Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/111460
highlight Melville Island Lodge: The tug is the drug Steve Cooper strikes silver on a fishing trip to Melville in the Tiwi Islands. The intermittent sounds made by feeding barramundi are reminiscent of dawn on opening day of duck season. Boof! It's music to the ears of an angler. And, sometimes, amid the boofs comes the crackle of timber as a barra lunges after prey seeking shelter in the small branches of a submerged tree. Boofs and crackles are followed by the plop of a lure landing on the surface of the water close to the action. Boof, crackle, plop and then whoosh! as a barra takes the lure and spears from the water in a burst of glistening silver. It's the stuff of dreams – a scene reenacted every day along the mangrovelined rivers, streams and backwaters of Melville Island. Melville is about 30 minutes' flying time north of Darwin and, at 5,700 square kilometres, is Australia's second-largest island. It is not open to the public for tourism, but visits are 38 organised by Tiwi Islands Adventures, and anglers who come here stay at Melville Island Lodge. Tiwi Islands Adventures managing director Mike Baxter says a stay at the lodge doesn't preclude other activities: "Given we're primarily a fishing destination, most guests prefer to maximise their time fishing, but this doesn't need to be the case. "If you're looking for an authentic Indigenous community experience, you will enjoy a visit to nearby Jilamara Arts & Craft Centre, a dip in a local swimming hole or even a visit to the Milikapiti Sports and Social Club. Just let us know when you arrive and we'll make it happen for you." The creature comforts include epic meals and it's possible to leave the lodge, fish all day and return without getting your feet wet. For most visitors, the tug is the drug, and the lodge caters for all levels of fishing experience with its seasoned, professional guides. Barramundi is northern Australia's premier sports fish, but the lodge also caters for anglers seeking varied piscatorial adventures. There are more than 40 species of fish, so when you think you've caught enough barra, you can seek a change of pace fishing for other species such as Spanish mackerel, giant trevally, jewfish, coral trout, saratoga and mangrove jack. When Queensland brothers Vic and Alex Solaga stayed at the lodge, they opted out of the barra fishing early. After hooking barra to 88 centimetres and realising the fishing was slow, the brothers decided they wanted some offshore action. Fishing with Victorian angler Steve 'Trelly' Threlfall, we stopped to fish a reef outside Jessie River, caught