Darwin deep sea fishing charters will leave you speechless and wanting for more. The stretch of reefs past the Cullen Bay is where the Yellowtail Kingfish, Golden Snapper, Coral Trout, and Emperor meet Tuna and Giant Trevally. This in itself creates enough excitement to fish here for days. Add to that stunning scenery, massive Billfish miles out, and you’ll know why so many anglers come here for multiday fishing trips regularly.

What can I target?

When the dry season kicks in, anglers can head further out without worrying about heavy rain. Many charters go past the 50 mile mark in search of Longtail Tuna, Giant and Golden Trevally, Sailfish, and Queenfish. Around the reefs and islands north of Darwin, in the waters of Timor Sea, Beagle Gulf, and Van Diemen Gulf, you’ll find Black Jewfish, Red Emperor, Coral Trout, and Snapper. The longer the trip, the more opportunity you’ll have to explore all these fisheries.

If you go on a multiday trip, most fishing will be done at night or during the early hours of the day. From Sailfish to Marlin, cobalt blue waters out of Darwin boats impressive fish offer. Billfish is generally there during summer, then replaced by cold-loving Tuna. These game fishing trips surely test your patience. Sometimes, it takes hours before the blow strikes. And then it’s complete game fishing madness! There are also annual Billfish tournaments where you can test your mettle, but also help tag and release the fish. Find a charter to take you out, and you might be meeting dozens of ‘Sails’ in no time.

If you book an extended trip, you could be heading out from up to 12 hours to several days. This would let you properly explore the Perron Islands to the west of the Darwin, Lorna Shoals, Point Blaze, and many reefs in the Timor Sea. Again these trips would see you fishing for Black Jewfish, Trevally and many Tunas. Set your outriggers right and you might even hook up a nice Billfish.

However, solid fishing takes place in the Darwin Harbour and around Dundee Beach if you’d rather stay closer to the shore. Just be aware that these two locations are the prime fishing grounds. This means that it can get crowded, and for a reason - you could be fishing already 20 minutes after departing and still get some Queenfish, Coral Trout, and Snapper.

How to get the fish?

Popular methods include trolling and bottom fishing. If you go for the pelagics, then you’ll probably add some popping and jigging. Giant Trevally loves poppers, and Yellowtail Kingfish is best caught when trolling with live bait. Just make sure not to get your line smashed by the fish that hide around the reefs and rocky bottoms. They won’t give up, so better get ready for some biceps-popping action.