King Ash Bay
The place where you come if you want to catch Barra- apparently !
We arrived on the saturday and the others arrived the next day- Dennis & Wayne did catch a Barra but it was under very "questionable" circumstances. Because " what happens in the NT should stay in the NT" I won't bore you with the details but feel free to ask me anytime and i will gladly enlighten you! With Wayne's ( return to ) work deadline approaching fast, Lyn & Dennis, Wayne & Jenny took off after a week at KAB wanting to finish the Savannah Way & head for some greener pastures (Lawn hill nat park) while we diligently soldiered on trying to be good hunters and gatherers - Well we tried constantly for 2 solid weeks - bait, lures, plastics you name it we tried it , we drifted, we trolled we even anchored and still we did not put a fish in the boat! The one 4 inch cat fish i caught does not count and i kept it on the outside of the boat.
In all fairness i have to say it is a nice place- pretty basic , nothing fancy what could you expect being run by a fishing club but you can have powered or unpowered spots (with water - :•) bonus )& on the river, it's a bit dusty but that's ok, it has a store that is very well stocked and you can get gas refills it also has fuel sales - all of this for $83 a wk & it has a pub that has internet (intermittent depending on which way the wind is blowing )service where you can have a reasonably priced meal .
The river system is quite a pretty system & I think it would be a fantastic fishing spot if they had had a decent wet season, which they did not get and this is the 2nd year running the rains have not blessed this area,so the fish aren't coming up the river to spawn so the cycle is all out of whack hence the lack of fish. There are Barra and the occasional Jack being caught by people here but it is a case of just being in the right place at the right time.
From what i can make out of the maps , here at KAB you have 3 main rivers - the McArthur, the Fletcher& the Johnson ( aka the crooked) you also have the Carrington channel as well as umpteen dozen creeks to wind your way through . The rivers are wide and each of them run out to the Gulf of Carpenteria at different points but every river , channel & creek have 2 things in common- a lot and I mean a lot of big big crocs & it is a long way (about 32klm ) out to the mouth of the gulf no matter which way you choose to go and that 32k is just one way. So if after reading this you are inspired to pack up and go discover KAB for yourself and maybe catch a Barra , remember to take plenty of fuel on board each time you go out!
Oh and another helpful hint- go in March/ April.
Happy fishing :•)
