Alex's Column 28 March 2025

It seems that every column for the last few weeks I start by writing about the vagaries of this year’s wet season.

It’s been coming and going since the beginning of the year.

We had one brief monsoonal burst over the Top End but mainly the rain has come from aggressive and prolonged localised storms.

Now we’re told another, late monsoon has arrived across northern Australia.

Certainly, the western Top End received quite a drenching, with the Daly River rising from just above a metre over the crossing to more than 5m earlier this week.

At time of writing, the Daly continues to rise.

This has been noted by organisers of the Top End Barra Series which has round two scheduled for this weekend down the Daly.

If there is a flood alert issued for the Daly, the venue is likely to be changed to the upper Adelaide River.

I’m tipping that won’t happen; if anything, I expect blue skies appearing by the weekend.

Before the most recent bout of rain, the last spring tides saw the arms of Darwin Harbour fishing exceptionally well for barra.

And with another set of excellent making springs this weekend – featuring 1.0 m low tides around midday – conditions look ideal for a repeat performance.

There are plenty of location options and departure points to consider.

For instance, reaching the far side of the harbour – including West Arm, Little West Arm, and Woods Inlet – involves a bit of a sea run after launching from Dinah Beach or East Arm boat ramps.

However, if you’re confident with reversing a trailer, launching at Channel Island ramp offers a quicker and smoother trip.

Each arm of the harbour features a mix of small to large creeks, expansive mudflats, networks of gutters and snake drains, submerged snags and dangerous rock-bars – all prime barra territory.

But as always, tide and timing are everything.

In my experience, the best harbour barra tides are when the low sits just either side of one metre – making both Saturday and Sunday spot on.

Ideally, this should coincide with making springs: when tidal movement increases daily, meaning each low tide is slightly lower and each high tide slightly higher than the day before.

This increase in flow ramps up the food chain activity, and it’s exactly the scenario we’re looking at this weekend.

Water clarity is often better on making springs too, compared to when the tidal movement is easing.

I like to start the day fishing the mudflats inside an arm.

Look for snake drains winding back off the flats, especially if bait is flicking or breaking the surface in the shallows.

Start fishing the flat about four hours before low tide – there’ll still be plenty of water at that stage – and you can work along the mangroves using an electric motor, casting weedless soft plastics into and around the structure.

Zerek Live Cherabin work well, as do Squidgy Fish Dura Stretch rigged weedless.

Weedless is essential here, as mangrove suckers are common, and if you hook one, the water might be too shallow to get in and retrieve your lure.

Fishing mudflats like this can be great fun, and you might even sight-cast to barra.

But don’t linger too long – the tide drops quickly and you don’t want to end up stranded.

Next, shift to deeper water and cast back to the edges, as bait and predators will also be retreating off the flat with the draining tide.

If you find active bait and snake drains converging – especially with a few “boofs” from feeding barra – you’re right where you want to be.

Fishing the edges from deeper water also allows you to mix up your lures.

Try hard-body swimming minnows such as small and medium Bombers, Classic Just Unders, or Reidy’s Little Lucifer shallow runners.

Once the water stops running off the flat, move into the arm and target larger creeks.

Focus on gutters, especially those showing a colour change.

Don’t overlook any submerged snags or rock-bars with at least a metre of water over them.

Larger creeks that allow you to venture inside are worth exploring.

Cast to draining water or slowly troll weedless soft plastics using your electric motor – this is where you might encounter a quality harbour barra or two.

The bottom of the tide is usually quiet – a good time to break for lunch.

But as soon as the incoming tide begins to pick up, it can fire again.

From there, reverse your run-out tactics: fish the gutters as they fill, work the edges of the flats, and move back up onto the mudflats beside the mangroves as soon as there’s enough water.

Once the tide pushes far enough for bait and barra to get right into the mangroves, it’s time to call it a day – ideally with plenty of light left for the run home.

Dave Russell with his hefty Daly River barra caught in a fast-paced Run-off session.

Trevor Robb (left) guided John O’Hagen onto this 104cm Daly River beauty.