At a causeway on the Nicholson River, in the heart of the Gulf of Carpentaria, locals are catching giant freshwater prawns by the bucketful.
Gangalidda man Murrandoo Yanner has lived in Burketown – a community in the lower Gulf – all his life and says he has not seen so many cherabin in decades.
After unprecedented monsoonal floods washed through the region earlier this year, the monstrous prawns are not hard to find and keen fishers are relishing the abundance.
"The bigger the floods on land, we find, the better for fishing. And you can see that now," Mr Yanner said.
He has passed on his knowledge of Aboriginal fishing practices to his son Murrandoo Junior and together the duo can catch enough of the beast-sized crustaceans to feed their family of over a dozen people.
"You can catch them with your bare hands," he said.
Although, it is not so hard when you are hunting one of the biggest prawns in the world.
"Your average tiger or banana prawn is 40 grams. Your average cherabin is 250g," Mr Yanner said.
"Cherabin are over five times larger and you lack nothing in quality either."
Big floods, big fishing
Despite the damage catastrophic flooding has inflicted on the Gulf of Carpentaria this wet season, Mr Yanner says one of the upsides is the stellar fishing season that has resulted.
Full rivers that have been well-flushed are teeming with life.
"There are tonnes of nutrients, tonnes of food [that the prawns] live off from algae matter and fish," Mr Yanner said.
"It's like a human I suppose. If you've got a good diet, good tucker, good clean air, good clean living, you'll grow to your maximum ability," he said.
It is not just the prawns that are filling up waterways this season.
If you threw a line into any body of water, you would be unlucky not to catch something impressive, Mr Yanner said.
"There's great barramundi-catching going on throughout the gulf ... fishermen are reporting record catches," he said.
Record season for wider industry
Less than halfway into the banana prawn season further north, trawler operators have been encouraged by big catches.
"The prawning industry is on fire at the moment," Mr Yanner said.
"They've recorded their best catches in decades, and they've only just started their season."
Several failed wet seasons have caused mounting stress on the northern prawn industry, says Austral Fisheries fleet manager Andy Prendergast.
"Over the last three years, our wet season disappeared to south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales," he said.
"We had horrible years. We were down to 60 tonnes and started to wonder if we were overfishing it or if the environment just wasn't delivering."
Mr Prendergast said it was a relief to have such a strong start this season.
"It instantly reverses those trends. Everyone has put their shoulder to the wheel and we are just buoyed by the results," he said.
In the Gulf, Mr Yanner is urging travellers to put places like Burketown, Normanton and Karumba on the map this tourist season.
"Come out and drop a line," he said.
"This is the best fishing season we've had in years."
