Reef Addicts have ticked off a long-talked-about Top End helicopter mission, flying out of Darwin with operator Nautilus Helifish to drop into remote barramundi country between two active cyclones - and walking away with a 96 cm barra, a chrome threadfin salmon and a string of healthy mid-80s fish.
The trip came together at the last minute. "We've been talking about it for years and then I always come up with an excuse to stop me going," Josh told the camera before boarding. "This time Shauny's booked it in. He said, I'll meet you at the airport." The weather was less cooperative. "We've got a cyclone rocking up here and there's a cyclone on in WA and we're going to be sweet right in the middle of it," he said as they crossed onto the tarmac.
Nautilus runs guided helifish trips into floodplain country only reachable from the air. "On the Helifish trips, they bring a bag of tackle. You don't have to bring anything. They've got rods, tackle, and the fishing spots," Josh explained. The Reef Addicts crew booked early in the run-off, when the system was still loaded with water. "We're a little bit early," Josh said. "There's still a lot of water around. So they're going to try to get us onto a few fish if it's possible, but we're going to have to work hard today."
The first chopper drop fired straight up. Josh hooked what he reckoned was "probably the biggest barra I've ever hooked in my life" and dropped it before swapping over to a thread fin salmon that promptly buried him in the trees. Sean was busy on his own fish a few metres away. "That's badass. Good fish," Josh said as Sean dragged the next barra clear. "It's raining, but the fish are going off."
A second helicopter drop produced more action - including water buffaloes spotted from the air - and another mid-80s class fish for Sean. "He's good. Mid 80s," Josh called as the fight unfolded under the rotors. By the end of the day, despite cold cyclonic rain forcing the operator to limit them to two spots, every angler on the trip had landed quality fish. "We battled the weather. We were patient. Ryan brought us this one last spot, and there was a few big fish caught," Josh said. "Very, very cool just landing the chopper here and then catching fish."
For a remote, weather-affected one-day mission, the Reef Addicts session is a strong endorsement of helicopter access in the Northern Territory's wet-season window. The crew confirmed the channel had locked in a discount with the operator and committed to going back. "We're definitely going back," Josh said. "They have heaps of different trips that you can do. You can camp out overnight. You can go to lodges. You can do a lot more."