The Entrance NSW

[Frankman13]

Hi people, I have recently moved to The Entrance on Central Coast with my girlfriend. We both love to fish, however we have had very little luck thus far. Unfortunately for now we are only land based which is making it more difficult to find a decent catch. I was wondering if anyone would be generous enough to give us some tips or advice on where we could go. We have tried the outlet however it tends to get rediculously crowded. Other places we have tried only produced undersized catches (sadly those around us seemed to think it was ok to keep and mince them). Any help or advice would be very much appreciated.

[spaners]

Mate if your living at the Entrance you need to buy a cheap tinnie and fish the green markers.you will catch all the flatties you can eat.....and some.

[Catchin Jack]

The Entrance is productive for bream, flathead and blackfish even land based. I'd avoid the area during holiday periods though.

The channel is good, around the bridge and even up around Canton Beach, Toukley area.

You're only a stones throw from Lake Mac also which is good fishing and then you have Terrigal, Avoca and many other rock/beach locations.

[Koalaboi]

Hi,

Lots of good fishing in the area but it can be a matter of timing: time of year, tide, wind, day/moonlight.

The Lake

I'm landbased so keep that in mind reading these notes. The channels near Picnic Point, east of the road bridge and the old Co-op at North Enny:

Flathead have been a hit or miss affair for me this year...some regulars using live baits have swapped for plastics!

Whiting: was a good run at the mouth for a brief period (fishermen lined up like sardines so not for me). Wading the flats east of the bridge has been a hit or miss thing.

Bream: lots around but marginal size

Crabs: I haven't heard of any coming in

Prawns: have been good. Runout tide on the dark. If you see the pros fixing their nets across the mouth of the channel

you know it's a night to try prawning. Again, the crowds can be pretty hectic.

Beaches:

Always worth a go for salmon, tailor on pillies. Beachworms will get you a chance at most species. I find fishing the beach a hit or miss thing. You get the tides, wind, swell, weed situation etc right you can have a lot of fun...other times can be pretty slow.

Rocks:

Really, the rocks close to The Entrance offer limited opportunities and require specialised techniques and gear. They are generally pretty low to the sea and need low tide and very calm seas to access. Great but crowded fishing at Terrigal and Avoca. Norah head is also good with lots of different spots for different conditions. I don't rock fish much any more so not much help I'm afraid.

All in all, a year of observant and thoughtful fishing will see you in a position to know what to fish for at any particular time, tide, wind etc with a good chance of success. Put in the yards and you'll be fine.

You still get dud days though...that's fishing. If it was too easy we wouldn't be bothered.

KB

[Guest Aussie007]

i use to fish the entrance a lot and mostly nights all year round, on the north side of the bridge to the right there is a tiny wharf u can fit 2-3 people on it for a fish ive pulled some stonker bream there and also used a tiny 10-20mm long metal fish looking lure right on sunset one evening the tailor were on fire boiling the water every cast was a tailor for around 30-40mins they were feeding on the prawns under the bridge lights also you'll find a lot of flatties get caught right under the north side of the bridge in the channel one night we were sitting on the above wharf and seen some people fishing off the bridge pull in around 6 flatties of decent 50-60cm size but fishing off the bridge is illegal so stick to the wharf

some people on FR say you can catch pelican itch of u go on the south side of the bridge around the shallows so be careful

around 5 years ago it was the best, on the caravan side u could walk out 10 meters and sit your fold out chair on mini sand bars in summer it was beautiful we caught a massive amount of whiting most if not all under sized released to live another day they were great fun

only downside is it started getting packed with fisho's only being 1 hour from sydney, i dont know what its like today

[The Incredible Hull]

Mate if your living at the Entrance you need to buy a cheap tinnie and fish the green markers.you will catch all the flatties you can eat.....and some.

Agreed with the above, get a tinnie dude, then you'll have access to cockels (in weed beds at low tide) and you catch more fish with fresh bait.

[bretto101]

a;ot of hit and miss in your words

[Catchin Jack]

Hi,

Lots of good fishing in the area but it can be a matter of timing: time of year, tide, wind, day/moonlight.

The Lake

I'm landbased so keep that in mind reading these notes. The channels near Picnic Point, east of the road bridge and the old Co-op at North Enny:

Flathead have been a hit or miss affair for me this year...some regulars using live baits have swapped for plastics!

Whiting: was a good run at the mouth for a brief period (fishermen lined up like sardines so not for me). Wading the flats east of the bridge has been a hit or miss thing.

Bream: lots around but marginal size

Crabs: I haven't heard of any coming in

Prawns: have been good. Runout tide on the dark. If you see the pros fixing their nets across the mouth of the channel

you know it's a night to try prawning. Again, the crowds can be pretty hectic.

Beaches:

Always worth a go for salmon, tailor on pillies. Beachworms will get you a chance at most species. I find fishing the beach a hit or miss thing. You get the tides, wind, swell, weed situation etc right you can have a lot of fun...other times can be pretty slow.

Rocks:

Really, the rocks close to The Entrance offer limited opportunities and require specialised techniques and gear. They are generally pretty low to the sea and need low tide and very calm seas to access. Great but crowded fishing at Terrigal and Avoca. Norah head is also good with lots of different spots for different conditions. I don't rock fish much any more so not much help I'm afraid.

All in all, a year of observant and thoughtful fishing will see you in a position to know what to fish for at any particular time, tide, wind etc with a good chance of success. Put in the yards and you'll be fine.

You still get dud days though...that's fishing. If it was too easy we wouldn't be bothered.

KB

HAHA, whiting at the mouth like a carpark, were they shoulder to shoulder, two deep as usual? Funny watching some hide their undersized fish in the sand, like it's gonna be their last meal.

[Frankman13]

Thanks heaps people! Yeah it sux seeing so many undersized fish being kept or minced as soon as they are landed! I will stay persistant and let you all know how i go! Thanks again for your help and advice! Hoping to get a tinnie soon!

[Koalaboi]

On crowds.

It can get crowded, the whiting run is spectacularly crowded.

Fishing for blackfish can also get crowded, too crowded with a couple of locals at times very aggressive about "their spot". Honestly, some of the stupid behaviour by some individuals makes me mad BUT you can avoid it by picking your times and spots.

Most of us locals are pretty relaxed and you will be welcomed in many of the well known possies if you make sure you don't cast across people, crowd them or commit other breaches of common sense fishing etiquette.

All the best....put in the time like I said in the above post and you'll get the place wired.

KB

[Paikea]

I have had some of my best fishing experiences from fishing North beach just in front of what used to be the Garbage dump. Don't know if it is still there but you should be able to find out.

Fish for Jewies and Taylor at night, a great experience.

Good Luck

Cheers

Paikea

[SgtBundy]

My suggestion would be look at a kayak - my father is usually out there somewhere on lake tuggerah and loves to tease me with the flathead he keeps catching - when the tailor are on he usually has a pretty good go at them too.

Advantage of the kayak is you can get out and around the weed beds and shallower areas that the boats can't get to. Dad has told me about people seeing his catches and trying to bring their boats in, only to have to get them off the sand or untangle them from the weed.