This may be a case of Ground Hog Day but last year we were heading for a small wet in late February when a monsoon delivered a late wet season that upset a lot of plans.

We ended up cut off for four weeks and it absolutely changed the places to catch fish. This year we have the same scenario and I can only hope we do not get a late monsoon. Going forward, I will assume that the wet is small and suggest that you ring the Normanton police on 074745 2555 before leaving to be safe.

The opening to the barramundi season was a very windy affair and not many people got off to a winning start. The wind has continued to blow and while this is normal, over 25 knots is not.

The best place to fish is definitely off the beach with some awesome results going to the Mclean family who landed barramundi to 85cm and king threadfin salmon to 1.12m. These fish were caught from the beach and their secret was to use live bait. You can have a great time and not have to worry about the wind or cleaning your boat, so give it a go.

The effort can sometimes not bring an instant reward but if you continue to do research the results should come. I would like to say that doing the same thing in the same place hoping the fish will come to you is not research. We spent quite some time flicking snags in the river as we slowly worked our way upstream and the fishing went off on our fourth attempt.

I use a Nitro two-piece, 4kg Undertaker flick stick and this rod is awesome. Being two piece allows me to cart it around in the car for when we are flooded in and it has great power to get small soft plastics to fish structure as well. We caught plenty of barramundi and were able to go back for a second go on the next set of tides.

We may be getting a new barramundi guide and it will be great for those people without much knowledge that want to catch one. Our Barramundi Discovery Centre is in for a major overhaul and it will be wonderful when finished. It will take approximately two years to sort but hopefully will allow everyone to catch a barramundi and get to know the history of the fish. I would like to thank James Cook University in Townsville for their support. They are suppling manpower and expertise and with the Carpentaria Shire Council will make this centre an awesome place to be. Our local helpers have been fantastic as well and I would like to thank them all.

Please stay out of the main channel when fishing as the barge that take out the zinc to the Mother ship cannot go outside the channel. It also cannot stop in a hurry so do the right thing and stay out of the way. Always place your rod in the rod holder when fishing if not holding it or you could end up like Graham who placed his rod on his lap with live bait dangling in the water for about two seconds when a king threadfin salmon said ‘thank you’ and took the bait and the outfit. The whole outfit cost him $400, so be careful.