I stepped out yesterday morning to a bright blue sky and a completely different weather scenario to what I’ve witnessed for at least the last three weeks.
“Don’t tell me the dry season’s here,” I thought to myself.
However, a thorough read of the Bureau of Metreology’s latest media release dispelled any idea of the end of the wet season just yet.
Throughout the release, there was constant reference to more heavy rain, slow-moving thunderstorms, low-pressure systems, a possible tropical low, and troughs stretching across the Top End.
It’s looking more and more like it’s the wet season we’ve been crying out for.
Certainly Kakadu has received torrential rain over the last week or so.
Huge falls have descended upon the Mary River system.
The Daly River has been running at more than 8m over the crossing for at least the last week; given all the rainfall predicted in that part of the world, it should rise quite a bit further.
Apparently Katherine is set for a deluge over the next few days, and all that water will finish up down the Daly.
Notwithstanding all the rain, plenty of anglers have been out and about trying to snag a hot barra session.
Jason Rogers and Melita McKinnon have been getting into them on the Adelaide River.
I understand barra up to 124cm have been caught upriver, and there’ve been plenty of 90s.
However, the Adelaide might be too high this weekend.
Down the Daly River, a metre barra and plenty of others were caught at Clear Creek.
With the neap tides this weekend and early next week, there’ll be an armada of boats launching at Shady Camp and heading down to the mouth.
They just might find scaly silver at the end of the rainbow too.
At worst, there should be huge schools of threadfin salmon swimming around the mouth of Sampan Creek.
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If you’re after a top fictional read revolving around bush lifestyle in the Top End, grab a copy of Dick Eussen’s Stone Country Justice.
Dick is a great old mate of mine who lived in Jabiru for many years in the ‘80s and ‘90s before moving to North Queensland.
During his time in the Top End, he hunted extensively, and fished throughout Kakadu and parts of Arnhem Land, gaining intimate knowledge of these huge areas.
His vast Top End bush experience is clearly evident in Stone Country Justice which is available in hard copy or digital on Amazon.
This fictional piece recounts the story of a troubled young man, Ungara, who goes on a killing spree in Arnhem Land, prompting the elders to contract Kangii, a Kurdaitchii man, to hunt the fugitive down. Meanwhile, hot on his tracks are Northern Territory police sergeant Ken Wilson and indigenous policeman Toby Cahill.
In the wilderness of the Stone Country, they join forces with the Kurdaitchii Man, but Ungara proves to be a hard man to catch.
He leads them a merry chase through crocodile-infested swamps, across fire-blackened plains and through tall woodlands.
Just as the north-west monsoon arrives, Ungara leads the hunters into the void of the Goyder River swamps, where the chase will reach a terrifying climax.
Dick uses his in-depth experience and knowledge of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory to capture the reader’s attention and bring the book to life.
There’s some exciting reading in Dick’s first fictional work, and you can be assured the big crocs will be having a human snack or two.
Dick is also 4WD Editor for NAFA magazine, and fans of Dick Eussen’s seven non-fiction books – such as Australia’s Gulf Country and The Savannah Way – will not be disappointed in his new writing direction.
McKinnon fished with hubby Jason Rogers at the Adelaide River and found a beauty in this 94cm barra.
Former Kakadu fisherman, hunter and adventurer, Dick Eussen, delivers a great Top End bush read in his first novel: Stone Country Justice.