Crosslands Hornsby

[rodf]

Just a general question about Crosslands/Berowra Creek at Hornsby - is it clean or polluted?

A mate and I fished from canoes there on Friday Jan 14 and saw a heap of big mullet, my mate caught a nice flathead and a bream on prawns upriver from Crosslands. They looked healthy enough, although we did release them.

Does anybody know if there any factories or houses that dump waste into the Berowra Creek?

Rod

[Guest bluecod]

Just a general question about Crosslands/Berowra Creek at Hornsby - is it clean or polluted?

A mate and I fished from canoes there on Friday Jan 14 and saw a heap of big mullet, my mate caught a nice flathead and a bream on prawns upriver from Crosslands. They looked healthy enough, although we did release them.

Does anybody know if there any factories or houses that dump waste into the Berowra Creek?

Rod

27279[/snapback]

There are two Sewage treatment plants upstream of Crosslands, which I understand treat the sewage to Stage 3 [whatever that means] before release into Berowra Creek. After the morning peak flow from the plants, the ponds in the "freshwater section" upstream of the rock barrage are often flecked with foam.

All the waterfront residences along Berowra Creek are unsewered, they exist with septic tank systems but due to the nature of the rocky foreshore I doubt whether there would be adequate absorption space to avoid the outflow running directly into the creek. On a windless morning some of the areas have a distinctive "aroma".

The system looks healthy enough with many oyster racks further downstream - I'd suggest you try and find a water quality monitoring report on the web - you could try Hornsby Council or Sydney Water

[rodf]

Thanks Bluecod, good information!

I think to be on the safe side, I'll release all fish we catch in that area.

Cheers,

Rod

[the_lure]

not exactly related, sorry ... but have you fished the fresh section of berowra creek, and can you get a canoe in there easily?

cheers

Chris

[Guest bluecod]

Chris,

its easy canoeing up to the rock barrage, then after that its not much more than a series of small rock pools with a hell of a lot of rock in between - not the sort of place you'd think about canoing in. You can throw your canoe in at Berowra Waters or at Crosslands at the end of Somerville Road Hornsby Heights. There's some good water worth investigating between Berowra Waters and Crosslands. BTW even in a canoe if you want to get to the barrage you'd better go up with the tide and come back on the falling tide, its pretty shallow in places.

[xavdav]

When I was younger and fitter, I took my minnow upstream of the rock bar, several time. There are a few interesting pools, were you can catch bass or goldfish (up to 5 kg). I remenber my enconter there with a 2 metre goana, that really scared the sh!t out of me if you are into fly fishing there is a few freshwater herring too that you can get on very light fly gear providing that you can find some space for a back cast after "smuggling" the fly rod through the rock bars and branches (in your kayak, remember ). Do not ask me how they taste, catching herring on fly is pure w@nk, you would not want to do that for a feed .

I always thought a float tub would be ideal to fish that kind of water, but I never bought one .

[rodf]

It was a great experience fishing the area from a canoe - it was a first time for me. Although flicking lures takes some practice when you're sitting down and you're that close to the water line....... I was using my baitcaster and kept dunking the lure on the backswing and ending up with nasty birdsnests!!!!

I changed to baits after four or five tangles....especially when I saw my mate pull in the flatty and the bream on prawn.

It's a very pleasant paddle though and you're right Bluecod, you gotta make sure you pick the right time of the tide to paddle up there. The incoming tide fairly races across the shallow sections making it a very tiring paddling back downstream against it. (....take my word for it, we had to get back to the cars and couldn't wait another 2 hours for the runout tide)

I've been up to the barrage in a flat bottomed tinnie fishing for bass, the water is very brackish and black that far up. But good fishing.

[knapers]

My first ever fish on a lure was at crosslands, a legal flatty, but i was advised not to eat it.

[bung]

before release into Berowra Creek. After the morning peak flow from the plants, the ponds in the "freshwater section" upstream of the rock barrage are often flecked with foam.

All the waterfront residences along Berowra Creek are unsewered, they exist with septic tank systems but due to the nature of the rocky foreshore I doubt whether there would be adequate absorption space to avoid the outflow running directly into the creek. On a windless morning some of the areas have a distinctive "aroma".

The system looks healthy enough with many oyster racks further downstream - I'd suggest you try and find a water quality monitoring report on the web - you could try Hornsby Council or Sydney Water

27280[/snapback]

off the net:

Primary treatment involves screening the solids from the water and allowing a proportion of the suspended solids and organic matter to settle from the wastewater.

Secondary treatment takes primary treated effluent and with the aid of biological processes breaks down a further proportion of the dissolved or suspended organic matter to a form that reduces its environmental impact if discharged. Disinfection by means of chlorination, ozonisation or UV radiation, is also often considered to be part of the secondary treatment step.

In tertiary treatment, the secondary treated effluent is further processed using various techniques including flocculation, coagulation, clarification and filtration. The main aim is to remove nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus and further reduce the small amount of organic material and any remaining harmful micro-organisms in the secondary treated effluent.

the septic tanks would receive pumpout i would imagine, rather than absorption into the ground.

[oackie]

is there any good fishing with in walkind distance from from the reserve(fishing from the shore)??

cheers.

[Guest bluecod]

is there any good fishing with in walkind distance from from the reserve(fishing from the shore)??

cheers.

36672[/snapback]

oackie - There's a walking track [part of the great North Walk] that runs from upstream of the rock barrage through the reserve all the way to Berowra and beyond and for much of its length in this area hugs the shoreline. Depending on the tide you would be able to access all of the sandflats [wading] and most of the deeper holes/dropoffs. An hours solid walk would cover the entire length of this section of the creek.

[ankles]

there oackie

[Trouble]

Have done the walk a few times over the past years and its a bit longer then you think bluecod..took around 1.45 - 2hrs from crossie to the gorge...the water is preety hard to access in some areas but a bit of bush bashing is allways fun isnt it? plenty of promising snags all up along the bank perfect for canoes..Have fun and keep an eye out for snakes sun bathing

and the crosslands yetti

[Guest bluecod]

Yep, Plenty of snakes [red-bellied blacks, browns, death adders, rock pythons] and the distant howl of the Crosslands Puma is often heard this time of year, particularly at dusk - I understand that it generally hunts at dawn so is quiet early in the day.

I must be getting forgetful as age must be catching up on me. In in my younger, fitter days I was part of the team that built that section of the track and I didn't think it took us that long back then.

[Trouble]

the snakes down there run you off the rocks !!

Beware

everytime i walk along that track i think of the people who made that..im guessing all those sleepers where carried in !!

Good job

P.s Yes it safe to jump of the rocks down there but you MUST do your research first !!

[bluefin]

I keep telling you all, THERE ARE NO FISH AT CROSSLANDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1.5 kg

Edited March 19, 2005 by bluefin

[Jaso]

There are two Sewage treatment plants upstream of Crosslands, which I understand treat the sewage to Stage 3 [whatever that means] before release into Berowra Creek. After the morning peak flow from the plants, the ponds in the "freshwater section" upstream of the rock barrage are often flecked with foam.

All the waterfront residences along Berowra Creek are unsewered, they exist with septic tank systems but due to the nature of the rocky foreshore I doubt whether there would be adequate absorption space to avoid the outflow running directly into the creek. On a windless morning some of the areas have a distinctive "aroma".

The system looks healthy enough with many oyster racks further downstream - I'd suggest you try and find a water quality monitoring report on the web - you could try Hornsby Council or Sydney Water

27280[/snapback]

Hornsby Shire Council perform water quality sampling at Crosslands 5 times per month (at least once per week).

They also sample twice per month at the sewerage treatment plant upstream usually in the 2nd week of every month (once per month), and at the galston gorge bridge (where calna creek joins berowra creek). They also sample at the other treatment facilities that have outflow into the estuary systems. It is all tertiary treated. You could drink it in theory but you wouldnt risk it.

The sampling data is freely available from the council if you call the water catchments team, and they also have an interactive map on their website showing where they sample:

HSC Water Catchments

I dont think they've updated it with Crosslands, as they have just started resampling there recently.

[knapers]

Jaso, what did you catch that beauty on mate, and where abouts Cheers, Knapers.

[knapers]

sorry i meant bluefin

[knapers]

I just had a squiz through the net and found a report on Crosslands, i am hoping to fish it Tomorrow and hopefully i get as lucky as this guy did.

Night time anglers are getting good catches of bream fishing the shoreline of Joe Crafts Creek and Deep Bay. Bob Bruce fished Crosslands, at the top end of Berowra Creek, for a catch of 7 bream and a couple of flathead caught on lures.

[bluefin]

Knapers, the photo is a couple of years old now and the area has silted up a lot since then. It didn't came off the flats below Crosslands nor did a lot of just legal Flathead this summer, nor did the silver biddy in the lure records.

I REPEAT THERE ARE NO FISH THERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rebel crawfish in shrimp deep diving. You need a lure which will hit the bottom and stir up the sand. This lure in various sizes has been working for me over 25 years!

[knapers]

HAHAHA there is no way i will try the flats just below crosslands then. Cheers mate.

[Guest Jocool]

HAHAHA there is no way i will try the flats just below crosslands then. Cheers mate.

37464[/snapback]

Your learning Knap!!

[Guest bluecod]

HAHAHA there is no way i will try the flats just below crosslands then. Cheers mate.

37464[/snapback]

Just watch out for the blind mullet