There are two colours that spark joy for me as an angler… writes Tim O’Reilly
They include dazzling blues in every imaginable shade and the natural green hues of the stream side vegetation and water deep in the depths of jungle streams.
There are few places even in the over-endowed Australian landscape that can produce these colours I so desire.
They include the length and breadth of the Great Barrier Reef and the rainforest streams and rivers of Far North Queensland and Cape York.
However, a recent trip abroad unlocked a new place to receive both these colour sensations.
For me, it was the chance aboard a charter up in New Britain Island in north-eastern PNG.
Both jungle streams of every conceivable nature and barrier reefs filling every bump and rise in the rugged and newly volcanic island.
In this feature, let’s take a look at the Jungle Streams and focus on two of the iconic species, Jungle Perch of North Queensland and the Spot Tail Bass (Lutjanus fuscescens) of New Britain Island.
Very different in size and nature yet with one brilliant characteristic that excites the senses. Each fish has a passion for smashing things on the surface, with deadly accurate strikes on anything hapless touching down.
The Jungle Streams of Far North Queensland
After so many years travelling across northern Australia, it has become the rainforest and reef that have captured my heart and lead to Cairns being home base. Amongst the rugged northern rainforest clad mountains, Cairns has been the perfect launchpad for my fishing endeavours.
For us northerners, its nothing to jump in the car and drive two or three hours to fish a remote spot.
It’s one of the little critters that exploit the jungle and tropical east coast streams that I want to focus on, the mighty Jungle Perch.
Although they don’t have teeth and an exceptional specimen only measures 50cm long, Jungle Perch are amongst the most mystic and sought after critters in this part of the world.
Young anglers with an adventurous spirit have really capitalised on the trend of walking a long way upstream to fish that holy grail top-pool. Usually the place before rapids or waterfalls make it impossible for these fish to move higher. If given the chance, that dominant fish will make its way to the farthest place upstream to select only the finest morsels off the menu.
Walking, wading and swimming up these crystal-clear jungle pools is not for the feint hearted. Seldom is the day you make it back from one of these missions without bruises and scratches.
But the absolute unaltered scenery and clean cool bubbling water make the efforts worth the while.
Around every little bend and corner of these mountain streams, jungle perch might hide under a shady tree or log jam.
They might be casually finning out in the current in the open or working a seam for morsels being washed down in the endless flow.
Being an incredibly intelligent fish, jungle perch can become wary very quickly. A slight alteration in mood and they can go from smashing things indiscriminately to very discerning in the blink on an eye.
And they have very acute eyes, capable of tracking prey above the crystal-clear waters they inhabit. Quite often an angler will miss the initial strike from a jungle perch, reflexes not yet cued in. It will be that second or third strike which finally brings hook and jaw together.
Although feeding on a very large range of prey, like all predatory jungle fish, JPs need a healthy respect for eating when fed.
If a grasshopper or spider or lizard or baitfish or prawn or any other tiny creature intersects the flow of water, look out.
Being omnivorous, a sweet fig dropped from above is sure to get gobbled up. JPs are competitive feeders and pack attacks are a great feature of this style of fishing. A tiny popper, fizzer, walk the dog or insect imitation will cover most of the surface options. Flies, spinner baits, paddle tails, soft plastic frog and prawn imitations plus a huge array of diving lures have been successfully launched at these fish.
The short and dogged fight is often punctuated by leaps from the larger specimens. When retrieving a lure of any sort, try and have your rod tip down and to the side to allow for a solid strike and hookup.
If the first strike is missed simply keep on retrieving without yanking the lure away if possible. Any suspicion on the fish’s part and 10 JPs can turn into no JPs very quickly. Then it is off to the next pool to try again.
On a super light set-up, which might be 8-10lb braid topped with 12-15lb leader and a whippy little spin stick, these fish perform very well. Although wrapping you around sticks and brushing off on boulders can be an issue, most of the structure is smooth so they can be extracted with smart rod angles and patience.
Casting accuracy is probably the most important factor when it comes to having a good time. Casting from a boat or walking upstream on foot both require equal dexterity as any stray casts can become snagged. Lures snagged, line snapped, a re-rig is in order… it can get tiring quickly!
Jungle Perch ‘Kuhlia rupestris’ have an extremely wide range across the Indo-Pacific. They can move vast distances and it is thought they use flood plumes out at sea to spawn. Incidentally the Jungle Perch is alive and well in the rivers of our next great location. But in this place they become the hunted, rather then the hunter!
The jungle streams of New Britain
The mist and cloud fell silently over the rugged volcano tops. Littering the island like a vast up-sweeping framework of towering infernos.
A few of them smoking in a timely reminder of recent activity. Some may remember when that jewel of the pacific Rubaul was devastated by volcanic eruption back in 1994.
In its fairly recent geological history, massive upheaval has been the norm. Mountain ranges have risen and been carved and eroded by powerful volcanic action, tectonic plate shift and the forces of gravity and precipitation.
The coastline is dissected by hundreds of creeks and rivers with a staggering variety in length and discharge.
Where the jungles are still intact (with a few exceptions due to logging), beautiful rainforest and thick coastal riparian vegetation spills down to the riverbanks.
Where annual wet season and monsoon cycles have an exacerbated effect on these tropical rivers, huge rises and falls are possible.
Overnight rains can turn a clear jungle stream into a cloudy run-off with the fish ducking for cover.
Amongst these places of boom and bust live two of the most ferocious fish on earth. Spot Trail Bass and Black Bass, each with powerful jaws full of canine teeth, ready to rip and tear into baitfish, prawns and fresh morsels falling from the sky.
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Whereas the Black Bass are typically located around the lower reaches and estuarine areas, our focus fish the Spot Tail will live all the way upstream into the highest rapid, riffle and waterfall areas.
Where the systems are at their most pristine, most jungle clad, most isolated, cleanest and absolutely full of submerged timber and rock.
For fishing enthusiasts who love throwing surface lure presentations in clear, structure covered waterways, this is heaven. At any moment a jungle beast might fly out of its home and destroy your offering.
As a fellow jungle stream predator, Spot Tail bass have a very wide variety of prey items, including little jungle perch!
The menu will also include everything from crabs, prawns, baby crocodiles, little mammals, frogs, lizards, snakes, you name it! If it happens to be either drifting or swimming in any of the upstream jungle sections of a river in New Britain, it is fair game for these toothy critters. Lures with the best chance at enticing predatory strikes are a variety of colourful surface and shallow-medium diving lures armed with super strong hooks.
Spot Tail bass are visual feeders and have extremely good eye sight. As soon as a lure touches down, it is best to begin cranking it back to entice a reaction strike. A surface lure should be worked rhythmically back out of cover and it’s important no slack is in the line when things go tight as a powerful strike is necessary to set the hooks.
What comes next is a few seconds of pure tug-of-war as the fight is won or lost in an instant. If it gets you back into a snaggy lair, it’s goodbye fish and the end of your lure.
When conditions are right and you find yourself well upstream in clean flowing waters, it is hard to resist sticking with surface lures. The strikes on surface are electric, the speed and ferocity of a big spotty charging up underneath the lure before erupting on it is something not soon forgotten.
Some luck is usually needed but modern rods matched with strong drags and abrasive resistant leaders helps tilt the balance in the anglers favour. Although the smaller specimens give up quite quickly after a few initial charges, the bigger models are much more powerful. Check your lure after tangling with one and those teeth marks are sure to leave an imprint.
As opposed to black bass which seem to have canine type teeth front to back, the spot tails have huge canines in the front then almost serrated teeth further back allowing both grip and slice in the one bite. Also despite not being quite as well known as the more famous black bass, spotties get equally big if not longer.
Reports of unstoppable beasts were relayed to me of fish around the 40-50lb mark and well over a meter! Imagine encountering that in a clear mountain stream sitting under a log at the base of a rapid.
Things in common
Both the Jungle Percha and Spot Tail Bass are striking fish to look at. Anglers are drawn to them partly due to looks, partly due to the challenge they present and partly due to the magnificent scenery you catch them in. Although the target of mostly catch and release, both are very fine on the dinner table as well, but regulations prevent their consumption in Queensland.
For fishos that love their pursuit for the spectacular scenery as much as for catching a fish, these are two well worth having on the hit list.
They smash surface lures, fight hard and seem to live on in the memory bank a little longer then most other fish. Walking a timber encrusted bank in search of these critters or drifting down a stream where time simply stood still is a feeling hard to replicate in other fishing environments.