The trip had been planned for monday, but we were chasing slappers not numbers so held off til the later in the week for the right tides.
The fishing was overall slow but that’s to be expected on bigger tides. However our persistence was rewarded with 90+cm fish every day.
Day one was a great start to the trip. bl..dy long day with only 2 fish on the board but beauties none the less. We ventured down further than the rest of the trip as there was still good clarity. All the usual haunts were infested with boats. Working our way back up the river came to a stretch that produces big barra year in year out only to find not another soul fishing it. Sure enough first pass im on. Long fight down deep, the fish hadn’t jump. After about 5 mins or so the fish was refusing to come up, I started thinking shark or powertail when 95cm of daly river beauty surfaced and was netted with skill. Awesome I say, start of may some quality points for the comp, rawson pass me the brag matt… errr. What brag matt? Where is it?... the next few mins of dialogue is abit hard core for fff but you can imagine…
I had a tape, but not a ridged tape like some people have been using, a soft bendy one.. That will have to do, ill see what the adjudicators think 
few pics and she was let go successfully. That was it for that spot and we moved on… Call it a day as the sun was fading… not far from the boat ramp we decided to have a quick pass as we still had a little light sure enough first pass of a spot I havnt fished in quite awhile kaboom! The water explodes with 90+cm of tail walking barra charging at the closest set of stumps. Rawson applied the breaks an after a few breath taking minutes I netted a 91cm. He was done some guiding in the past and put clients onto bigger fish however this was to be his new PB. Called it stumps and that was day 1 done and dusted. 
Day 2 had abit more action. The tides were building and it was hotting up. Early morning we worked our way down picking up a few fish in the likely spots. I got an 88 early on, followed 85, we moved down further trolling some old haunts that produced last year for to no avail.
We ended up at the same spot as I got the 95 late arvo before. There was a nomad livebaiting on the snag I had pulled the fish off. We trolled past and asked them how they were going, few rats he says but bugger all.. Sure enough just like clock work the fish came on song! First pass yielding a 91. That was to much for the old guys who had been livebaiting there all day and hadn’t got a keeper!
they left.. we proceeded to get a fish or hit a pass for nearly 2 hours, once again with noone in sight (a hint on where we were fishing, ill say we could almost smell the fumes of the 15 or so boats fishing the newly popular nofish rockbar! Little did they know we were spraying it just a few bends away!!! 
watching on with egarWith the second pass a double hookup with a 90 gracing the deck and the other burying the RMG deep in the structure. This continued for an hour or so by which point we were fairly well tanked and the fish, some of which I have no dout over a meter just proving to be to powerful in the close quarters snags we were fishing. We had upgraded leader on the day before yet stil wasn’t working. By which point we both were developing blisters on our thumbs! But anyways. This was some of the most painful fishing knowing I had no brag matt. Almost heart breaking. But I had made the call to bandette who was coming down the next day, I just had to cross my fingers that the big fish would stay on the chew and was quietly confident after getting 5 over 90 in two days and a few high 80’s!!!
Smallest fish for trip around 60
We arrive back at banyan boat ramp again with little light. I drove the boat on and trimmed it up. It had been another brilliant day with cold beers and good company when I heard a spitty sorta hissing sound, only to look down and see the hydraulic steering line and split! Bugger, oil everywhere. We arrive back at camp to find salad fingers and crew setting up camp. We put our heads together and got to work on fixing the problem. I always have all the tools you’d need but of corse no spares for the hydraulics! We were carefully took it apart and put it back together cutting off the spit section! Now for the next problem! No fluid!
cords crew had offered me some oil earlier so I made my way over to the camp but by which point they were asleep as it was pretty late. Bugger, sure enough ran into one of dads mate whose an x mechanic. Few beers later we leave with some automatic transmission fluid which I was assured would be fine and do no damage. Only to be greeted by salad fingers scratching his head wondering why it takes 1.5hours to find some fluid anyway we bled her out and she was right to go in the morning! (only to talk to Wally the next day to find out he had a some proper fluid, oh well this will be fine).
The bush mechanics hard at it
Next day we hit the water abit later than planned
it was a bl..dy long day for not many fish. Rawson had gone home and I was fishing with the bandette and a brag matt (well I thought! Unlucky bl..dy things).. We tried the spots from the previous 2 days for jack. So we joined the trolling party at nofish. We had fished it for 3 days, incoming, outgoing, top of tide, bottom of tide for nothing. So I wasn’t expecting much. When double haul got a nice fish. Of corse we were using the wrong lures after loosing to many the previous days! Luckily for me the poor bugger had run out of beer! They offered money but I wasn’t interested! I wanted his lure fair trade and it paid off. I think it was the next pass when I got slammed. Pressure was on! I had double haul, Dutto, salad fingers and all there crew feeding it to me, not to mention kane from fisheries and flim crew watching on! 
The fish jumped early on right out the back at which time I called it for a 70 odd, but then went deep for the rest of the fight, when it finally surfaced after a healthy fight I knew this fish was over 90, only to see one hook of the back treble through its nose. Double haul is yelling out make it jump with his camera out and so where the film crew but I thought if be lucky to get it in as it was. Bandette netted the fish wonderfully at which point it threw the lure! Phew. ‘Grab the brag matt babe!’ ‘Err, didn’t you get it out of the car!’ arrrrgh…
At this point the film crew was along side and had one… PHEW! Quick pic she came in at 94cm thanks a million guys! The fish was the filmed being released! You beauttty! 
The last day was even slower! Nothing til the dieing moments. We had made the call between the 2 boats to call it a trip and head home. Not far from the ramp, even further up than where rawson got his 91 I suggested we have a last pass.. The girls wernt happy about it but it was worth a shot… I wound my line in after an unsuccessful pass bout to call it quits only to turn around and see sean in salads boat onto a good fish. They ended up boating a healthy 87cm you ripper. A few more passes and a few more fish. Bandtte got a nice 85 and a 60, saved by the day or she would of killed me!
An awesome trip to some it up and I had good points on the board for may. I knew next week would be the classic then bass in the grass so that was me only chance at getting some solid fish. I havnt included all the pics of the bigger girls as im doing a seasonal daly Colum and need to keep some exclusive, including the 94 and 95 (and bandettes bigger fish). These fish will be in the next NTMAG for those who have any doubts ! Cheers..
Was great to meet another FFFer double haul and share stories and a few beers in the evening too!
The rest of may was spent with a few half days chasing queenies in the harbour with a few nice catches! We kept one for numus! Beautiful! At the time! But that’s another story
Cheers, The Bandit!
,
Daniel
