robthefisherman Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 (edited) Hi Guys I've got a couple of trips happening over the next 12 months to Qld and N.T. and as I've never fished up the top end before I was wondering what sort of gear I should take. In September I'm off to Rollingstone about 60 odd kay North of Towsville, will be L.B. fishing the beach and creek mouth and hopefully get my first Barra then in May next year I'm off to Kakadu, Mary River, Darwin and Litchfield N.P. again I'll be land based so any tips on set ups, rigs, baits or lures would be much appreciated. Hopefully I'll tick catching a barra off the bucket list and avoid becoming croc bait. Cheers Rob Edited July 10, 2012 by robthefisherman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjc123 Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 (edited) For what your doing its very easy to go overboard with tackle. I'll try and put together a "rough" list of what you may need as i've done a similar thing before. First of all you need to decide if your a spin reel man or baitcaster. Baitcasters are used more than spin reels up there (mainly in the creeks/rivers) but if you haven't ever used one i wouldn't worry. Ideally grab something like a 6-10kg barra spin shimano raider rod and a 4000 size reel matched with 20-30lb braid. You may think 30lb is a lot to be using in creeks but the fish are right in the structure so you can't afford to much around once they snaffle your bait/lure. This set up should be fine for SP too and could be used for Jews on SP back here in Sydney. The areas you have described are some of the best barra waters in the world. As you mentioned, it's croc galore up there. Keep a few feet away from the water at all times... Some of these places will be hard to fish landbased so i would recommend booking a guide at some point to ensure you get that big barra! Going back to lures, there are many to choose from. My absolute favourite is the gold bomber closely followed by the rapala floating x-rap. Bright colours are recomended as the water is rather discoloured up there. The most important aspect of barra on lures is the retrieve. The most common retrieve is; couple turns of the handle then a double twitch (down) followed by a pause of 2s. The pause is VERY CRUCIAL as it is more often than not when the barra strikes the lure. The better your retrieve, the more fish you'll catch! Make sure you have a few poppers too as the queenies and trevally are outstanding fun on them! The fish go EXTREMELY hard up there so you need to put the brakes on ASAP! Have a great time buddy Good luck! Edited July 11, 2012 by mack attack 79 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robthefisherman Posted July 11, 2012 Author Share Posted July 11, 2012 Cheers Mack You're advise is much appreciated, yep I'm a spin man Super excited about getting up and having a crack, was thinking of hiring a poly at Shady Camp and going out with a guide in Kakadu. the trips our honeymoon so I'll need keep my fishing time in perspective and not too sure she'll be up for getting in a boat up there. Cheers Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjc123 Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Cheers Mack You're advise is much appreciated, yep I'm a spin man Super excited about getting up and having a crack, was thinking of hiring a poly at Shady Camp and going out with a guide in Kakadu. the trips our honeymoon so I'll need keep my fishing time in perspective and not too sure she'll be up for getting in a boat up there. Cheers Rob Haven't been to Shady Camp but there's some monster barra there! AND CROCS! Another place that the wife might like is corroboree billabong. Great fishing for barra, saratoga and tarpon. Magnificent place! Great photo opportunities too! A guide is required here though. I can give you a name via PM if you like. Cheers, Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeoB Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 +1 for the trusty gold bomber! Got my first barra on one. I'd definitely recommend a guide as well just to find a few spots. There's an unbelievable amount of creeks and most are home to a big lizard or 2. Cheers Leo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewhunter Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Good to here from you Rob & congrats on the Honeymoon! Make sure you take a couple of packets of 5 & 7 inch Hollow bellies. Match these up with 7/0 nitro jungle hooks & you're away. Learn how to rig them correctly & you can drag these through some very cranky country without getting snagged. Great for barra, jacks, trevs, herring & queenies. Good luck mate! Cheers, Grant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robthefisherman Posted July 11, 2012 Author Share Posted July 11, 2012 Thanks Grant Long time no see mate hows life up the coast treating you? I'll look into those mate Cheers Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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