April 25, 2018 - Reading time: 3 minutes

We had always hoped to do a day visit to Wyndham from Kununurra, but after chatting to a fellow camper we have decided to visit both Wyndham and Diggers Rest Station which is 38 kms south west of the town.

Made great time from Purnululu and arrived in Wyndham just after 12 and had a great lunch at the Rusty Shed which is owned and operated by the Atkins family who have a Son at Nudgee where Maureen and Nick work. Lovely people and they confirmed that Diggers Rest was both a great place to sit and ponder as well as do some fishing.

On arrival, after a pretty rough drive ( equal to the Purnululu Rd) we were both concerned about our decision, there was no one around, the place was very dry and dusty and appeared to be run down. However we eventually came across the owner who both booked us in (promised no one would be allocated to the spot next door) and promised to help us catch some live bait and show us the place to fish.

We set up camp on a bank two metres above the river bank, where a creek joins the King River and were told that’s the spot. The bait was a bit harder as the mullet were very skittish and it was very difficult to keep our shadow off the water, and we ended up with a solitary mullet.

What a legend is that mullet! He caught two superb silver Barramundi 72 and 68 cm in length and will provide us with 8 meals over the next few weeks. We spent the next days sitting, chatting, reading, playing Yahtzee but especially just watching the river and bird life. Every hour or so I would throw the cast net ( borrowed from Roderick the owner of the station chasing two mullets for live baits. Eventually got two and again they provided great entertainment.

Basically the technique is to throw the bait into the mouth of the creek and river, open your spool and place the rod down. This is because barramundi do not bite, but suck the fish in, and if they feel any resistance spit it back out so you need to let the bait run for about 10 to 15 metres before closing the running spool ( I put my rod on the ground as I find it hard not to close immediately). The danger of course is that if you take too long the Barra can get you to a snag, especially if you have a low drag – Maurs lost a fish like this last night – so frustrating you could see it on the other side of the river jumping in the snag. However, later she did get a 76cm Barra just as we were cooking tea. A beautiful fish. Barra