Hi mate, It's ok, I still talk to RAAFies ;) We all had the same boss. My last posting as a security guard was at the RAAF base at Canberra, great blokes to work with. I'm in Tin Can Bay. If you like small whiting and bream then I suppose the fishing is OK :(. It's good 'outside' but my boat is too small to brave the bar. Let me know if you get up this way for sure. If I told my wife what you said about her it'd cost me a fortune in new hats her head would swell that much ;)

You still talk to RAAFies...Yep, you're a Grunt...BRAVE!! :)

I done more time in the Army than I did the RAAF.

Tin Can Bay...never been there...I drove past the turn off once on my way to Darwin. Looks like a nice spot.

Nothing wrong with small whiting and bream. Check this out - https://www.fishingreminder.com/fishing-talk/4-fishing-talk/2866-bad-boy...

Excuse the pun, but landing a 100kg tuna is just heavy tackle and lots of grunt...Landing a small whiting on a "bad boy" like that little Pen is pure finesse and skill ;)

It's a date...I will let you know when I come up that way. I have a friend in Warwick that I promised to visit some time in the next year or so. I will probably just free camp my way along...Don't worry, your tackle and beer money is safe, I wont say anything to your wife...in fact I will tell her that she has a face like a worn out Army---nay, RAAF boot, just to maintain marital bliss :):)

Lolol. I did a lot of my training at Tin Can Bay in 1971, came back for a trip down memory lane and ended up staying. I think my trouble is that I've been spoiled having lived in a few great fishing spots. If you ever get the chance go to Geraldton WA, some of the best fishing I've ever had. If you say that to my wife we might both lose our tackle and I don't mean fishing tackle lol. A mate comes down from Katherine NT every now and then to catch these whiting as he gets sick of chasing barra all the time (poor bugger). No King George here, just summer and winter whiting.

1971 ? So you are a Nasho ??

The owner of the house I am sitting is a Nam Vet.

Your mate does not come down for the whiting...He comes down because he lives in Katherine !!!....poor bugger :):)

I landed a one meter barra on the Alligator back in 1997 or 1998...I was drunk at the time so I don't remember the exact year 😊 I got it all on video...well, a mate video recorded the whole thing. Let it go of course. Landed with a Shimano Bantam Crestfire (which I still have and use). I don't remember what the rod was, it was either an Ugly Stick or a Silstar Powertip...I know it was the Bantam because all you hear in the video is me saying (or rather yelling) the bantam done it...the *****ing bantam done it...one meter on a ****ing bantam.... ***** me the bantam done it etc. I am sure you get the gist. I plead drunkenness at the time, but it might be a good idea to turn the volume down if there are children around :):)

I was talking for ages with an SAS vet yesterday, poor buggar. Hell of a nice guy. Where I live there are lots of vets, heaps of them, mostly Vietnam vintage. I was extremely cheesed off when I missed out but now .......

Yeah, Nasho. I got the sulks when Whitlam stopped us (9RAR) from going to Vietnam. I transferred to 3RAR hoping to get to Malaysia but they couldn't guarantee it so due to that and pressure from my good lady wife I pulled the pin and got out. After about 18 months I missed it so much that I joined our local ARes unit, transport and di about 9 years with them.

I lived in Katherine for around 8 years and loved every single day of it. When I wasn't pig or buff shooting I was barra fishing lol. We used to fish the 57 Mile at the Roper River but it's closed now, not allowed there. Did you catch that nice barra at Cahills Crossing, near the border store? That's a nice fish and well done on the Bantam. I love Ugly sticks and have an assortment of them. My fav. is one with interchangeable handles, pistol grip or long 'normal'. I've had it since the mid-late 70s and still use it.

Sorry my mistake. I just searched for it on the map. It was the Adelaide River just south of Goat Island. There is a fishing lodge on the island which we stayed at. They took us by boat about 5 minutes south which is where I landed the barra.

The Alligator River was a different trip.

I have driven through Katherine dozens of times and loved every minute of it :)....Just joking, it is a nice place.