The Daly River is one of the great barramundi fisheries in Australia. It is also remote, brutally hot, and shared with saltwater crocodiles. A trip report from the dry season.
Getting There
The Daly is about 220km south of Darwin on the Stuart Highway, then a further 60km on a dirt road to the river. In the dry season the road is fine for any vehicle. In the wet it is impassable. We went in late July — middle dry season, water low and clear, fish concentrated in the permanent holes.
The Fishing
Barramundi fishing on the Daly is best at dawn and dusk. The heat of the NT dry season is significant — 32°C by 9am, 38°C by early afternoon. Most serious fishing happens in the two-hour windows at each end of the day, with lure casting into timber, rock bars, and undercut banks.
We used medium-heavy spinning outfits with 40lb braid and 60lb fluorocarbon leader. Surface lures at dawn produced aggressive strikes. Suspending hardbodies worked through the morning until the heat shut the bite down. Evening saw the best fishing of the trip — a barra of about 85cm taken on a mullet-pattern suspending lure at last light, upstream of the main camp pool.
The Crocodiles
Saltwater crocodiles are present throughout the Daly. We saw three in four days — two on banks, one in the water ahead of the boat that we estimated at 3.5 metres. This is not unusual. You do not wade the Daly. You fish from the bank with situational awareness, or from a boat. The crocs add a dimension to the experience that nothing else quite replicates.
Camp Life
We camped at a private property on the river with permission from the station manager. Generator power, bore water, and a camp kitchen. Four nights, five days. The stars on a cloudless NT dry-season night are worth the drive alone.
Fishing the NT requires serious sun protection. Browse our UV fishing clothing range — long-sleeve shirts, broad-brim hats, all UPF 50+.
