Tiwi Islands Adventure

[Isaac Ct]

Gday Raiders, 

I just returned from Darwin where I spent 5 days fishing on the Tiwi Islands. The primary goal was to land a Barramundi and explore what other fishing option came up.

On day 1 our flight arrived in Darwin at 2:30 am and we had a flight to the island at 10 so we made the most of whatever sleep we could get. We got time in the afternoon once arriving on the island to have a quick afternoon session out on the boat chasing barramundi. It was my mum and my friend and his mum on the trip and everyone bar my mum liked fishing so she was happy to sit back and have a cast when we were done. My friend landed the only Barramundi for the arvo only being a small one but still cool to see one. Meals were something you would expect at a fancy restaurant, the chef always cooked the day's catch which was fresh and delicious. We had a bit of an incident in our tent. We were staying in a cabin with tent flaps around the outside to give airflow, but at about midnight, the power went out so the fans turned off and it turned into a sauna. And then a mouse crawled over me at around 1 am, so... yeah. Not the best night's sleep I've ever had.

Day 2 was an early start to go out onto the reefs chasing Golden Snapper. It took us a few hours to find a good school of fish in about 8m of water and once the action started it didn't stop, we boated 10 'goldies' with the biggest being around 60cm. We also caught a number of small blacktip reef sharks, blue salmon, a small bull shark and a massive lemon shark around 4m. We headed back around 11 to have lunch then set out on another Barra hunt. We hit up one of the creeks next to the resort and cast into the pockets of mangrove roots and finally, I hooked into a Barra, again only a small one but was happy with my first one. My friend also landed a few small threadfin salmon and a decent mangrove jack. The bite was hot and I managed 4 Barra with my biggest being 56cm whilst my friend managed 6. One of the local crocs was keen for a feed and whenever we moved spots we saw it speeding down the river towards us. As fun, as it was catching 4 barras, I lost at least 10 in the snags or the fish following the lure up to the boat and striking then spitting the hook. When they run you into the snags half the time you can see the fish with the lure snagged on a branch near the surface then you just see the fish come off and slink away, which needless to say was very annoying.

Day 3 was a long day, we didn't get out in the morning and the afternoon session saw only 3 barramundi caught, my friend's mum got a 60cm one which was the biggest of the trip but a slow session. The lures we used for the trip were a gold bomber shallow diver, a number of 85mm vibes in different variations of white and a 150mm white shallow diving lure with a redhead, Don't know the exact names but the descriptions should help.

On the last day, the action was fire, I landed 6 barras and my friend with 6, on the low tide we trolled around the river mouths resulting in a big threadfin salmon hitting the redhead near the surface and I saw the fish fly out of the water and fail to hook up, it was a monster, easily 90cm+. Then about a minute later my friend's mum hooked onto a solid fish, first thoughts shark, the Jewfish then we saw the GT. 90cm and 8-10kg, solid GT for the estuaries. We headed back up the creeks as the tide rose and found a shallow mangrove flat that was exposed at low tide, had one good cast and my buddy hooked a monster, Mangrove Jack, this thing was a beast. We could see it hanging around with the queenfish which was only slightly bigger than the Jack. Unfortunately, the fish was so big and powerful that it ran him straight into the mangroves and we saw it swim away, crazily enough the queenfish took the lure once Jack let go and he got that instead. The queenie was 70cm, just to give you an idea of how big the Jack would've been. We continued casting into the snags for a little longer with no luck then we had to head back. 

Overall, a trip that I will never forget. Lots of new species and lots of fun with the people running the resort. 

 

[Blackfish]

What a fantastic report Isaac, some great fish there which makes a lot of us very jealous. Thanks for taking the time to write it up and post all the photos mate.👍

[XD351]

Looks like you had an epic trip ! Awesome report and photos! 

[Green Hornet]

What an awesome trip that must have been Isaac.

Some terrific fish and memories for life.

[kantong]

Amazing trip, well done mate! Definitely one to remember

[Isaac Ct]

2 hours ago, Blackfish said:

What a fantastic report Isaac, some great fish there which makes a lot of us very jealous. Thanks for taking the time to write it up and post all the photos mate.👍

Thanks Blackfish, worth the write-up. Got there at a reasonable price as well.

2 hours ago, XD351 said:

Looks like you had an epic trip ! Awesome report and photos! 

Thanks mate.

55 minutes ago, Green Hornet said:

What an awesome trip that must have been Isaac.

Some terrific fish and memories for life.

Thanks Pete, how's the basin fishing at the moment?

33 minutes ago, kantong said:

Amazing trip, well done mate! Definitely one to remember

Cheers mate.

[Rebel]

Super report & great photos.

The Team looked like they had a great time.

Well done.

[bessell1955]

What a great fishing adventure!

[Green Hornet]

1 hour ago, Isaac Ct said:

Thanks Pete, how's the basin fishing at the moment?

 

The Basin is still fishing well Isaac and quite a few 80cm plus flatties still about along with the odd nice jew and snapper. The prawns are starting to move on, so the surface action on the flats is becoming patchy.

[Larkin]

Lucky you mate! - other than having a mouse crawl over you while sleeping 😳

some nice fish, and congrats on your first Barra!

good size GT. 

[Little_Flatty]

What an adventure Isaac! You and your mate are lucky to have mums who will take you on a trip like that.

This will be something to remember forever! The fish lost will keep you hungry for more and constantly learning. That’s not a bad thing😎

[dirvin21]

Mate! Amazing trip and write up to match

[Isaac Ct]

1 hour ago, Larkin said:

Lucky you mate! - other than having a mouse crawl over you while sleeping 😳

some nice fish, and congrats on your first Barra!

good size GT. 

Thanks, mate, the mouse gave me a fright then my friend's mum another one about 15 mins later. Luckily she wrapped it in the doona and out it went. 

1 hour ago, Little_Flatty said:

What an adventure Isaac! You and your mate are lucky to have mums who will take you on a trip like that.

This will be something to remember forever! The fish lost will keep you hungry for more and constantly learning. That’s not a bad thing😎

Thanks, certainly nice to have fishing buddies. I was talking to one of the guides with my mum and there is a chance I might go back in 1 and a half years for work experience!! That would be amazing.

1 hour ago, dirvin21 said:

Mate! Amazing trip and write up to match

Thanks mate.

[Yowie]

Looks like a great trip there Isaac, plenty of new fish species for you, and some good ones at that.

As for the mouse, no problems. In Fiji years ago, I woke up with cockroaches crawling over me. 🤣

[Isaac Ct]

14 hours ago, Yowie said:

Looks like a great trip there Isaac, plenty of new fish species for you, and some good ones at that.

As for the mouse, no problems. In Fiji years ago, I woke up with cockroaches crawling over me. 🤣

Thanks Yowie, I would take the mouse over the cockroaches anyday

[jenno64]

What a trip! Congrats on amazing captures and some adventures to boot!

definitely on my bucket list🙏🏻

[big Neil]

WOW Isaac, what an amazing adventure. You and your mate are very fortunate to share such special fishing experiences with your respective Mums. 

I can feel your excitement in the report and the recognition from Mrs. Swordie is well justified.

You have all, collectively, managed to hunt down and capture species of good-sized fish, that most of us can only dream of. Your recount of the individual sessions, accompanied by the relevant photos, combines to produce an intelligent, well-constructed post. Very well done and thanks for sharing your experience.

bn

[Isaac Ct]

15 hours ago, jenno64 said:

What a trip! Congrats on amazing captures and some adventures to boot!

definitely on my bucket list🙏🏻

Thanks mate, how'd you go in the hacking on Thursday?

9 hours ago, big Neil said:

WOW Isaac, what an amazing adventure. You and your mate are very fortunate to share such special fishing experiences with your respective Mums. 

I can feel your excitement in the report and the recognition from Mrs. Swordie is well justified.

You have all, collectively, managed to hunt down and capture species of good-sized fish, that most of us can only dream of. Your recount of the individual sessions, accompanied by the relevant photos, combines to produce an intelligent, well-constructed post. Very well done and thanks for sharing your experience.

bn

Thanks Neil, was worth the effort. The trip was a long time coming but lived up to expectations.

[Pickles]

Great report @Isaac Ct, I wish my dad had taken me on a fishing trip when I was a young bloke. There are some great sized fish - love that mangrove Jack and Barra’. Thanks for sharing.

[Isaac Ct]

4 hours ago, Pickles said:

Great report @Isaac Ct, I wish my dad had taken me on a fishing trip when I was a young bloke. There are some great sized fish - love that mangrove Jack and Barra’. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks Pickles, the memories are want counts, something I’ll never forget. You are making a few young kids memories by taking them out on the Hawkesbury and surrounds.

[JonD]

Love seeing family adventures like these, the smiles are infectious.