Fishing trip: fish count 1

Trevor preparing live bait

Yesterday, Trevor took Kyle and I out on a fishing trip to Leader's Creek. I was pretty thankful to be going out somewhere in Darwin and that I would get the day off real work. So we got all our snacks together  n' stuff like that the night before and set off at 6 in the morning. 

When we arrived, even the entrance was beautiful. It would be a great place to camp with no one around and birds everywhere. This is what I captured even before we got on the boat. 

Once the boat guy came round with the boat, we packed ourselves up and were ready to go. 

The boat man pushed us into the water then we set sail. I was pretty hopeful to see crocodiles Trevor said there was a four meter monster that lived right beside the harbor. I kept my eye out but couldn't see it anywhere.

I was traveling up front and it felt like being in a movie. Mangrove trees grew out of the water making channels where we could sail. We sped along for twenty minutes zooming down water ways until we got to an area of open water. It was where the sea met the fresh.

The journey

Anti-sunburn cap 

Once we were in the right place, Trevor taught us how to cast and we tried a few times. I messed up and kept getting the line tangled. Untangling sucked so I learned quick. Then we attached our lures and started trawling - where you just hold the rod and ride in the boat until something bites.

Louis the loyal lure

Birds flying

Honestly the first part was pretty boring. We just sat in the boat baking in the heat (cause it was like 33 Celsius or something) and waited. Nothing happened for literally four hours. There were birds flying and that was about it.

As we came around one of the bends, Kyle noticed some prints and said he thought they were crocodile tracks. Trevor said they weren't and there were no crocodiles in that part of water. Trevor's always right even when he's not. Anyway, despite the fact that Trevor was right, Kyle spotted a croc two minutes later.

The Croc that wasn't there cause Trevor said

 I was like "Woaw," and Kyle was like "Cool," and Trevor was silent. Tee hee. So I snapped (get it) as many shots as I could then we continued on trawling.

For some reason nature had suddenly awoken and I began to see animals everywhere. 

Thin white bird

Eagle

Pelican

I couldn't get a picture, but the trip's highlight was the dolphins. They didn't jump out of the water, so they were really only fins. There were two of them hunting for fish around the boat. I got within a few meters. I didn't think I was going to see wild dolphins.

Once all the wildlife hullabaloo was resolved, Trevor took us back to get bait. We got bait, got half way back then ran out of gas in the middle of crocodile infested waters. We had to shake the can a bit and tilt it in the right way just to make it back to camp. Once there, we got some more gas then finally made it back to the fishing spot.

We started fishing by hand, where you take a line and tangle it and wait. Like Kyle is doing below.

Hand fishing

 We tried that for a bit and Trevor got two straight away. Kyle got one, then so did I!

Prize catfish

 It's about the size of my hand. Maybe smaller. I don't care I caught something. I had to tear off its spikes with some pliers, then I hooked it through the back a threw it in for live bait. I cast it a few times, then I slipped and the cat fish escaped.

Oh no! You may by thinking. But this story has a happy ending, well not for the fish. When my prize escaped he slowly swam away. The eagles saw him though. I watched as the bird circled the boat and swooped in for the kill. I tried to take a picture but hit the shutter too late.

This was the attempt. Better luck next time.

After that we went back, packed up and went home. We found a kangaroo we'd hit on the way accidentally. There was no way we could have missed it. It jumped out of the long grass and ended up under the front wheel.  Then the hawks got to him.

R.I.P Kangaroo, you did feed some stuff so not a waste. Also Kira-J got a skull for her project. Good for her.








-James