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Back to Work - NT Guiding
By Warren 'Wazza' Smith
Tackle Tactics Pro Angler Warren Smith returns to work, guiding in the NT and takes us on board for his first few sessions back in the boat. Fish on!
After three months off from guiding it's time to get back into it. It's always good to get back into the boat and go see what's changed over the wet season. New snags are to be found and drains and channels often move as well. I had some nice new Cerros baitcaster rods and a lure tray full of new Bagley lures that I was keen on giving a run as well.
First day we ran over a nice flat sea to one of my favourite little creeks that rarely fails on neap tides. We took it nice and steady over the mouth as it's a shallow one and then idled to the very first snag we spotted. Russell, Richard and Bruce started off firing hard body lures into the fallen tree and were rewarded straight up, with a bunch of mangrove jack being the main culprits. A couple of small barramundi also put in an appearance.
It was a great way to start off and we pretty much kept the vibe going for the rest of the day as it was rare to stop at a likely spot and not get something. What I did change was the lures that the boys were using. Bruce and Russell are well travelled anglers and carry plenty of well-known lures with them, however they had never used soft plastics much. I introduced them to the world of the 3" MinnowZ from ZMan. We finished the day with over 40 jacks, a dozen barra and a handful of other species, such as cod, goldies and a pair of queenfish. The ZMan plastics accounted for well over half of the captures and the boys were amazed at the effectiveness of them. The ZMan plastics were rigged on 1/4oz TT Lures Headlock HD and Rev Head jigheads.
The next day we headed in the opposite direction to start the day, fishing in another small coastal creek. This creek has a very shallow entrance and we only had a couple of hours to fish before risking being locked in, however it was well worth it with over 40 fish in the short time that we spent there, making a full on start to the day. We then ran a short distance to one of the larger systems on Melville and scored a few more barramundi, jacks and other assorted estuary fish, however the morning session on the outgoing tide was definitely the best.
The next three days were pretty similar to this, with a couple of highlights along the way. One occurred when we spotted a nice barra sitting on a shallow flat and Russell put in a perfect cast. All four of us watched as the fish smashed the lure as it twitched past its nose. This barra put on a great performance and at 89cm it was a great fish to catch sight casting. The boys had another great highlight when we ran up Goose Creek and scored around 20 odd barra and a dozen saratoga. One of the toga had the bright orange colouring that is quite rare and normally only seen early in the season. We also used the TT Lures Rev Head jigheads with a willow blade and I'm pretty sure the small blade does attract more interest from saratoga than the standard jigheads.
I had the next day off and managed to get in a couple of movies without any disturbances, which is rare when I'm home. It was then back on the water next day with a couple from Perth. Paul has visited the island a few times over the years with his fishing mates, however this time he had his wife along for the first time. With cyclone Veronica to the west of us and cyclone Trevor to the east, and a heap of rain predicted for us over the next couple days, along with building tides... it was going to be interesting.
The first morning started slow but the last of the run out tide and the next couple of hours of incoming tide provided Kelly and Paul with a mixed bag of barra, jacks, golden snapper and cod. Every fish Kelly caught was a first for her, so she was stoked with her first day. One interesting sight we came across was a whole heap of large barramundi milling in the mouth of a drain. There was three barra over 80cm, two in the 90cm range and two others over the metre mark. The largest would have been pushing 120cm. They were being escorted by heaps of smaller barra and all were going around and around in circles. We anchored up and cast every lure we had in the boat for half an hour for zip. Not a sign of interest from any of the barra. If I had to guess, I would say they were in spawning mode, however being mid-March I thought that the breeding season was over. Maybe our non-existent wet season this year has thrown it out of whack. Paul summed up the situation saying that here was two barra that he had dreamed of catching for years and how hopelessly frustrating it was to not even get a look from either of them.
The following day the rain caught up with us and we spent the first few hours wet and cold (sounds funny saying you get cold in March up here but you'll have to trust me) with not much happening from the fish as well. Perseverance paid off and Paul and Kelly finally started to land a few narra and saratoga, with a break in the rain and a runout tide. Most of the barra were rats, with a few legal size ones to keep it interesting. We got back to lodge to find most of the other boats had pulled the pin around lunchtime and were happily sitting around the bar dry and comfortable... we were keen to join them.
Gear List
Okuma Cerros Baitcast Rods CER-C-601MH and CER-C-601H
Okuma Cerros Baitcast Reels
ZMan 3" MinnowZ - Various Colours
TT Lures HeadlockZ HD jigheads - 1/4oz
TT Lures RevlockZ jigheads - 1/4oz
Bagley Rumble B11
Bagley Minnow B05
Pro-Cure Super Gel Scent