Lane Cove River

[zrealist]

Went to the Lane Cove river with my dad on Sunday afternoon for a bit of fishing. We were using whole pilchards but we couldn't tempt any decent sized fish. All fish caught were under sized and thrown back. Although we didn't get anything big it was still a good way to spend the afternoon.

[heckendorfmortgage]

How far up the LCR were you?

Maybe pillies were not the best bait if you got nothing?

MH

[zrealist]

How far up the LCR were you?

Maybe pillies were not the best bait if you got nothing?

MH

We fish close to the mouth of the river.

[James]

mate generally match your baits to what food source are most common in that area.

to be honest ive never fished lane cove before but most reports coming out of there are for flatties and bream.

maybe try downsizing your baits to match the hatch, possibly prawns or whitebait.

i think

[Spanker]

mate generally match your baits to what food source are most common in that area.

to be honest ive never fished lane cove before but most reports coming out of there are for flatties and bream.

maybe try downsizing your baits to match the hatch, possibly prawns or whitebait.

i think

Mullet - LCR is full of mullet, further upstream towards the wier you go the more there are. Chances are if anything decent is heading up the river looking for a feed it is chasing mullet.

Spanker

[James]

learn something new everyday.

never new that

[Spanker]

Mate if you take a walk on the wier early morning or in the afternoon you will see clouds of fish hanging around. Swarms of bream, blackfish, flathead, taylor and masses of mullet. Throw some bread around and you can really get the water boiling. At night time there is the constant splashing of mullet jumping.

I have actually considered getting a hand cast net and loading up on live mullet as prep for harbour jew fishing..however hand cast nets being illegal and all never got past the thinking stage.

[ando]

Mate if you take a walk on the wier early morning or in the afternoon you will see clouds of fish hanging around. Swarms of bream, blackfish, flathead, taylor and masses of mullet. Throw some bread around and you can really get the water boiling. At night time there is the constant splashing of mullet jumping.

I have actually considered getting a hand cast net and loading up on live mullet as prep for harbour jew fishing..however hand cast nets being illegal and all never got past the thinking stage.

can u fish there? i heard some parts are illegal

[barrykrocker]

might have to give it a go on the kayak.

ARe there good flathead/ bream in there? how small are the mullet?

[crystalliser]

Some places to try are Valencia Street, Alexandria Street, Longueville & Northwood wharves. Some good shore spinning spots are Gore Creek, Fig Tree Bridge, Buffalo creek and Ferdinand Reserve.

And if you want to take the family on a picnic and catch a fish too try Lane Cove National Park on the saltwater side of the weir, I like the Lady Game Drive side, berley up with bread and fish with your blackfish gear and pencil floats and size 8 hooks and be prepared for some outsized mullet that is great fun on light gear.

Yes, the Lane Cove River is a surprisingly good place right in the middle of Sydney!

Cheers

MF

Hi raiders,

As mentioned about float fishing for mullet using bread, I've always been keen to give it a go especially seeing mullets jumping whenever I'm luring with a bubble quote coming from them: "neh.. neh.. neh.. u cannot catch me..!!"

Quick question, may I know what's the general effective rig to target them? Would it be similar to a blackfish rig? If so, how long must the leader be knowing the fact that they usually jump more often in the shallow flats? Thanks for helping!

Cheers,

Ronald

[nick penprase]

My Experience in the harbour has been very mixed....

Try down near Mcmahons pt...

A secret recipe of raw chicken pieces coated in that kraft fake parmesen cheese is always a good recipe that has yielded me some monster bream...

Usually this will produce a couple of fish each spot and then i will move 50 - 100 metres or so...

Just remember you need to find the fish....

They won't come to you...

NickFish

P.S Use a SP jighead...

NickFish

[Flattieman]

i would think that simply feeding out an unweighted piece of dough or bread on the lightest line possible through a burley trail for up to 50m or until yout get a hit and then repeating would be a very effective way to target them

Yeah - I would tend to agree with that. Also, mullet can certainly be caught with blackfish gear. I tend to make my own mullet floats out of wine corks (champagne bottle corks are good for the bigger mullet). They are naturally-coloured so don't spook the fish. Just trim the cork to the size and shape desired, drill a fine hole through the cork, feed your line through the hole and then plug the hole with a toothpick. A leader under the float can vary from just 15cm to 50cm+, with split shots being optional. Mullet hooks should be loaded with some simple dough. Hope this helps.

Flattieman.

[FletcherG1991]

if i head to Fig Tree Bridge with a few SP and a few HB will i be likley to get something

[crystalliser]

Thanks raiders!!! I'll certainly will give float fishing for mullet a try soon. Every single bloody time I go luring, I see them jump, the more they jump, the more pissed I am! But rest assured I'll not exterminate them as they'll definitely be released just as I do for all my captures.

Regarding the dough, how would u go about making them? Had never baked anything in my entire life so any help on the recipe will be greatly appreciated. Can I just verify that a size 8 blackfish hook (sneck) would be sufficient? Cheers raiders

Ron

ps. apologies to the thread starter for hijacking your post

[Flattieman]

Ron, making dough is definitely not a precise art. I put some flour in a bowl, add some water and a bit of oil, mix it together and see what the consistency is. I always try to put less water than I think is needed in to begin with, and add water as necessary (or flour if I overdo the water). That's it (don't make too much!). Just put a small (half 5c piece) bit of dough on your hook (8 sneck sounds fine) under a float and Bob's your Uncle! Good luck,

Flattieman.

[FletcherG1991]

ive gone down there specificaly targeting the mullet and got nothing..... tried fly, float, bread burlying (damn ducks) but nothing.....sharks !..... and after abit of rain the mullet seem abit more active

Edited September 8, 2006 by FletcherG1991

[Richie]

You could always try a bread fly

[locodave]

Mate if you take a walk on the wier early morning or in the afternoon you will see clouds of fish hanging around. Swarms of bream, blackfish, flathead, taylor and masses of mullet. Throw some bread around and you can really get the water boiling. At night time there is the constant splashing of mullet jumping.

I have actually considered getting a hand cast net and loading up on live mullet as prep for harbour jew fishing..however hand cast nets being illegal and all never got past the thinking stage.

Yes I'm a newbie! What is a 'weir' ?

[FletcherG1991]

a weir is a bridge type thing that seperats the fresh water from the salt water..... it also has a "bass lader" (i think thats what it is called) to let the bass spawn.....but its bloody slipery and i have nearly ended up in the water a few times hope this makes sence

[Spanker]

I told this story on the site a year ago but here goes again.

After being endlessly fascinated by the huge carp patrolling the shoreline of the freshwater side of the weir, I decided to come back one night for a secret squirrel mission to have a crack at them. I convinced a mate (non-fisher) to come out for a laugh so one Saaturday night we stocked up on corn and bread and packed the fishing gear. we parked in the steakhouse car park on Ladygame Dr and snuck in to the National park about 10pm. All was quiet, was threw out some corn and bread and then our lines.

All was quiet for 10 minutes when carlights start approaching. That's strange I say, as the gates are usually locked after hours. The lights come right on us and the car accelerates. S*$t I yell, it's the Ranger. My mate and I madly reel in the lines, grab the bucket and tackle bag and hightail it back dow the weir. While we are hooting like madmen the rnager puts his highbeam on and flies after us, only to have to stop because of posts around the carpark.

Anyway we bolted into the bushes and collapsed in hysterics. Probably totally unrelated but a police car screamed past 5 minutes later.

For 2 old farts it was more fun then we had had in ages. I subsequently organised a raider social down there which has a laugh but a carp non-event.

[FletcherG1991]

those carp near the wier are huge..... i have often thought about chucking a line in when no one was around..... i still cant find a sitable LB spot in the fresh water side as it is all bushlined

[Clarkie]

those carp near the wier are huge..... i have often thought about chucking a line in when no one was around..... i still cant find a sitable LB spot in the fresh water side as it is all bushlined

Can't fish land based downstream of Fiddens Warf rd, roughly. There are signs showing where you can and can't. Up stream there are spots you can fish from the bank, but there aren't many. Mainly on the north side of the river.

I've caught a couple of carp myself from there, and they aren't bad fun on light gear. The Bass are more fun though.

Cheers, Clarkie.

Edited September 11, 2006 by Clarkie

[wrasseman]

I told this story on the site a year ago but here goes again.

After being endlessly fascinated by the huge carp patrolling the shoreline of the freshwater side of the weir, I decided to come back one night for a secret squirrel mission to have a crack at them. I convinced a mate (non-fisher) to come out for a laugh so one Saaturday night we stocked up on corn and bread and packed the fishing gear. we parked in the steakhouse car park on Ladygame Dr and snuck in to the National park about 10pm. All was quiet, was threw out some corn and bread and then our lines.

All was quiet for 10 minutes when carlights start approaching. That's strange I say, as the gates are usually locked after hours. The lights come right on us and the car accelerates. S*$t I yell, it's the Ranger. My mate and I madly reel in the lines, grab the bucket and tackle bag and hightail it back dow the weir. While we are hooting like madmen the rnager puts his highbeam on and flies after us, only to have to stop because of posts around the carpark.

Anyway we bolted into the bushes and collapsed in hysterics. Probably totally unrelated but a police car screamed past 5 minutes later.

For 2 old farts it was more fun then we had had in ages. I subsequently organised a raider social down there which has a laugh but a carp non-event.

Brings back memories of going down there with a non fishing mate (mid/late 90s I reckon). Walking along the weir he sees all the fish on the downstream side and casts out down there, I tell him to cast off the upstream side (we were after bass) and he asks why if the fish are all downstream. First cast is chased by two nice bass which miss the lure but splash both of us when they hit at the rod tip. Made my point nicely. He went on to score 4 nice bass that sesh. Not a bad start to a bass career. But we were kicked out by the ranger later on and further upstream.

Cheers

col.

[Spanker]

Brings back memories of going down there with a non fishing mate (mid/late 90s I reckon). Walking along the weir he sees all the fish on the downstream side and casts out down there, I tell him to cast off the upstream side (we were after bass) and he asks why if the fish are all downstream. First cast is chased by two nice bass which miss the lure but splash both of us when they hit at the rod tip. Made my point nicely. He went on to score 4 nice bass that sesh. Not a bad start to a bass career. But we were kicked out by the ranger later on and further upstream.

Cheers

col.

We used to swim in the river further up near the boatshed 20 years ago - knowing the muck in the river and the critters that live in there, makes me cringe at the thought now.

Boppa, who is a ranger there, has been trying to organise a Carp fishing session for years. Wonder what happened to the last plan for carp session?

[my03]

sorry to dig this thread up again, but i'm a local too and have fishing the saltwater side growing up, would always pull in good sized mullet, bream, lizards, taylor, herring, and even small gar, have even lost a couple of rods rested on the weir!

ive take a recent interest to the freshwater section, can anyone give more advice on bass and carp? went down to a spot a few k's upstream of the weir and there were heaps of large carp spawning, not interested in a feed at all, does anyone know when they'll stop spawning?

also where and which part of the year is good for bass? ive seen bass taken from or along side the weir, but fishing is not allowed there. any other good spots upstream around fiddens wharf?

thanks