Catfish Frenzy

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Lee Point is currently experiencing westerly winds and lots of fresh water from all the run off. As a result, I keep seeing sharks foraging close to shore. After catching several Fork-tailed Catfish Arius sp. and one with three different small shark bites, I understand why I see the sharks patrolling the surf line.
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I also caught and released a Shovel-nose Ray Rhinobatos typus. I am not sure what these cat fish and rays are feeding on but they are attracted to the wave action which is certainly having an effect on the sandy bottom. At low tide the beach is no longer smooth and flat but full of troughs and pot holes for lack of a a more descriptive picture.
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One type of ray which looks like an Eagle Ray Aetobatus narinari is actually surfing the waves as it catches bait fish.
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The Westerlies Have Returned

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The westerlies have returned and turned the beach into a surf zone if your game. The sun is back, the mozzies have been snapped up by the Bee-eater Merops apiaster whose snapping noise is a most welcome sound, as I figure one more mosquito has bitten the bullet.
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FFI saw a pair of Emerald Dove Chalcophaps indica in the vine forest as fruit is everywhere although the pair I saw seems to prefer the ground.
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I caught a small Lemon shark Negaprion brevirostris off the beach in the surf zone. I was surprised to see many small sharks working in close to the beach & in such rough conditions.
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While I was fishing off of the beach a very large Caspian Tern Sterna caspia was also fishing. This bird was an excellent diver as well as hovering effortlessly when lining up a target.

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Tropical Cyclone Billy

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Tropical Cyclone Billy passed by and we have had 173 mm of rain. For the last two days, westerly winds have made kayaking impossible.

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Purple Yam

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When I first saw the distinctive Gardenia megasperma I was then surprised at just how many grew in the woodlands. Without their showy white flower they are easily just part of a green mosaic background. The same has happened with the yam vine.

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The yam Ipomoea abrupta has a very beautiful purple flower
that is impossible to miss.
Now that they are coming into bloom they are every where.
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Low Tide Lemon Shark

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Sunrise three days running, just past the small shore break, during the low tide lull, small sharks were working where the turbid outflow was creating a ribbon-like line with the incoming clear tidal current. I cast a small popper when I saw their fins break the surface but they seemed intent on something else. Both Friday and Saturday were intense fishing, as schools of Trevally Caranx ignobilis, QueenFish Scomberoides commersonnianus and mackerel, were everywhere again feeding on small baitfish.

On Sunday, as I floated near the Lee Point rock outcrop, in fairly shallow water, a vortex spun my kayak around and as I peered over the starboard a fish about the size of a young horse was peering back at me. I didn’t have time to panic but as I assessed my situation I must admit I contemplated going in for the day.

I stayed out and not long after caught a Trevally which fought hard under the kayak. I expected it to be munched at any time and I brought it onto the deck as quick as possible as to not have a lurching shark try to grab it next to the kayak. I caught several more without any issues that I know about.

I saw the same or another similar sized shark 20 minutes later, but it seemed intent on heading in the opposite direction. I never saw its dorsal fin break the water, but I consistently saw smaller fins working the surface the rest of the low tide session. I also saw quite a few large rays in the cloudy outgoing tidal flow so I am thinking they were after specific prey which is still as yet unknown.

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The shark I saw looked more bronze than this one. Local expert Dr Helen Larson of the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, suggested it was perhaps a Lemon Shark Negaprion brevirostris. The shark I saw was more bronze than this one.
[http://dsc.discovery.com/sharks/lemon-shark.html]
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So Similar So Different

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The Native Cherry Exocarpuos latifolius has a hard green seed sitting atop a sweet and luscious red fruit with prominent round leaves. The fruit is very editable.

A very similar plant Strychnos lucida the Strychnine Tree also has round leaves and orange coloured fruit but it contains strychnine. The round leaves have three prominent veins.
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With the recent wet weather many plants are producing fruit. According to some sources the fruiting of these two similarly looking plants usually occurs at different times of the year. So in most years the fruiting season is an additional telltale to help avoid picking the wrong fruit.

Yesterday I met an indigenous family out looking for Hibiscus tree limbs for a fishing spear and they were also gathering Green Plum fruit. They were from Groote Eylandt and had relations living in Darwin. I was there foraging off the Green Plum and the Native Cherry. When I showed John the Native Cherry tree he did not seem too interested in it and it made me wonder if it is too much like Strychnine Tree or just didn’t grow on Groote Eylandt.

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