Darwin Fishing. 10 Things You Should Know Before Visiting.
Darwin today is a sophisticated city of almost 100 000 people that still keeps some of its pioneering spirit and irreverence of yesteryear. It sits on a peninsula hemmed in by the huge and still un-spoilt Darwin Harbor and the wide expanses of the Arafura Sea. The area definitely is an Anglers Paradise.
Getting there
Darwin has a 24-hour international airport with daily connections from across the world through Singapore. It has also got several flights daily from most capitalcities via Jetstar and Virgin.
Accommodation
A mainstay of the NT economy is tourism and accordingly Darwin and the Top End has a multitude of accommodation from 5 star resorts to caravan parks. Accommodation can be difficult to get in the main tourist season of June to Sep so bookings should be made well in advance.
Climate
The Top End (Darwin and surrounds) has two seasons only. The dry season and the rainy season.
May to Sep is dry and stable with low humidity and typical daily maximums in the low 30′s and nights in the low 20′s. October to Christmas sees irregular storms and increasing humidity and temperatures. The rainy season arrives with the monsoons from Xmas to March (give or take a month) with great flooding usually occurring.
Fishing Seasons
Estuary species such as barramundi and others will feed with ferocity at the end of the wet season when the flood plain waters run off into the estuaries, streams and creeks. This is known as the run off. Pelagic fishing for Spanish Mackerel, Tuna and others warms up from Aug onwards and with the rising humidity, water and air temperatures from mid September onwards, all species are feeding well.
Fishing environments
The Darwin region has several excellent fishing environments. These include harbours and estuaries, rivers and creeks, flood plains and billabongs renowned for the barramundi fishing. But please don’t make the error of targeting just barramundi as the area also has countless natural and man-made reef systems, and very productive bluewater, pelagic and game fishing.
Fishing licences
You do not require a NT amateur fishing permit. Nevertheless recreational fishers now need a temporary licence for recreational fishing on and over Indigeneous owned country and adjoining waters. Enquiries should be directed to the Northern Land Council (NLC) on 1800 645 299 or by going to the NLC website on www.nlc.org.au . For recreational fishing access to the Tiwi Islands enquiries should be directed to Tiwi Enterprises on 08-8941 1162.
Distance
Everything in the NT is large. It is a massive land with a small population and accordingly travel over massive distances is the norm up here. Travel into remote regions should be done in well-equipped 4WD vehicles with plenty of supplies on board. Roads in remote areas are generally dirt and frequently in poor repair. Many areas are restricted access Native lands where permits are mandatory. All types of automobiles can be hired locally but usually only 4WD can be taken off paved roads.
Safety
Watch out for crocodiles.. And plenty of them!
The whole north coast of Australia is crocodile habitat and they’ve been protected since the 1970′s so their numbers are rising. Estuarine or Saltwater crocodiles can be aggressive especially during the mating season from October onwards so great care needs to be taken and local guiding and information should be acquired. Box Jellyfish are plentiful from October to May and one should beware of snakes when walking through the bush.
Heat stress could be a problem for locals and visitors alike.
Lodges, Guides and Charters
There are a large number of professional guided fishing companies available in and around Darwin. And sadly some unprofessional ones also. Visiting anglers should select operations with well established reputations. The blue water day charters out of Darwin will book out far ahead in the peak tourist seasons of June to September. The lodges will most likely book out early for the top fishing months of April and May and also October and November.
Most remote area lodges will need fly in on smaller charter aircraft from Darwin. This is in general included in the price. Most will also include all of the required fishing gear.
Other attractions.
Wildlife, nature and Aboriginal culture are the most important reasons that general visitors come to the Top End. National parks, camping out and festivals are popular. The Darwin Cup horse racing carnival runs over 2 weeks beginning late July and the Darwin Festival features all types of music, performance and art during August.
Paul Collery runs Sports Fishing Adventures and Fly Fishing Adventures, companies that specialize in unique sports and fly fishing adventures to remote areas around Australia, New zealand and the Pacific.
The company is based in Darwin.
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