The preparation that goes into any sweetwater mission is always a fun and exciting part of the experience. Before any of my adventures take place, some serious preparation must be done. Not only in deciding what lures to take but it is also vital that safety gear is packed in case things go wrong.

Some essential items I always pack on my missions include water, first aid kit, phone, torch, matches and food. It’s also a good idea to inform a few people of exactly what areas you intend to fish and, of course, always try to fish with another person. Having the right safety gear could really help you out one day. 

There are endless amounts of freshwater streams to choose from up here in the tropical north and a lot of them hold great fish! You just have to put in the effort to reach those hard to get to spots. Coming up with a solid game plan is going to give you an advantage. I always use Google Maps to find new ground. It’s always rewarding when you do the research on an area, trek into the location the next day and catch a fish in the honey hole you discovered on a computer screen the night before! 

This cooler part of the year is a great time to set out on a few big missions to target some big jungle perch! This temperature makes it a lot easier to cover more ground, so you can reach those honey holes. Throwing a wide range of artificial presentations will see you catch plenty of these sterling silver gems! A few of my favourite lures to use on JPs are the TT Lures Vortex Spinnerbaits. These are a smaller style spinnerbait that are perfect for this type of country.

They have a brilliant flash to them and you can rig a small grub on the stinger hook. Another favourite to flick is the ZMan 4’’ StreakZ Curly TailZ. I love using this soft plastic because it basically comes to life when it hits the water.  ZMan lures are made up of Elaztek, which is actually buoyant, so when rigged on a lightly weighted jighead the grub tail always wants to move. It’s the perfect bite-sized presentation! 

Another really interesting native species that hits lures hard is the snakehead gudgeon. These guys can be found in most freshwater systems up here. These fish are only a small native but sure will hit your lure with full aggression! They are a very beautiful looking fish and will take surface lures, but they are real suckers for small grub style lures. On a recent trip to one of my favourite systems a little trek up a tight feeder creek was full of them. It was plenty of fun watching this unique species erupting out of the shallow jungle water to smash our lures!  

The sooty grunter are always on the lookout to attack the lures that you throw their way. These fish are as tough as it gets and fight just as hard. If you want to have some real fun, using surface lures for these guys is a real treat. I normally use spinnerbaits and soft plastics in the middle part of the day then make the switch to surface as the sun starts to go down. The power behind the surface strike is quite amazing to see. 

I hope everyone gets out for a flick and remember to stay safe out there. Fish On!