We were going to head out prior to dawn but we sat in the car for a half hour while it poured down with rained, all the time using our phones repeatedly to check weather web sites for rain pattern radar and weather forecasts to help in deciding whether to go at all.
But the insanity that fly fisherman seem to always have as a prerequisite prevailed and we headed to east arm boat ramp while it was still raining and blowing a gale. It was not going to be the best conditions for fly fishing around a reef sort of in the middle of Darwin Harbour based on a rainy, gale prone morning so far.
With rain ponchos on for the rain, a direct trip to weed reef was postponed due to the overly rough water while we hugged the city cliffs in calmer waters. We went right round to Cullen bay and meet the wind coming from the opposite direction before turning back towards the city.
So far we had seen no fish action and given the very rough and sloppy waters to get over to Weed Reef, I almost decided to head back to east arm ramp. However, proceeding carefully we bounced towards Woods inlet and eventually Weed Reef.
Once there - not much happening to begin with but within an hour we had mackerel, trevally, queenfish and a couple of nice golden trevally off the eastern point of Weed Reef, so the day was looking up and the wind started to taper off and the rain had stopped. We could have gone home at this point happy with our day. But as always the proverbial one more cast, one more location kept us at Weed Reef a little longer.
We tried various spots all around the reef but the best spots were always the pressure points of current from the incoming tide pushing past the rocky outcrops. We were catching most fish on sinking lines and bushy synthetic clousers, and seeing the fish were starting to feed more actively in conditions that were getting slightly calmer we switched to surface flies.
Peter was having a blast with fish slashing at his big yellow gurgler (a fly he pinched off my console!) and we both agreed although less fish were being caught, surface caught fish are so much more rewarding with the visual bonuses of fish repeatedly surface slashing at our flies. Peter commented that the day could hardly get better such was the constant tight lines and aggressive fish on fly, particularly on surface flies (I am sure that I specifically heard him say he was content! One of his best days on the water since coming to Darwin.)
In a hope for something different, we moved to the middle rocky out crop on the northern side of Weed Reef and instantly the action on the surface flies was hot, hot, hot! One fish even slashed at my surface fly with only the leader out the rod tip as it trailed behind the boat as we were positioning ourselves next to the rocky point. I then caught three fish in quick succession on a yellow bodied, black backed crease fly with a chartreuse tail - before it seemed Peter had got set to cast.
For once the boat was positioned perfectly for wind and tide, the blob anchor held us just perfectly to cast a fly into and across the face of the rough pressure wave area of the water streaming against and past the rocky outcrop but given the quickly rising tide the action would not last long maybe a half hour before the water went over the top and the fish left the area.
We caught plenty of fish here and conditions were vastly improving as the wind dropped. The stiller conditions allowed us to see the baitfish dimpling the surface behind us. Seems the predators knew this too, shown by the occasional large slash and splash behind us.
By this time the surface flies had been changed back to clousers, and after too many splashes behind us Peter puts a speculator cast in the opposite area of where we had been casting and catching plenty of fish.
It resulted in an instant hook up to a good queenie, that after a short fight let go of the fly – Peter was excited about the fish taking a bit of line through his fingers a couple of times even as I untangle a knot in his runner line of his shooting head type sinking line – a regular occurrence with this line. Almost next cast into the same area Peter is on again, this one is brought to hand – a feisty 45cm queenie that gives heaps of acrobatic jumps - pretty much standard size for the day. I begin to think I should change casting direction too. Neither of us has seen the backing today even though the fish have fought strongly.
Peter even though worried about a wind knot or two and his regular running line issues - puts out a cast and hooks up to something big. Instantly line is streaming extremely rapidly through his hands and from his feet and very quickly he is fighting this fish off the reel. As his backing starts to disappear Peter’s strong, constant and vocal encouragement of me to pull the anchor in and give chase is not left in any doubt. Even at full electric motor speed - line is still pouring off Peter’s steelhead reel (a reel more used to soft Canadian salmonoids – will it handle the tough SW species of Northern Australia?). Then off in the distance we see it jump – its massive. Broad through its shoulders and long! Its colossal mouth, flexing to dislodge what now seems to be a very small fly in the corner of its mouth.
At one time the line was shooting through the water in one direction and the monster queenie was jumping in another complete adverse direction. The first explosive run was finally done and we manage to get all the backing onto the reel before the second run began. This fish was strong and dictating terms to Peter on his medium weight fly rod. Peter commented on his fears about wind knots and the possible placement of the fly in such a cavernous mouth and the light leader strength he was using. (Maybe psychologically preparing himself for the highly probable outcome of a lost big fish – happened to Peter a few times already on previous trips).
Then we see a huge dangerous brown shape near Peter’s fish with the full fly line outside of the rod tip. Two, maybe three, times longer and very wide across its head. As the shark circles and chases the queenie, I suggest letting the fish run with minimal drag and the queenie speeds away from danger. We follow on the electric and get most of the flyline back onto the reel. No more shark thankfully. I think sometimes putting extra strain on fish to get it away from sharks will pop your leader, so letting it run is a better option for me.
Once we get all that line back again, the queenie then starts hanging deep and circling so we know we got it beat but it is still several minutes before I get a shot at lip gaffing Peter’s fish (lip gaff as it is too big for my net).
Once in the boat and many photos and yahoos, we compared it to what we thought were the good queenies we had caught first thing in the morning of 45-50cm and this awesome fish was almost twice that at 93cm. To say Peter was excited, satisfied, content, and exhausted all at once is an understatement.
We fished for an hour more but everything else was just not up to the previous experience. The water had calmed right off and we were surrounded by very big milkies. However we kept casting our clousers due to the occasional queenie type surface slash amongst the milkies in the hope of hooking another brute of a queenfish - this one maybe bigger than 93cm. Isn’t amazing we can catch a great fish but always have just one more cast - just in case something better might come along.
Congrats Peter on catching your PB Queenie – a monster PB 93cm queenfish at that! and all in sight of Darwin City Centre.
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