice little 64cm barra on the deck, my first for the trip and my first NT Gulf barra – they are a clean fish and in the sun the chrome really stands out.

It was not long before Gav had one on the deck as well and then I landed an 80cm off the top. There is something about surface strikes that really get you going and the thrill of it is addictive. The smile said it all and about 10 minutes later I had another hit and this time it was a bigger fish but lost it and the lure when the clip released. Bloody clips.

The day ticked over and the quality of fish we landed was impressive – not one fish under the 60cm mark with the biggest being my 80cm and like a lot of days the fish missed or jumped off added up. If only there was a way to keep a hook in every fish or convert every chance that we got into a landed fish, some days this does happen but not every day.

Jasons best barra of the trip landed, 85cm of pure NT chrome muscle

Back at camp each night we would sit around and compare stories with the other boats in the crew of the fish landed and the ones that got away. The diversity of the fish you can catch is amazing. We mainly targeted barra but there were fingermark, black jew, mangrove jacks, grunter, salmon both blue and threadfin plus the usual bream, cod, catfish and the sharks to name a few. The list was endless

Each day was to be the same with the quality of fish being right up there, even though there were not cricket score numbers, the number of landed was still impressive. I was definitely not complaining at all as it was all a new experience and a new area for me.

There is something about watching over 80cm over barra inhale you lure off the surface and then go ballistic in 3 feet of water once they realise they are hooked. That “boof” that is made is what dreams are made of for a barra fisherman.

There were many highlights for the trip and the numbers of fish that I got was up there and so was the quality. The trip out and back and seeing the country, the NT outback and the sunrises and sunsets. The diverse areas that we fished are some of the memories that add to that the lessons learnt and the ability to adapt to the change. It was strange for me to work out that the cleaner the water here the better the fishing was, not looking for too much dirty water.

The surface fishing was amazing and seeing 80cm+ fish chase down your lure was exhilarating, not to mention sight casting fish over 75cm and watching them come out from behind the smallest of sticks to chase down your lure. The savage strikes and crazy fights are just some of the memories.

Would I do it again? Most definitely – there is a lot to look forward to when you do a trip like this and it has given me an insight into what is needed and what planning is required. There is so much that we drove past and looked at that we did not explore, the friends that you make in camp and the fun on the water is what will drive the planning.

I usually say it at the end of each article, what we have in our back yard and what we do not explore is what makes this country what it is. After this trip I have the bug to get out and explore a bit more and see what adventures I create and what I can explore. We really do live in paradise and have so much on our doorstep. Until next time get out and explore what we have.

The sign says it all – the packed vehicles in front of the NT sign.