Trip to Normanton

[Stopstealingcrabpots]

Planning my first trip to Normanton in March (Man I am excited) has anyone been there and can share there experiences. I will be driving and taking my quintrex Dory there 4.2m where should I be heading and some good spots I must try while I am there and also type of gear I should be taking please. Any info you have will help please. I will be staying 7 nights is this enough time. Main aim catch a big barra and eat heaps of mud crabs.

[Innkeepers]

We were in Normanton in June, but we decided to go the extra 70k's out to Karumba where you can still access the Norman river and it's smaller creeks as well as the flats and shipping channel out from the river mouth. Also a quick run either side of the mouth will have you at the mouth of the Bynoe River or the Bronco River the other way.

This will give you the opportunity to target Threadfin and Blue Salmon as well as Grunter if the Barra aren't coming to play. The Dugong banks and the sand Island are good spots just out of the Norman river mouth too. The fish follow the Dugongs as they stir up the water when they graze and also the Sand Island has some drop offs near the channel edge. If all else fails you can put a Pilchard on a set of gangs and will generally pick up a Queenie or Spotted Mackeral.

We stayed at the Sunset Van Park which is by far the nicest park there and just over the road from the boat ramp and a short walk to the Sunset Tavern...

Would pay to phone for a site now though as they are usually difficult to get on spec.

We've booked the same site we had this June for 5 weeks next May-June

Karumba has a lot more to offer than Normanton and the fishing will offer a wider range of options should the weather or conditions be not so perfect.

Hope this helps
Cheers
Rick

[Fish_gutz]

go that bit extra and head to karumba, if the fish are on you`ll be glad ya went the extra bit! cheers and good luck Andrew. If you need accomadation in karumba pm me and i`ll sort it out for you.

[Janelle]

You will have an awesome time up there. I am biased though as I grew up in Normanton.
Normanton and Karumba are both great fun, you can also fish the Smithburn but you will need a permit as it runs through Delta Downs Station. I am sure you can still get them in Normanton. When you drive in the main street (Landsborough Street) you take the second street to the Right after the railway line(Dutton Street) and drive down till you almost hit Thompson Street. On the right hand side there is an small old heritage stone house (it is the second house in from the corner of Dutton and Thompson). Out the back of the house is the office for the station and you can get permits there. If you get stuck just ask anyone (the joys of being a small country town).

Last trip we fished everything from bait to fly but it was more a family trip than a fishing trip. The local guys were fishing off the old bridge just outside the town and in the middle of winter they were catching good barra (95cm) and threadfin, using live baits.

The advice on the caravan park in Karumba is spot on - if you know when you are going up book now. The grey Nomads and fishermen book it out well in advance.

Have fun,
Janelle