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 remember except for the year it was kept closed due to massive salvinia infestation.
Salvinia is a floating noxious plant that can cover the water like a blanket.
Fortunately, after the great wet season we experienced this year, there wasn’t much salvinia there at all.
I’ve already done two trips to Four Mile Hole which is part of the Wildman River system.
Both were great days with plenty of fish.
My second visit took place last week and I had the pleasure of looking after
Cameron Ilett and young Jason Ramsamy.
Cameron is a facilitator for the Clontarf Foundation.
Its website reads:
“The Foundation uses supportive relationships, a welcoming environment and a diverse range of activities, to help young Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders participate in education, employment and society in a positive way.
“The Foundation partners with schools and communities to create ‘Clontarf academies’ which are embedded within the school grounds and education program.
“Academy activities are planned within the focus areas of education, leadership, employment, well-being, life skills and sport.
“In order to remain in the program, participants must continue to work at school and embrace the objectives of the Foundation.
“The Foundation’s approach has been very successful, not only in attracting young men to school and retaining them but also in having them embrace more disciplined, purposeful and healthy lifestyles.”
I hadn’t heard of this awesome organisation before but I was impressed and 18-year-old Jason is a great example of the success of Clontarf.
At last year’s Bridge Toyota Ladies Day, the Clontarf Foundation was awarded the Lucky Door Prize of a day’s fishing with AJ – some people might reckon second prize should be 2 days with AJ.
We went to Four Mile Hole and caught mainly baby barra but some nice fish too.
Given the population of juveniles, the system is clearly very healthy.
Young Jason saw his first wild dingo as we drove across the 37km of gravel road to get in.
The young dog ran right in front of the Cruiser and stopped on the side long enough to get a good look at it… always a welcome sight.
Jason also caught his first saratoga; it was a beauty and we managed to get it in the boat just as the hooks fell out.
Jason is a Darwin elite basketball player with a great job… and he exudes confidence and applied ability.
I really enjoyed the day conversing with Cameron and Jason, and learning about the splendid work the Clondarf Foundation does.
The fishing was good and both lads seemed to be competent anglers.
Cameron did a great jog extricating the biggest barra from behind a gnarly snag.
It was good to see a small toilet block now in place just near the boat launching area at Four Mile Hole.
Apparently, it’s a mobile dunny and can be moved before the wet season.
As for the road in, it was fine on my first visit to Four Mile Hole but had clearly deteriorated by the time I got back there.
The drive out is always worse than the drive in, and I presume it has something to do with the shape of the corrugations.
Ex-Clondarf Academy student, Jason Ramsamy, fished Four Mile Hole and caught his very first saratoga, a beauty at that.
Cameron Ilett from the Clondarf Foundation with a respectable Four Mile Hole barra.
