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night time,red eyes and big Barra
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Thread: night time,red eyes and big Barra

  1. 06-11-2004, 07:22 AM #1
    Aaron_Fogarty
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    night time,red eyes and big Barra

    As being from SE queensland Ive never had the worry of crocs. However Ive been granted the opportunity to fish the Daly river in the NTon a number of times,work trip of course.The last trip I did I tagged along with a local in the dead of the night to throw lures for Barra. Now maybe all the stuff Ive seen on Tv has got me concerned but I was scared shitless standing on the bank of the daly at the waters edge in the dark dragging 5 to 10 kg barra up the bank with sets of red eyes in the torch beem watching my every move.

    Now i know 5 fifths of nothin when it comes to Crocs I was hoping some of you Northern boys could help me with the does and donts of fishin with crocs???.....I will hit Darwin in January for 3 years and I need some croc education.
    Help me
    Aaron
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  2. 06-11-2004, 11:13 AM #2
    mjc85
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    Re: night time,red eyes and big Barra

    I been fishing there once, i just know not to go anywhere near then things, they can outrun a human so don't be stupid enough to fish off the bank when they are around lol
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  3. 06-11-2004, 12:38 PM #3
    damons33
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    Re: night time,red eyes and big Barra

    yeahhhhhh, crocs brudda' scarey $hit! tru aye'
    yeah mortima! tru'ooooooo'

    crocs are most active at night during the wet season. dawn and dusk are the "hot bite" period for crocs!(they need light to outline the prey on the banks-eg a pig coming to drink or a wallaby) so think of this- don't stand on a shallow angle bank or mud flat with nothing behind you to cover your outline and movements. its safe to be on a cut away bank with trees behind you as crocs won't attempt to lunge at you for fear of smacking the bank- wear camo clothes that suit the terrain and dont piss up and fall asleep on the bank! haha.
    i use to fish the mowbray river inbetween cairns and port, and i saw some big crocs in there, one day i dived in to retrieve a cast net caught up on rocks!, but it was middle of the day when most crocs are semi-asleep/dormant in the coolest part of the river or out in the sea.
    crocs on dry land aren't real fast and knock up pretty quickly. their speciallity is using the water with their tail to "jet" up a bank - you will see that the legs are tucked in and the eyes are covered as they lunge and will usually roll to bring down what they have grabbed(if its large), makes sence as they would break their own legs if they rolled with legs out.
    at night crocs are hunting fish and fish are the largest part of their diet(both species!). hey i wouldn't want to be a white herron on the cape! but you watch the habits of the tidal birds in croc territory much different to here in brisso. they don't feed at high tide like here!
    things to avoid are bat rookerys(noisey and smell anyhow!) as crocs love baby fruit bats.
    territorians are amongst the friendliest ppl in australia they will set you straight on the "croc ettiquette", dont let fear cloud your sight or understand- crocs rule!
    damo' dundee' lol

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  4. 06-11-2004, 12:46 PM #4
    Dug
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    Re: night time,red eyes and big Barra

    My son tells the story of shooting a croc in the NT.

    They were doing a live fire exercise with the army and were inserting with inflatable into a remote area. They were doing about 10 kts down a creek when the croc came out of the water, attacked the motor and punctured the rear section of the Zodiac.

    Several quick 5.56 rounds later and they limped into the beach and called for backup.

    He reckons only the laundry man knew just how scared he was!
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  5. 07-11-2004, 05:22 AM #5
    notts_so
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    Re: night time,red eyes and big Barra

    Aaron damo gave you some good addvice best of all is to go fishing with someone who nows the area for a while and learn from them there not going to put you in halms way(well youd hope so)and allways trust your insticts we have them for a reason if you think in the slightest way that the bank your on is not safe then dont stand there .Always be vigilant and you should be wright i spent my first 7yrs in FNQ fishing from banks and up in mangroves I beleive instinct and vigilants has kept me out off harms way on a few ocasion .
    Have a ball and keep away from those salt water ghekos
    .....notts so
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  6. 07-11-2004, 05:51 AM #6
    megafish71
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    Re: night time,red eyes and big Barra

    Aaron, the best advise is to give them lizards the respect that they deserve. In my time up the Territory I only fished from the bank a couple of times, and don't trust some of the locals that believe that fishing from the banks is safe. Its only a matter of time before another gets taken from the bank. We have had those dam lizards get very cranky at us on the rivers at night, with one even having a taste test of my alloy boat. It seams that the bigger crocs 4mtrs+ are still a little shy of humans ( perhaps they still remember being shot at ) but the smaller 3 to 3.5mts are becoming increasingly aggresive towards humans. I have also watched a croc grab a feed of pork from the bank of the East Alligator river one night, believe me they are quicker than you would think. Best advise stick to fishing from a boat, preferably one with higher sides.

    Cheers Ron
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  7. 07-11-2004, 06:38 AM #7
    WHITTO
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    Re: night time,red eyes and big Barra

    G'Day Aaron, Do us all a favor and give it a miss,after all it's only the Mighty Barra you are fishing for,slip out to Tinaroo or Awoonga,give the banks of any river in the Gulf country a miss,the Croc does not have a big brain,it only need to know about eating and shagging (I don't know if I can say that here) but they get very good at repartition,you don't know they are there but you can bet they have an eye on you,it's the one you can't see that is the problem,Gee's I sound like your Father Aaron in a word NOOOOOOOO! dont do it,like to see you around for a bit longer Champ,Cheers and good fishin 2u Whitto
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  8. 07-11-2004, 10:05 AM #8
    Leo_N.
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    Re: night time,red eyes and big Barra

    Someone was telling me recently that they fished near Weipa from the bank and everyone around there was fishing with a red bucket full of water in front of them. Theory was that the croc would attack the bucket rather than them. He even reckoned he saw a bucked get attacked....

    ....this is in no way my recomendation.

    Just a few points on crocs - they are poikilothermic (cold blooded) and their body temperature varies with the environment. This is why we see them sunning themselves on the mud banks - building up the energy to hunt. Therefore they are least active in the winter (too cold), and most active during the summer. There have been a few reports recently of croc attacks as it is warming up.

    If you are fishing from a boat there are a few things to be aware of:

    1. Do not under any circumstances clean any fish or dump bait at boat ramps. Boat ramps are the places that you must get closest to (if not in) the water, so you really don't want crocs attracted to ramps.

    2. When launching and retrieving your boat, keep the boat between you and the water. There was an attack near Townsville recently (about this time last year I think) when some guy backed his tinnie down the ramp, walked behind it in waist-deep water and pulled it into the water. That guy had a lucky escape due to a big shot of adrenaline (jumped from waist deep water into the boat), but is a good example of what not to do.

    3. If getting out of your boat onto a bank for cast netting etc., secure your boat well. I recently saw someone swimming half-way across the mouth of the same river as the above story to retrieve his tinny which was floating away (I wasn't just sitting in my boat waiting for him to get chomped, someone else was closer to him and got to him before he got swallowed up).

    4. Never tether fish to your boat in the water. Some people seem to do this to keep them fresh/alive. It is just like baiting them, and you don't want to give crocs the impression that boats are a good place to get a feed. For that reason, I hate seeing tourist charters feeding crocs, and what is worse, making them jump for it - it should be illegal!

    Anyway, that's my 2 bob and I haven't been eaten by one yet (touch wood). There are probably heaps of other tips out there, but if you err on the side of caution you should be right.
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  9. 07-11-2004, 10:15 AM #9
    Dug
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    Re: night time,red eyes and big Barra

    If you are attacked use your brain not your strength.

    Tough to do, but don't struggle, the crock will just death roll you. If it thinks you are dead it will let you go (hopefully)

    Try to push the flap at the back of it's neck open it cannot submerge with the flap open as it will drown.

    I have never checked out either of these but they came from John Lever who has worked most of his life with crocs.

    better to be safe than a headline.
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  10. 07-11-2004, 10:33 AM #10
    dazza
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    Re: night time,red eyes and big Barra

    aaron,
    you lucky bugger- darwin for 3 years, man i could move there tomorrow.
    spent a bit of time living and fishing i croc country, best advice i can give is use your brain, and show them the respect they deserve. that dosen't mean being shit scared and staying away from the water, but being aware that they are there and they are wild animals.

    be sensible and have a great time
    cheers
    dazza
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  11. 08-11-2004, 10:25 AM #11
    Aaron_Fogarty
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    Re: night time,red eyes and big Barra

    Thanks for the advice guys In the Interim Ive been checking out the dos and donts on the NT croc safety sights.Interesting reading!
    Where we were on the daly was Bamboo Creek it is a strait drop off into about 4 meters of water with only a 1m@@@@@@ D`@@@@@ @D@h@@@ @@@@@@ @@@@@ @QO@@@@@ @Ds@@@ @i@@@ @
    j@@@@ @@@@@ @RO@@@@@ @@Dg@@h`@ @@@@@@ @@nj @h@@@@ @@@@@@ @@@@h
    v@@@T@@ @@@@Q@
    q@`
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  12. 09-11-2004, 06:44 AM #12
    Aaron_Fogarty
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    Re: night time,red eyes and big Barra

    Sorry guys the Japanese version of windows 98 has its flaws...or should I say the user has his flaws..........To continue....Only a 1m piece of bank to fish from. At the back of you was a large embankment so I guess it would be hard for a croc to pick you out against the background....and an attack from deeper water (4m drop off) would make it hard for the croc as well......So if you guys are right about the crocs hunting techniques I guess that Local bloke knew his stuff. If not he knew how to avoid the heat of the day and punish the fish in the cool of the night. Although the mossies punished me that night. This local bloke showed be a pair of broad red eyes along the bank from our position and said "just keep an eye on MR croc, as long as we can see him we are right if he slips into the water then we step up to the next elevation" Even though he seemed old, wise and still alive after years of fishing the region...I still had my doubts ....What about MR 4m crocs brother or his old man?
    Thanks lads
    Aaron
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  13. 10-11-2004, 10:23 AM #13
    devocean
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    Re: night time,red eyes and big Barra

    I have fished around crocs most of my life and I know that most will leave you alone if you dont do anything stupid, common sense ussually is the way to go. Some advice:

    Dont pick up crab floats with your hands use a gaf
    Dont swim anywhere even in drains in towns lagoon wherever
    Always boat a fish wirth a net or gaf never with hands even when releasing fish use a net
    Dont fillet fish near your camp or else you will have every croc in the creek there the next day
    Dont camp where you see lots of pigs
    Probably the most important thing is that some crocs dont see a lot of people especially right up north where not a lot of people go and they often get inquisitive because you are something new. Stay away from these crocs and move because they can become menacing
    Also I have found that because crocs have been protected for so long many are getting real cocky so be careful of crocs that dont swim away from you.

    Good luck you will probably be to busy catching barras and jacks to worry anyway
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  14. 10-11-2004, 01:47 PM #14
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    Re: night time,red eyes and big Barra

    Aaron,
    I lived in Darwin for 18 years and did a lot of fishing and camping as a kid is croc infested areas including the Finnis and Daly Rivers. As most of the replies have been, just keep your eyes open and be aware of where you are. Just remember though, you probably only see about 10% of the crocs that are in there. the rest are lurking underwater for some mug to jump in front of them.
    Cheers
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  15. 10-11-2004, 06:01 PM #15
    megafish71
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    Re: night time,red eyes and big Barra

    Well said Ads. Park rangers in kakadu recon there is aleast another 7 crocs for everyone you see. Aaron go and check out shady camp just after the wet when the river gets back with in its banks, count how many you see and the multiply it by 7. I think that you would think twice before you stood on a bank fishing anywhere. I know where your talking about at Bamboo creek, just make sure old man croc hasn't climbed up the bank from Bamboo creek and is laying there watching you cast your lures into the Daly. This has happened b4

    Good luck
    Ron
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