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Fishing Kakadu Billabongs

By Joe Cooper (Bivouac Boyz)

The fishing in Kakadu billabongs includes some of the most memorable fishing experiences that we have ever had. If encounters with massive crocodiles or buffalo don't get you excited than nothing will. The beautiful paperback and pandanus-lined banks have to be seen to be fully appreciated. Kakadu is such a beautiful place, with over 20,000 km of unlimited fishing options. A lot of Kakadu is inaccessible, without the permission of the traditional owners, however there are some amazing places to fish both land based or by boat. In this article I will be discussing some options for fishing the billabongs.

Of course the main target in the Kakadu billabongs is the iconic barramundi. Billabong barramundi are not always the best to eat so normally we throw them back, except for occasionally when we cook one straight on the coals. We don't even gut them and we learnt this from the local indigenous people, with the barramundi's large scales acting like a foil and keeping the flesh clean and moist.

When chasing billabong barra, a lot of locals like to troll using lures of different diving depths, depending on the depth of water. Personally, we don't like this type of fishing and find it very boring, preferring to flick lures to the snaggy edges or submerged logs. Our favourite lures for billabongs are ZMan 3" MinnowZ, 4" DieZel MinnowZ and 4" SwimmerZ.

As there are four of us Bivouac Boyz, we can always experiment with different lures and colours. Normaly one or two of us will run the Pearl colour in a MinnowZ and SwimmerZ, while the others mix it up a bit with two different colours and sizes. We don't get too hung up on colours, however one thing that we have found is that when it is overcast we seem to have success with a darker colour, like Red Shad, and when the sun is bright and high in the sky, they will tend to take the lighter colours.

Saratoga fishing is also very popular in Kakadu, although sometimes overshadowed by the barramundi. While the saratoga is a good sport fish, they are usually a catch and release fish due to their bony flesh. Often saratoga are caught while chasing barramundi in the rivers or billabongs.

Feeding close to the surface, saratoga will often take surface lures and some of the spectacular surface takes will get your heart pumping. Saratoga will often take your lure as soon as it hits the water. We like to use Bagley Rattlin' Finger Mullet for Saratoga, fished with a 'walk the dog' style retrieve, and have also had good success with ZMan Slim SwimZ, lightly weighted and retrieved slowly.

One of our favourite Kakadu billabongs is Yellow Waters, a 30 minute drive from Jabiru with bitumen all the way to the boat ramp. Yellow Waters is part of the South Alligator River floodplain. Depending on the size of the wet season, Yellow Waters is usually accessible between February and November.

Djarradjin Billabong (Morella Park) is another one of our favourites. Morella Park has a very nice campground, with toilets, showers and a boat ramp. Like most of Kakadu there is thousands of mozzies after dark so be prepared. The billabong is fairly shallow, so first trip take it slow. We normally start fishing with the electric as soon as we put the boat in, slowly cruising the edges and flicking the logs and pandanus-lined bank.

If you don't have a boat then a good spot to try is Sandy Billabong, which is a short drive from Djarradjin Billabong. This billabong has some banks that can be easily walked and fished. There was a fatal crocodile attack in this billabong in 2002, which highlights the danger lurking under the water in these billabongs, so it always pays to be croc wise when fishing Kakadu billabongs.

If you are planning to fish billabongs in Kakadu, be sure to check the Kakadu National Park website to ensure that the billabong you want to fish is open as quite often some do not open until late in the year due to access issues. If you are planning a trip to Kakadu do yourself a favour and have a crack at some billabong fishing, you will never forget it.

Our favourite gear for fishing billabongs is the Okuma Cerros 7' 3-6kg medium spin rod, matched up with an Okuma Helios HSX-30 spin reel or a Cerros 6' 4-8kg baitcast rod with a Cerros baitcast reel. These combos are great for flicking light lures into the Pandanus and have plenty of strength to fight a billabong fish of a lifetime.

Cheers, Bivouac Boyz.

Bivouac Boyz Billabong Gear List -

ZMan 3" MinnowZ
ZMan 4" DieZel MinnowZ
ZMan 4" SwimmerZ
ZMan 3" Slim SwimZ

TT Lures HeadlockZ HD jigheads
TT Lures SnakelockZ jigheads - weedless

Bagley Rattlin' Finger Mullet

Okuma Cerros Spinning Rods - CER-S-701M 7' 3-6kg
Okuma Helios SX Spin Reel - HSX-30

Okuma Cerros Baitcast Rods - CER-C-601MH 6' 4-8kg
Okuma Cerros Baitcast Reels - CR-266V