Monsoon or no monsoon, it looks like we’ve been getting enough rain to break out the Runoff fishing tackle.
You won’t get across to the East Alligator by vehicle, but the South Alligator is readily accessible and there’s plenty flow both upriver and downriver all the way to the mouth.
Also responding well to widespread falls is the Daly River which, at lasy check, was hovering around 6m above the crossing.
The Mary is also showing signs of floodwater action, all the way to the mouth of Sampan Creek and Chambers Bay.
As we come to the end of the neap-tide cycle this weekend, both Tommycut and Sampan Creeks - which together form the Mary River delta – will attract a lot of fishing attention, as will the coastal creeks along the coast.
It's a phenomenon that started some 25 years ago... the boats got bigger so
they were able to travel along the coast further and, at the same time, the
barra caught increased proportionately in size too.
Fishing Chambers Bay is very tidal dependent, and varies according to the size
of the system.
Those two big tributaries of the Mary River – Sampan Creek and Tommycut
Creek – require neap tides as the bigger tides lead to water discolouration.
The best times to fish these locations are during breaks in the wet season and
during the Runoff – in other words, from now onwards.
The respective mouths of these big systems invariably get the most fishing
attention, and it's nothing for more than 60 boats to be either trolling in and out of
the mouth of Sampan Creek or drifting back and forth with eyes glued to the sounder whilst utilising forward-facing sonar.
The best time to do this is during the making tide; barra often hitch a ride into
the creek with the tide, and the action can be red hot, at least for an hour or
two.
Conversely, those little coastal creeks can really only be fished on the bigger
spring tides due to access issues.
There are mudflats to be crossed, and a fast-rising tide provides the
opportunity to get into a coastal creek mouth and prop there or move further
up the creek, tying off to the mangroves.
There are four significant coastal creeks along Chambers Bay either side of the
Mary: Marsh Creek to the west, then Thring, Carmor and Love Creek to the
east.
It's the nature of Runoff barra fishing that the best spots attract the most
boats, so it's possible to travel a long way and find yourself unable to get
close enough to the action.
If you can get a prime position, the goal is to fish through the high tide and get
out before the tide drops too low and you are stranded.
Understand too that it's very tight fishing at these coastal creeks, and often
you'll be fishing around individual mangrove stands.
You need robust tackle: a quality reel with an ultra-smooth braking system
because you'll have it cranked up, a fast-action, heavy-weight barra rod,
upgraded trebles, at least 24kg braid lines and minimum 33kg leaders.
An outfit like this is also ideal for chucking around those mandatory big
Bomber and Reidy's hard-body lures.
In recent years, anglers have been travelling even further afield to the
Wildman River which borders Kakadu for the first few kilometres then snakes it
way right into the national park.
You get there either by launching at Shady Camp or, road conditions and tide permitting, launching at Stuart Tree Fishing Camp.
Fish it as you would the Mary River.
Interstingly, the Mary River is the only Top End river that actually forms a delta at its mouth.
There are two tributaries to this delta and the main one, which is also by far the biggest one, is Sampan Creek.
This is where nearly all of the fishing takes place because the tidal section of Sampan basically starts at Shady Camp and runs about 30km all the way down before entering the sea at Chambers Bay through the eastern mouth of the Mary delta.
Tommycut Creek is much smaller and begins via winding channels coming off Sampan Creek, as well as through shared floodplains.
Up to 25 years ago, you could get to Tommycut through a long, narrow cutting about a third of the way down Sampan Creek.
For a long time now, that route has been completely overgrown and the only way to access Tommycut by boat is to exit Sampan Creek and head west for about 8km along the coast of Chambers Bay.
When the tide is low, you have to go wide because it’s all shallow water for a couple of kilometres out to sea, and you need to take sea conditions into account.
Most of the barra fishing takes place at the mouth during the Runoff in a similar fashion to Sampan Creek.
January to April are the best months, and Tommycut is never nearly as crowded as Sampan.
Fishing styles have evolved and you can fish around the mouth of Tommycut casting vibes, soft plastics and hard-bodies at corners, gutters and structure.
However, the biggest barra are mainly caught along the deeper edges of the mudflats starting just inside the creek mouth and for more than a kilometre out to sea.
Your depth sounder is an essential tool to make sure you are working the right depth which, from my experience, is 2-4m.
Advanced electronics like Active Target can also help you pinpoint fish, but there’s a big learning curve and serious money to be spent.
Neap tides are the best because of increased water clarity which is critical, but fishing at the mouth can be slow on a falling tide.
If trolling is your preferred technique, you can either fast troll with big fluoro green Bombers or slowly jig troll using Classic 120s or Reidy’s The Judge lures, and be aware that the best trolling is when the tide turns to come into the mouth, and begins to gain some momentum.
In a perfect scenario, this is when barra, including some seriously-big fish, move into the mouth with the tide.
Forward–facing–sonar devotees will simply drift with the tide or spot-lock and target barra moving by.
Once the incoming tide has settled, and any bite that took place is over, a good tactic is to head upriver, following the current lines and either trolling or casting.
Hopefully you will overtake barra on the move and you can then work them, and keep following them.
The constant worry with fishing Tommycut Creek is the run home. Keep an eye out for storms and get out of there and back to the safety of Sampan if it’s looking dicey.
If the tide is high on the run home, you can cut in close to the shore.
Rocky Edwards knows how to troll up a good barra… this one succumbed to a Classic 120 lure swum along the current line up inside Tommycutt Creek.
