THE DRY - TIME FOR TUNA, QUEENIES AND A GOOD 'DRY' WINE

The First of May is the official start of the 'Dry' for the North.  Basically the forecasters suggest that the 'Wet' or Monsoon season is over.  This is the time that the waters cools a bit and in the harbours the chance of good longtails and big queenies is usually a lot better.

The reason I'm going to concentrate on those two is because they are great eating, either raw with sauces or cured in lime, vinegar or similar mixes.  Click for a ceviche recipe from my mate Jamie Oliver   or, I'm sure everyone has their very own 'numas' recipe.

ceviche (photo courtesy Jamie Oliver)

They go particularly well with a mix of wasabe and soy, and because that is such a cheap meal, you can afford a great bottle or two of something like Çloudy Bay or Catalina Sounds to wash it down.   Better still try both and see which one you like the best!

.....here are some 'May' queenies...then tuna

Andy with another great queenie in May

.....and of course with the queenies, especially in Darwin Harbour, the longies run with the queenies a lot.  You can pick up the odd mac if you have a short wire trace on too...

This 102cm was running with the big queenies off the sand bar near Cullen Bay

92 cm Bynoe longie

Toc's with a longie off Weed Reef

Roggie makes me a long nosed fly which seems to work really well on both of these species...bucktail or synthetic works the same ...colours usually white with 'sea foam'/ blue DNA centre..these two are basically the same fly, with simply the bead chain eyes in alternative positions on the hook.

These almost opaque ones work just as well too...these are tied on a stiff, crinkly material from At the Riverbend 

We find that we seem to get the bigger fish on bigger flies, but that is not always a certainty either, so have some smaller versions just in case.

We have had the smaller queenies 'smoked' as well and they are great.  In fact the smaller fish are really what are best for a meal because there is a lot in a bigger fish....like this one of Lord Jim's that fed fourteen of us!!!!