cruisecraft Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 Hi Raiders, I shouted myself a retirement present in May, after 40 years of working by booking a barra fishing trip to Melville Island. The only way to fish the Tiwi islands is with one of the 2 fishing lodges based there. I went to Melville Island for 2 days of solid fishing. The lodge accommodation is clean and of 3 star standard but the onsite food is excellent. There is only 1 room with an ensuite and the rest of the rooms have access to shared bathrooms and toilets in each block. Air conditioning is available in all the rooms. Telstra reception works on the island. I flew from Darwin airport with Air Frontier and it took ~30 mins to get to Milikapiti runway. My ride to the lodge soon arrived and in it were a happy group of anglers who were leaving soon on the Air Frontier plane back to Darwin. After a 5-10min ride into town, we reached the lodge where I met more happy anglers. At dinner, I met my guide, Wayne, as well as heard some tales of the day's adventures from fellow fishos. The next day started with brekkie at 6.30am for a 7am start. The aluminium boat used was about 24 feet and was a centre console with a forward casting platform. The boat is readied at the lodge and I was beckoned to board the boat which was already hitched to a Toyota and the whole setup was driven to the boat ramp which is about 5 mins away. Return was 4pm After launching, the boat headed in a north easterly direction initially and then followed the coast to the next inlet which was Snake Creek about 40mins away. The centre console had sideway sonar fish finders which were excellent at seeing barra against the banks. Casting was with bait casters, and hard body lures as well as soft plastics were used. Even though the barras could be easily seen on the sonar, enticing them to strike was not easy. The change of tide at about 10am seem to switch the fish on and I was finally getting hits. On both days, about 10 fish a day was boated and released on Snake Creek(the Tiwi is a catch and release fishery). Further up river, the water is fresh and clear and lily pads abound, and this is saratoga territory and it was the white soft plastic frogs that did the damage. Whereas down river, the water is muddy and both soft plastics and hard bodies worked. The hits from both barra and togas was awesome, the togas especially as the lure was swimming on the surface. Many a lure were hit but alot did not stick. The staff at the lodge were great and the guiding excellent. Thanks Wayne. Biggest barra was ~80cm and toga ~55cm. Here's a sample of some fish boated. Regards Kit 20 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac Ct Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 Cracking report mate, well done. Rewarding trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masterfisho7 Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 Well done top photos and sounds like your trip was a blast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyFil Posted August 19, 2022 Share Posted August 19, 2022 Great story and pics Kit! Was there an opportunity to do any blue water fishing from the lodge? Fil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little_Flatty Posted August 20, 2022 Share Posted August 20, 2022 Congrats on your retirement Kit. Great report and some cracking fish. The 'toga would be on the bucket list of many. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebel Posted August 20, 2022 Share Posted August 20, 2022 Super report. Nice Barra. Well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackfish Posted August 20, 2022 Share Posted August 20, 2022 Great trip and great write up CC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted August 20, 2022 Share Posted August 20, 2022 (edited) Some good sized fish in the photographs, sounds like it was worth the trip. Using sideways sonar fish finders? I have to sniff them out. 🤣 Too much technology for me. Edited August 20, 2022 by Yowie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickles Posted August 20, 2022 Share Posted August 20, 2022 Sounds like a brilliant trip and a terrific report @cruisecraft., thanks for the report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squidless Posted August 20, 2022 Share Posted August 20, 2022 Sounds Like an awesome trip. Congrats on retirement, I'm sure there will be many more trips lined up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisecraft Posted August 20, 2022 Author Share Posted August 20, 2022 7 hours ago, LuckyFil said: Was there an opportunity to do any blue water fishing from the lodge? Fil Hi Fil, You discuss with the guide at dinner the night before, as to what you would like to target. He would advise you depending on the weather, the time of year and what was biting. In early May, generally the target will be barras, the guide said Oct/Nov for blue water as the seas are calmer then. Regards KIt 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bessell1955 Posted August 23, 2022 Share Posted August 23, 2022 What a great trip, did you get sample any of your catches? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big Neil Posted August 24, 2022 Share Posted August 24, 2022 What a top report and congratulations on your retirement Kit. Some very nice fish caught there, judging by the photos. What's next on your bucket list? I hope that you get to reap the rewards of your 40+ years in the workforce and have a long and happy retirement, with plenty of great fishing adventures still to come. Cheers, bn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kantong Posted August 24, 2022 Share Posted August 24, 2022 fantastic report and what a way to kick off retirement. Living the dream mate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisecraft Posted August 26, 2022 Author Share Posted August 26, 2022 Thanks fellow raiders for the good wishes. Yes, the catch and release policy does help to preserve their existing stocks, but the lodge is allowed to keep fish that is consumed onsite as per their agreement with the local community. As the kitchen had sufficient supply, all of my catch was released. Regards Kit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlvbw Posted August 26, 2022 Share Posted August 26, 2022 Definitely on the bucket list! Great report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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