Dundee daze 22
TRAVEL dundee beach For years the NT has been regarded as a fishing paradise. Dundee Beach was one of the places that put it on the map and nothing has changed Words by Dave Rinkin Images by Adam Nicolson 23
TRAVEL dundee beach There aren t many places that qualify in my mind as a sport fishing paradise. Places that tick all the boxes and leave you planning your return before you ve even left. Places that show you glimpses of fishing from a past time, waters teeming with abundance and variety, fish that can bring you to your knees and scenery that can take your breath away. It s a tall ask to tick all the boxes, but there are a handful of places that do. Dundee Beach is just one such place. The NT s sleeping giant, this sleepy little town located 140kms south of Darwin is quintessentially territory. It s laid back, a bit of a rough diamond and revolves completely around the fishing. While there s plenty of fishing around Dundee itself, with rocks and creeks to the north and south, the real action starts when you jump in a boat and begin to explore the wider reaches beyond the bay. The town and ramp of Dundee lie on the northern shore of Fog Bay, an expanse of water approximately 30kms wide. A short run to the north is the expansive Bynoe Harbour, a sight-casting mecca and to the south lays the wild Finniss & Little Finniss Rivers, both of which can turn on some of the hottest barra action. Throw in a whole bunch of secret coastal creeks, rock bars and reefs and you have a playground that throws up great fishing at all times of the year. Dundee holds a special place for me and it draws me back time and time again. While I love fishing the rock bars and coastal creeks of the bay, it s the blue water options that really get my pulse racing. Using the town as a launching point, the opportunities for those with a sense of adventure are limitless. To the west lies Flat Top Banks, and to the south lie the Peron Islands, Anson Bay (Daly River Mouth) and countless reefs and shoals. Everything from barra and jewfish to red emperor and sailfish call this stretch of coastline home. The Dundee trifecta of a sailfish, jewfish and barra in the same day is very achievable in these productive waters. Flying For Fish I d been singing the praises of Dundee so much that I m sure my good mate Adam was probably sick of hearing about the place. Nevertheless, when fortune turned and a leave pass from work was thrown our way he was keen as ever to hit the water. A few quick calls had a boat lined up and we hopped a plane bound for Dundee. With a small window off work and some great tides the temptation was just too great to turn down. May is a bit of a transitional time in the Territory, the wet is over and the run off subsiding but the conditions haven t quite shifted to the dry season patterns. It s one of my favourite times to be fishing the NT as you can get a good mix of all species and the weathers great for doing big runs to remote areas. And so it was, as we soaked in the spa, the golden sun set over a glass calm ocean. We had big plans and needed the weather to play ball. Double hook ups are the norm when the trevs turn up Dundee has queenfish by the thousands 24
Getting Jiggy Fog bay itself is quite flat and featureless, that is until you reach the southern end around Point Jenny. From here things get much more exciting, with reefs and shoals scattered for miles in all directions. If it swims in the NT, it can be found in the stretch of water between Jenny and the Perons. From jewies to black marlin, you just never know what s going to eat a lure in this area. Plastics, metals and baits are all effective, depending on your tastes. Running south from Dundee across a glassed out ocean, we soon found ourselves sitting over one of my favourite shoals. The sounder came alive with mackerel and trevally marking off the bottom in 25metres of water. A pair of jigs were quickly deployed and results were instantaneous with 20pound braid screaming from my 5000 Stradic and Adam donating a brand new jig to a big Spanish mackerel. One thing you ll learn quickly at Dundee is don t get too attached to you re lures! Between mackerel bite offs and sharkings, you ll donate a couple each trip. I honestly don t think I ve ever had a Laser Pro last more than a week at this joint. As Ad s re rigged with wire, the silver and yellow flank of a solid golden trevally appeared from the depths and was swung aboard for obligatory photos. First drop double hook ups might raise eyebrows elsewhere, but not out here. The place is a light tackle mecca, particularly on these isolated shoals. Cobia, mackerel, tuna, trout and countless trevally are abundant and some incredible sessions can be experienced when jigging plastics and metals. The next couple of drifts resulted in more of the same; solid hook ups in quick succession but this time we were both left holding shredded leaders and bruised egos. It s one thing to hook em, it s another to stop them. If they don t make the reef, they ve gotta beat the sharks to the surface. Like everywhere that has big numbers of fish, there s always the men in grey suits to follow. Thankfully, at Dundee the next shoal loaded with fish is usually only a short run away and drags never really get the chance to cool down. Sailfish are the ultimate prize on the bluewater 25
TRAVEL dundee beach Dundee is the home of the black jew Mackeral are invade Dundee during the Dry season Mixing It Up One of the biggest shoals off Dundee is the aptly named Sail City, home to billfish amongst many other things. It s a classic example of a shoal not needing a lot of rise to hold fish and only raises a couple of metres off the bottom. It s a big area though that s absolutely chock full of bait schools and most days it s got a variety of pelagics hanging around taking advantage of the easy pickings. A short run had us edging over the City s southern edge and no sooner had the two Laser Pros reached their depth were they crunched. What was supposed to be a quiet troll as we ate lunch turned into anything but. Halcos were obviously high on the fish s lunch menu, as mackerel, tuna and brassy trevally would slam them as soon as they reached the prop wash. In the end we just pulled up and dropped plastics for predictable results. If the plastics dropped through the pelagics, the reefies were on hand to finish them off. It s not often I m happy to rack a rod and leave a hot bite, but we had bigger fish to fry. As we released one last pair of trevally, we pointed the bow for the North Peron and put the throttle down. We had a date to catch, and they weren t going to wait around. 26
Ads with a trevally that just beat the sharks The Dundee trifecta of a sailfish, jewfish and barra in the same day is very achievable! There s plenty of reefies to scoff lures if they reach the bottom 27
Night Moves Jigging is very effective on the wide shoals for a range of species One of the most popular fish with visitors to the north is the black jew. They grow big, pull like a slapped rhino and go well on the plate. Just about every lump of rock and reef off the Dundee coast holds these bad boys at different times. The key is knowing where to fish on which tides as with up to eight metres the tidal run can be huge. This only comes with local knowledge or by jumping on-board with a good guide. With day light failing, we came tight on the anchor and set up for the tide change on a small ledge. Jew everywhere love the change of tide, and at Dundee this is prime time. Just as the sun shone its last rays, our mack tuna strips hit bottom and rods buckled in unison. Double hook ups on mackerel, trevally, tuna and now jewies in the one day! Baits wouldn t last 10seconds on the bottom before being engulfed, as jew of every size swarmed along the ledge. A switch to plastics did nothing to quell the enthusiasm, as they too were smashed on touch down. Thankfully, due to the shallow water we were able to release the vast majority. Jewfish suffer terribly from barotrauma and in my experience aren t suitable for release in water over 6metres. Interestingly, we encountered fish from 2-15kgs with each drop producing a different size range to the one before. Despite the commercial and recreational pressures, jewfish stocks remain healthy around Dundee and should continue to do so should anglers practice restraint. For the second time today we soon found ourselves racking the rods and thinking of the poor guys back in the office as we drifted off to sleep in the lee of North Peron. There s plenty of threadfin in the rivers. This one smashed a Pro Lure Fish tail on a TT Rev Head 28
New Beginnings Day two of our Dundee epic broke much the same, to clear skies and smooth seas. We were weary, sore and slightly battered but in no mood to complain. Ads had one last drop just to confirm the jewies were still around before we pulled the pick and took off. Taking advantage of the high tide, we snuck between the islands and pulled the boat up on an isolated sandbar. With a watchful eye on the water, we swam in the shallows and cast poppers to the ever-present queen fish. My mate Jim calls them tailor of the north, reliable and ravenous. Anywhere you can find a lick of current you can find queen fish, and at Dundee there are plenty of places they hang. They are spectacular fish on the flats and it s hard to tire of seeing them race down and smash a popper in gin clear water. But once again we found ourselves leaving a hot bite in search of a bigger prize. Adam had set his eyes on pinning a jew and a sailfish before we d left and with the jewie ticked off he hardly needed to twist my arm to look for a sail. With good tides, clean water and abundant bait, all the ingredients of the pie were in place as we searched a productive contour near Sail City. The water looked amazing, and the circling booby birds overhead suggested that we were in the right area but after an hour or two of fruitless trolling we d failed to raise a fish. We needn t have worried, as soon after a fired up billfish stuck its nose out of the water and engulfed the tuna belly we had rigged to skip. Adams Stella 5000 squealed as the fish tore the oceans surface to shreds. When hooked, sails are the piscatorial equivalent of a cut snake and put on one hell of a show. This fish did it all, from screaming tail walks to deep powerful runs and certainly had Ads on edge till I was finally able to grab him by the bill and give him a swim alongside the boat. It was high fives all round as the big fish threw up its sail and cruised off to the depths. We cracked open the esky, put the throttle down and cruised home on smooth seas as we raised a toast to a couple of magic Dundee days. TRAVEL dundee beach There s plenty of barra on offer around Dundee One thing you ll learn quickly at Dundee is don t get too attached to you re lures! Options & Accommodation Dundee is definitely a DIY option, with hire boats available and a variety of services in the town. It is advisable however to spend a few days with a guide as the results and local knowledge gained are well worth it. Anglers Choice Fishing Safaris are the only company based at Dundee fulltime and can cater for DIY adventurers right through to fully catered extended charters. Accommodation is waterfront and you can retire to the spa after a days fishing and watch the sun set. It s about the only chance you get to relax on a fishing trip to Dundee! Website: www.anglerschoice.com.au Phone: 0419 849 548 29