We have a good wet season happening with the road to Normanton cut off on various occasions and good fishing around the drains under the road.

Many locals have been out on the Jenny Lyn crossing. They have used both live bait and shallow lures with the old gold bomber being a favourite. Live bait is not hard to come by and a good set up to use is a mono trace of 60lb straight to a 7/0 hook with no sinker.

The usual people have been helping out with getting supplies into Karumba and I would like to thank VMR, Croc and Crab Tours, Ashes, Raptis, MSQ, Tremain-hill Helicopters, End of the Road Motel, MMG, SES, and all the other people who give their time for our community.

Travelling to Normanton by boat is worthwhile just to see the mass of wildlife and the vast expanse of water. Please remember that the water contains mud geckos (crocs) and they can turn up anywhere. Last year I found a 13ft croc on a high point of an island eyeing off some wallabies that were there as well.

The trip up to Normanton is about 78km and can be shortened by a considerable amount by cutting corners but be careful as there will be fences and logs there to navigate as well as the trees.

March is my own favourite time of the year to chase the big barramundi as they move back into the rivers after the fresh has forced them out. I recommend you use a good quality rod and reel with 30lb braid and a 60lb mono leader.

My own outfit is a G Loomis 6-12kg crankbait rod with a Berkley inshore Revo baitcaster. The rod has a soft tip to allow the barramundi to inhale the lure and plenty of strength to stop them from returning to the snags once hooked. The reel has 20lb drag pressure to help stop them and together with the rod it is an awesome combination.

I troll the mouth of the system with a lure that occasionally bumps the bottom and try different colours until I find a winner. Slowly moving up the river checking all the bends for structure that holds fish can be time consuming, but the fun to be had once you find them is awesome.

Try to keep your lure in contact with the bottom as this will get the barra to attack your lure. Make sure you take a retriever with you, as sometimes the lure will get snagged.

I have tried various lure retrievers and find the 4m aluminium pole is the go up to its max depth and a heavy metal retriever with chain works on most deeper problems.

Head out to the centre of the river with the boat once hooked up to keep the barramundi away from structure and always have fun.

Please be careful when handling big barramundi as you can kill them if you lift them by the head or gills. They swim away only to die later.

Always support them by placing your arm under the fish next to the anal cavity and remember to place them back in the water gently. Idle along holding the barramundi upright to get some much needed oxygen back in the lungs before releasing them to swim away.

Our fishing competition is on 10-11 April this year and will be huge as always. Anaconda will be back with their great support as well as Erskines Tackleworld, The Lodge hotel and plenty of other businesses. Please mark this date down, as it is a very friendly event with lots of prizes for kids as well.

Please contact the Normanton Police on (07) 4745 1133 before travelling up here as Karumba can be unreachable due to floodwater for weeks at a time