Alex's Column 15 November 2024
The tides this weekend are definitely at the extreme end of the springs. On Saturday in Darwin Harbour, low tide is 0.3m at 12.15pm with...
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NATIONAL Australia Fishing Annual
ALEX'S WEEKLY SCRIBE 2024
Nov 83 min read
Alex's Column 8 November 2024
If you’re after a big barra this weekend, there are a myriad of options. The tides are in their neap phase, with Sunday actually being a...
Nov 13 min read
Alex's Column 1 November 2024
The Top End Barra Series (TEBS) for 2024 finished last week with the completion of Round 6 on the freshwater billabongs of the Mary River...
Oct 253 min read
Alex's Column 25 October 2024
It seems we’ve now settled into the more-typical weather pattern for late October: north to north-westerly winds at around 15-20km/h,...
Oct 183 min read
Alex's Column 18 October 2024
Hot on the heels of last week’s column about the first two Sportsbet-tagged barra caught in Season 10 of Million Dollar Fish, I thought...
Oct 113 min read
Alex's Column 11 October 2024
Million Dollar Fish Season 10 is underway, and already two things have been repeated from previous years: a Sportsbet-tagged barra was...
Oct 42 min read
Alex's Column 4 October 2024
The annual Darwin Saltwater Fly Fishing Challenge has been going for more than 25 years, and has always been held in Bynoe Harbour....
Sep 274 min read
Alex's Column 27 September 2024
Forward-facing sonar struck again less than a fortnight ago when dozens of barra in the 80s and 90s were caught on the Adelaide River by...
Sep 203 min read
Alex's Column 20 September 2024
It’s been 10 years coming but the ever-consistent Silver Caviar team of Kelli Carroll, Anne Griffiths and Emma Harvey finally triumphed...
Sep 133 min read
Alex's Column 13 September 2024
Some life has been breathed into the Top End fishing scene, and it’s happened both on inland freshwater and Darwin coastal waters. Some...
Sep 63 min read
Alex's Column 6 September 2024
You may have noticed that it’s been getting hotter and a tad more sticky over the last week or two. It’s a fact that it doesn’t stay cold...
Aug 303 min read
Alex's Column 30 August 2024
One thing I look forward to each year is attending the Australian Fishing Trade Show held on the Gold Coast. This is the industry tackle...
Aug 233 min read
Alex's Column 23 August 2024
To recap for those who don’t know, the Top End Barra Series (TEBS) is an annual competition held over six weekends at different...
Aug 163 min read
Alex's Column 16 August 2024
The strong winds persisted this week, and it will be gusting to 20 knots on the weekend. Once again, many Darwin anglers will be...
Aug 93 min read
Alex's Column 9 August 2024
Notwithstanding a few brief periods of strong winds, so far this year, there hasn’t been the ferocity of easterlies that we experience...
Aug 62 min read
Alex's Column 2 August 2024
As predicted by the Bureau of Metreology, last weekend was perfect to fish offshore from Darwin. The wind picked up again during the week...
Jul 263 min read
Alex's Column 26 July 2024
Good news for offshore boaties is that the south-easterlies we’ve been experiencing of late will abate over the weekend as a low pressure...
Jul 193 min read
Alex's Column 19 July 2024
The second half of the dry season is usually when our Top End billabongs start to pick up the pace. Water levels are getting lower and...
Jul 123 min read
Alex's Column 21 July 2024
It was good to revisit Four Mile Hole in Kakadu over the last fortnight. It was finally opened on July 5th which is the latest I can...
Jul 53 min read
Alex's Column 5 July 2024
It seems the dust is slowly settling on the historic bipartisan commitments by both major NT political parties to phase out barramundi...
Jun 283 min read
Alex's Column 28 June 2024
The dry season winds have been quite varied over the last month, but the good news for Darwin anglers is that fairly light winds and calm...
Jun 213 min read
Alex's Column 21 June 2024
Not for the first time, mates of mine reckon I should get a job with the Bureau of Metreology. This is based on regular reports in this...
Jun 143 min read
Alex's Column 14 June 2024
A different sort fishing competition was held down the Daly River recently. Called “The Old School Barra Catch Up”, its purpose was to...
Jun 73 min read
Alex's Column 7 June 2024
There’s no doubt that those anglers who have a good handle on using forward-facing-sonar are catching more bigger barra than ever before....
May 313 min read
Alex's Column 31 May 2024
A most important email went out recently to members of the Amateur Fishermen’s Association NT (AFANT). It was also widely circulated to...
May 243 min read
Alex's Column 24 May 2024
I’ve just returned from a whirlwind visit to the Gold Coast to attend a media day for the launch of the new Honda BF350 V8 4-stroke...
May 173 min read
Alex's Column 16 May 2024
By all accounts, last week’s Big Horse Creek Barra Classic was a huge success. Held on the mighty Victoria River by the Katherine Game...
May 103 min read
Alex's Column 10 May 2024
It’s been a very competitive period on the Top End fishing scene. Last week there were four fishing competitions held. The big one was...
May 33 min read
Alex's Column 3 May 2024
Both the NT Barra Classic and the inaugural Barra Classic Masters are in full swing today. This 42nd Barra Classic is taking place down...
Apr 263 min read
Alex's Column 26 April 2024
As predicted by just about everyone who can chuck a lure, one of our best Runoff seasons ever is now well under way. There are some great...
Apr 192 min read
Alex's Column 19 April 2024
Today is the last day of the Barra Nationals and, if the first two days are anything to go by, the fishing should be extraordinary. Some...
Apr 123 min read
Alex's Column 12 April 2024
I’ve been looking but I haven’t seen any dragon flies hovering about. Traditionally, that’s one of the best signs that the wet season is...
Apr 52 min read
Alex's Column 5 April 2024
It seems that the wet season is finally over. Forecasts for next week are bugger all rain. That means all those heavily-flooded riverS...
Mar 293 min read
Alex's Column 29 March 2024
I’m writing this on Tuesday this week so, unless the Million Dollar Fish has been caught late Tuesday or Wednesday this week, the...
Mar 222 min read
Alex's Column 22 March 2024
A few years ago at one of Darwin’s major fishing competitions – I can’t remember which one – someone in our group reckoned there should...
Mar 153 min read
Alex's Column 15 March 2024
To say that we’ve had a good wet season is to state the obvious. Although a late starter, it’s been an amazing wet season and it’s still...
Mar 83 min read
Alex Column 8 March 2024
There’s no doubt that the Million Dollar Fish organisers are deadly serious about someone catching a barra worth $1 million. Just last...
Mar 13 min read
Alex's Column 1 March 2024
It’s a cliché, I know, but the Top End Barra Series just keeps on keeping on. What a fabulously successful concept TEBS has been. I...
Feb 233 min read
Alex's Column 23 February 2024
The fairly dry weekend just passed certainly gave many anglers the opportunity and incentive to head out for a barra fish. Shady Camp and...
Feb 163 min read
Alex's Column 16 February 2024
Am I missing something? Last year, traditional owners closed the following areas to commercial barramundi gill-netting: Mini Mini,...
Feb 93 min read
Alex's Column 9 February 2024
There is no doubt that the golden snapper is the Top End’s iconic reef fish. In the NT, it is a schooling fish that grows to upwards of...
Feb 23 min read
Alex's Column 2 February 2024
Before getting into the excitement of all the rain we’ve been receiving, I thought I’d touch on the unbelievable news that a further 12...
Jan 263 min read
Alex's Column 26 January 2024
Last week, the Mary River boat ramp and car park went under at the bridge on the Arnhem Highway. Consequently, water started cascading...
Jan 193 min read
Alex's Column 19 January 2024
Well done Huey… you’ve finally delivered. After an increasingly worrying period of absent monsoonal rainfall, and the threat of a non-wet...
Jan 123 min read
Alex's Column 12 January 2024
Although there seems to be a bit of a lull on the overall Darwin fishing scene, some anglers are definitely catching fish. Last weekend’s...
Jan 53 min read
Alex's Column 5 January 2024
Don’t you just hate it when the wet season proper still hasn’t turned up by January. By “wet season proper”, I mean the arrival of a...
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