Fish Australia's Outback and Northern Territory
A wild pristine adventure of “Cape Don” and “Kakadu National
Park”.
It’s a tough job here at Dive Fish Snow Travel,
but someone has to go and check the fishing operators and hotels out
to ensure you, our valued clients, have the best fishing experience.
In early June we (Ron and Christine Blake, directors
of Dive Fish Snow Travel) packed our bags and tackle boxes and took a
short 3 hour flight to Sydney with a good connection to a 4 hour flight
to Darwin (Thanks to Qantas for hassle free flights).
Darwin is a modern city about the size of Tauranga,
surrounded by warm tropical water, with lovely blue sky days and 29-31º temperatures.
| Glimplses of Fishing in Cape Don. Click image to enlarge |
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CAPE DON
 The first part of our Northern Territory fishing adventure
took us by light aircraft on a 45 minute flight over the spectacular “Top
End” coastline to Cape Don. Situated on the
northwest tip of Cobourg Peninsula, 200km north east of Darwin,
and approximately 220km north west of Kakadu National Park, Cape Don offers
access to some of Australia’s most remote and unspoiled coastline.
Cape Don is the site of an historic lighthouse, built in 1916, still
in operation today. The accommodation is within the newly renovated Head
Lighthouse Keeper’s homestead and is fitted with modern facilities
offering the charm of a past era and the modern comforts required after
an exhilarating day of fishing adventure. Accommodation is limited
to 12 guests, and it is this exclusive access that
provides the sense of unspoiled, unique wilderness.
The Cobourg Peninsula became the first reserve for
the protection of flora and fauna in Northern Australia in 1924 and a
wildlife sanctuary in 1964. The Cobourg Marine Park was also established
to protect the coastline with its unique fringing reef.
The keyword to Cobourg Peninsula is “diversity”.
Diversity of environments and diversity of plant and animal species.
A little piece of pristine wilderness, Cape Don is
renowned for its diverse range of sports fishing experiences, making
it a fisherman’s paradise virtually all year round. Over 250 recorded
species of fish can be found in these waters, many of which are sought
after sport and table fish. Accessible from Cape Don are mangrove lined
creeks, sandy island cays, fringing reef and rocky outcrops on deep bluewater
- all ideal fishing environments. The abundance of fish is staggering
and guests have been known to catch up to 20 species in one day here!
This makes for an almost rock solid guarantee of a catch: the closest
any fisherman will get to a “sure thing”.
The salty creek systems contain Barramundi, Mangrove Jack, Threadfin
Salmon and the awesome estuarine Crocodile. Dolphins, giant turtles and
the endangered Dugong all reside in the surrounding seas. In the open
waters swim the pelagic fish so sought after by game fishermen: Marlin,
Sailfish, Mackerel, Northern Blue Tuna, Spanish Mackerel, Queenfish,
Trevally, Red Emperor, Coral Trout, Cod and Stripey. There are also shellfish,
squid and mud crabs – all making for an impressive fisherman’s
basket.
The “catch and release” philosophy and the use of barbless
hooks where possible makes it a sustainable activity for others to enjoy
for future years.
The highlight of our trip was the awesome power of
the G.T’s as they work and walk you around the
boat. I can honestly say I was physically stuffed by lunchtime, as G.T
after G.T. whacked our jigs. Then a big mackerel gave me a real workout
before he bust off. Lunch, more like a gourmet feast really, was on a
nearby sand cay, then some big barramundi were next on the agenda.
There are heaps of untouched creek systems that even apart from the
fishing are fun to explore. Lots of birds and wildlife abound and the
there are big salty crocs around every corner. You can feel them eyeing
you for dinner: a good incentive to stay in the boat!
Never having caught a barramundi before, I was in for
a whole new fishing experience that really sharpened up my casting skills,
as with all the crocs around there’s no getting out of the boat
to retrieve lures or unsnarl lines!
Barramundi have to be the laziest fish I’ve ever
fished for. They sit under fallen trees and camouflage themselves as
they wait for some prey to swim in front of them. If you can get your
lure right in front of their nose, all hell breaks loose as the barra’s
huge mouth sucks in your lure. Using it’s huge tail the fish will
go from 0 to 60km in a split second, only to find his
quarry is pulling him in. It’s a great battle as
the barramundi leaps into the air 4 –5 times, crashes back into
the water then goes deep, as you do the “fisherman’s dance” around
the boat, ducking rods and other people, ever careful not to fall in – for
obvious reasons!
Whether you prefer fly fishing, bluewater or creek fishing, Cape
Don has it all. With the assistance of experienced guides
and quality boats equipped with all the regulation safety gear, you’ll
be taken to the best locations for a fishing experience of a lifetime. “Cape
Don Experience” can cater to the single angler or groups of up
to 12. They use 4.7 and 6.5 mtr console boats for the creeks and inshore
sportfishing, and an 8.5 mtr console aluminium sharkcat for off-shore
sportsfishing.
A Cape Don Fishing experience is not a cheap holiday, with an all inclusive
package starting around $4000 ex NZ for flights, accommodation,
and excellent meals surpassed only by the stunning fishing.
But if you’re looking for a quality fishing resort with 8
staff who are all passionate about their fishing, looking
after a maximum of 12 anglers, you’re not only in for a great
fishing experience, but a relaxing holiday as well.
The best recommendation for any product is by word of mouth,
so there are a few quotes:
What the Experts say:
- “Cape Don offers such a divers range of great fishing experiences” – Rex
Hunt, Australian fishing personality
- "One of the last truly wild places in the world” – Steve
Starling, Australian Fishing Journalist
- “Fishing as Wild and untouched as the area” – Garry
Barmby, Australia’s leading Fishing Wholesaler
- “Best Tropical Sportsfishing available on this Continent” – Alex
Julius, Managing Editor, NAFA Magazine
- “Cobourg – The new fishing frontier” – Lefty
Kreh, Leading US Fishing Writer
- “Every cast produced a fish on fly” – Leann
Payne, TV fishing presenter and writer
KAKADU
If you never go, you’ll never know!
 The next part of our Northern Territory trip took us on a 200km flight
to Kakadu National Park. Wow, what
a contrast to the stunning coastal region of Cape Don.
Nothing could have really prepared us for the scenic beauty of Kakadu-
the stark contrast between barren red flatlands and the lush green wetlands
of the billabongs, with the backdrop of ancient rocky cliffs was stunning.
The Park has an amazing reputation and I can honestly say that Kakadu
is a “must go” place to visit in your lifetime. If you never
go, you’ll never know what it’s like - wish I’d
gone years ago.
Our fishing guide Shannon has years of local knowledge
and knew the crocodile infested waters well. His purpose built trailboat
was well equipped and maintained, and was complemented with quality rods,
reels and tackle.
An early morning start with a crimson horizon turned
into yet another blue sky day as we drove 45 minutes from the small tourist
town of Jabiru to the East Alligator River.
Now, this is no ordinary river. 90km from the coast we launched the boat
into a river that has a 5 mtr tidal fall and flows at about 8km. Every
20-30 mtr there’s a big set of jaws lounging on the mudbanks eyeing
you up for breakfast.
 We blasted up the river for around 10kms then went up one of the main
tributaries of the West Alligator and into another unusual location in
search of barramundi. Here we went over a natural rock bar across the
river and fished the rock pools while waiting for the tide to drop. While
we waited, Shannon, our guide, took us birdwatching and crocodile spotting.
Shannon had all the tall tails to tell about the big crocs as we slowly
cruised up river past literally hundreds of crocodiles. It then occurred
to me, hundred of crocs meant there must be thousands of fish in them
croc infested waters, and we weren’t disappointed. These
memories will stay with us for a long time.
Back to our rock pools and the sounds of rapids as the river falls over
the rocks. We anchored up and cast big minnows and plastic jigs for barra.
It wasn’t long before we had some action, and found that a triple
hookup was not uncommon as we all did that familiar dance around the
boat. I forget how many hookups we had in 3 hours, but there was never
a dull moment, between the fishing, wildlife, snakes, sea eagles
and eyeing up my barra.
Once the tide changed (remember we are now 100km from the coast), the
action stopped and it was back to Jabiru for a few hours
rest before we were off to Yellow Waters Billabong Scenic Reserve.
It was a little touristy but was well worth taking a 3 hour sunset cruise.
During the cruise we covered 3 different ecosystems, with stunning wildlife
and bush. We didn’t have enough time for fishing, but charter boats
were only too pleased to skite and hold up the big barramundi their guests
had caught on this very impressive billabong.
 Another day, another beautiful sunrise and another blue sky day filled
with fishing action on a new river – this time in the clear fresh
waters of the West Alligator River. Bottom line is that here we had 9
barramundi by 9am, and 2 big buggers that got away.
Again, fishing with such awesome and different scenery all around makes
for a very pleasant day’s light tackle fishing.
DO YOU HAVE A NON ANGLING PARTNER?
Take them to Kakadu. As you fish for 4 hours, they lap up
the peace and tranquility of the rivers and billabongs that make Kakadu a World
Heritage listed Wetlands.
Video available: Christine and I have made a fabulous
video on our Northern Territory fishing experience.
Call if you’d like to view this. Auckland PHONE: 479 2210 -
TOLL FREE: 0508 348 334
It’s not the cheapest fishing package around, but as the saying
goes, “You get what you pay for”. And on
this fishing adventure, in my view, you get the ultimate in a light tackle
fishing holiday. As a bonus you get to see the scenic wonderworld for
free as part of the ultimate Northern Territory Fishing Escape.
For information on this, or any other international fishing locations,
please contact us… 
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