Does anyone have any theories or factual knowledge as to how far upstream in fresh water a salty will travel/habitate. It would be interesting to know if there is a relative safety margin...I speak from fear as I am heading up to croc country soon, and don't relish the prospect of sharing a small tinny with an agro salty.
cheers
Ian
Ian.....If you are entering known Croc country.....forget about a safety margin you are entering their domain.....Absolute safety at all times otherwise you will not be returning to enjoy another fishing trip...They will be aware of your presence before you do.....Do not consider any other alternative what so ever........Enjoy you forth coming trip mate
Good Mates....Good Food.....Good Fishing....Priceless
they are not called saltwater crocodiles, but estuarine crocodiles...they inhabit both fresh and salt, and in fact need to spend some time in the fresh, they cannot tolerate salt water 100% of the time. recently a young girl was taken in the NT, swiming in a small freshwater waterhole far from where you'd think there'd be one...especially in times of flood they will travel far inland. the river systems of lakefield NP, a popular destination in the lower cape, is packed full of big swamp dogs. so yea, best to practise absolute safety at all times. they are the masters of stealth...you are in their domain, they are the apex predator
I have seen them approximately 200km upstream from saltwater
Stuie
IF IT CAN'T EAT A WHOLE PILLY I DON'T WANT IT
Literature often states that they will go as far upstream as possible until stopped by an 'impassable barrier' usually a high enough waterfall with no easy way round.
Luc
Interesting comments..thanks chaps. I wouldn't have thought they would travel so far from the estuaries. Needless to say caution will be paramount.
I have read some stuff on crocs which would suggest they head to sea more often than upstream...usually after an unsuccessful battle for territory. I will be happy not to test the theory.
Be very careful of freshwater lagoons,swamps. SPecially ones in low lying country crocs can get into during floods. Alot of people get their fresh water from these and think they're safe cause its fresh.. not the case
For a start they are not agro except in breeding season when they can get a bit more threatning. During winter they are a little less active as they have to absorb more energy from the sun so they are out of the water more during the day. As for a small tinnie 3.5m is the smallest absoutely no canoe's. When you are fishing don't just lay down across the motor for a rest keep active in the boat and don't fish at night as you are asking for trouble.Originally Posted by boys play
As for Estaurine crocs in fresh water they have been seen years ago in Lawn Hill gorge but if there are seen there now they would be quickly given a lead sandwich. The Burdekin above the Clare weir has large estaurine crocs as well as the Bowen river and they are permanent fresh water. So if there is not a 100 ft vertical cliff between the salt and fresh you can assume estaurine crocs could be there.
If you use care and common sense you will have no problems as there are thousands of tinnies used in know croc areas without any problems.
Don't quote me although i understand it can depend on the extent of freshwater before where you swim, for instance we have some swimming holes well populated up here by humans and dogs, there is approx 15km of freshwater before salt, this river is wide and largely deep as freshwater sections of rivers go up here.
Guaranteed crocs have been there, although esp in the winter season the further inland they head the colder they are, they do not like the cold.
cheers fnq
Hows it going guys
Wheezer is pretty much on the money the salty needs to move into freshwater to desalinate it is a common misconception that they can only survive in saltwater. Estuarine crocs as they are called can live in fresh water however they are more common in brackish water
If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there'd be a shortage of fishing rods.
yes i have seen them way up into the fresh at shady camp i would definatly be on the lookout anywhere there is a chance of them being around as you said safety is paramount in these areas
As indicated the naming of estuarine crocodiles as ‘salties’ is a misnomer that can lead top serious consequences as they generally prefer a freshwater habitat to that of the salt. As for how far up a river system they can be found, that depends on the habitat that river provides. Big rivers such as the Fitzroy and the Ord in WA and similar rivers in the NT would have them spread along their length gradually reducing in numbers the further inland you get.
The simple rule is to treat any broad section of river as suspicious. Leave your swimming etc for small creeks or sections of the river you have good vision, a sand bar for example and it pays to keep on guard looking for the distinctive bumps of a head. Crocs will usually stalk you before attacking, by that I mean they’ll plot your position from a number of reference points out wide to build mental picture of where you are then move into position and wait for you to enter the water again. Then you are meat.
Crocs are no longer shot so their fear of boats is gradually diminishing; it doesn’t help when tossers get into the practice of feeding fish frames to them. Some crocs now regard boats as a food source.
This croc (below) is called Brutus (one of the many with that name) it lives in the tidal section of the Ord. I’ve encountered it a couple of times, being bigger that my four metre tinnie I generally give ground unless I’m on the plane. On this occasion Brutus was feeding on a CPC bullock. It had several small three metre crocs sitting well off waiting to move in when it was finished. We moved in cautiously to get a shot. Brutus disappeared only to reappear upstream of the boat swimming aggressively towards us (you cant miss the intent of a croc looking mean, sitting high on the water and aiming at you).We backed off another 20 metres and he went back to feeding.
Salties are not endemic to Australia; they’ve expanded their distribution range south from Asia along with the barramundi as sea levels have changed. Up to 10,000 years ago there were more species aside from the two here now (the freshie or Johnston's crocodile is our only surviving home grown croc). One species Baru darrowi was a freshwater crocodile that grew to five metres and prevalent up to 15 million years ago. It had a particular habit of maintaining a water hole that acted as a magnet for wildlife; this gave a watering hole for animals in the dry season and gave the croc a ready source of food that had to come to it. These maintained holes have been studied, it appears that generations of crocs used and maintained them, using their bodies to keep them clean. The steadily mounting pile of bones collecting on the bottom was the give away.
Crocs can also be found in places you don’t expect them. One or two a year are seen in Lake Kununurra, they climb up around the dam. I once found a small freshie half way up a mountain at least 100 metres above the water. It was following a small water course that had a wet season flow trickling down it. Making that same climb unaided would have been pretty tough due to the loose rock etc, the croc was doing fine however.
When i was up in Darwin last year we were fishing a stretch of skinny water 100+ k's inland that i could piss from bank to bank that had a 4 metre croc in it. Constant vigilence.
Great feedback!
Dick,
You mention the sustainability of a river system will influence the liklyhood of a crocs presence..I suppose this is common sense really, however there obviously is no guarantee.
Do you happen to have knowledge of the Leichardt and Gregory Rivers. My intent was to fish upstream in these rivers..hopefully reducing the risk a bit, however after reading the input into this, I am beginning to wonder.
Thanks to all for the responses.
cheers
Ian
Where on these rivers are you going to fish? Depending on where you are it depends on the risk. Up close near the ocean, such as Liechardt falls, don't even get your toes wet. But up the Gregory past the pub, no problems, though one was reputed to be up on Riversleigh station. I have fished there extensively and never saw one, nor the property manager. however, when doing some work with the DPI, they assured me that if a barra could swim there, a croc could to, and you can find barra a long way inland.
Goddy
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