Searching for landbased spots near sussex inlet

[seasponge]

I'm off to sussex inlet for this weekend. My wife and I are doing a kayak fishing tour with bayandbasin sportsfishing and will stay down there for the remainder of the weekend to do some more fishing.

I have never fished down that way and was keen to hear any suggestions for land based spots in the area, and any other tips for fishing the area. We are staying at Berarra and was looking at the Sussex Inlet area or anywhere else on the Basin that's accessible by land. I don't have the gear for beach fishing. Was looking for somewhere to cast some soft plastics and bait to target bream, flathead and whiting.

I may end up hiring a tinnie and fishing the goalposts where the inlet meets the basin, but wanted to have land based spots as a backup.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Cheers.

[Scratchie]

Post moved to the chat section

[Guest 4myson]

I just got back a couple of weeks ago after a Birthday stay in Febuary. I love getting down there for a fish every now & then , we always stay at Alonga cabins which are located on the water front just down the road from the boat ramp . I always fish days out of my boat but night times are really productive just fishing with bait off the little jetties located along the waters edge between all the boats , Be careful though as quite a few are privately owned & are clearly marked ! But a few you can fish from but you usually have to share them with fellow fishermen , good thing is that all the locals are really friendly . Another great spot I found is fishing just in front of the RSL Club , you'll have to park in there carpark & just walk around to the rivers edge . Best baits I've found for night fishing at Sussex are peeled prawns & strips of mullet . I always fish using a 2/0 bait holder hook & a long trace of fluorocarbon of at least a meter in length to a swivel & a light as possible sinker . I also recommend not using anything heavier than 6lb leader . Great thing about that place is the amount of bream there with catches of 40cm quite common !! Good luck out on your trip down there & I hope these tips help .

[seasponge]

Thanks for the tips. Time to get some new leader. The one i'm using at the moment is a japanese brand and it's terrible, so will go down to a 6lb.

Are there particular times that fish better down there - top/bottom of run in/out tide?

[Guest 4myson]

If fishing land based , Evenings with Run up tide . Boat fishing no difference but I strongly recommend burley , a simple mix of Chook pellets with a splash of Tuna oil works great to get them around the boat .

[Ocean Addiction]

Hi Seasponge,

Here are 6 of my preferred options when I don't want to take the boat out. I like having a few options at Sussex as the wind can make some spots uncomfortable.

I agree with 4myson, burley works really well down there - use the cheapest loaf of bread and then float bread or prawn baits out. Be discrete though as the ducks are very aware that this is the best way to get a free feed. Usually get mullet, bream and ludrick using this technique.

A lot of the land based spots have heaps of ribbon weed which I find makes using lures a bit painful. I really like having the boat if I'm using lures.

1. Cater Crescent Island

2. at the end of Harbord Street

3. River Road boatramp

4. Nielson Rd Boatramp and surrounds

5. Behind Riviera Van park

6. Behind the Bowling Club

Good luck!

David

[seasponge]

Thanks for the tips guys. In the end, unfortunately I wasn't able to give them a crack.

Saturday was spent on the kayak doing the fishing tour in the basin from 6:30am - 1pm. We weren't able to land any fish of decent note, only picking up some small bream and small flathead. I did however learn a few tips on SP's and lures that I will take with me (got my first catches on hard bodies).

Was going to have a fish on saturday arvo/evening but were so knackered from the morning that we ended up taking a nanna nap, and opted for a more relaxed evening intending to hire a tinny on the sunday and spend the day fishing the inlet.

Sunday morning we woke up to a howling gale. The idea of trying to cast SP's or drift in those conditions was not appealing and we ended up cancelling all fishing plans

[GreyNurse]

Bad luck Seasponge,

Next time, though, don't overlook the Basin's feeder creeks, like Tomerong and Wandandian. There some cracker flathead to be found in the Wandandian east of the Bewong road bridge, from the shore. Casting from a boat or kayak to the shoreline can result in some very healthy bream and it wouldn't surprise if you managed the odd bass, if you're lucky.

I've only fished the inlet itself once at night from one of those little jetties and caught a water rat. Urgh! Haven't fished there since, but I'm sure Ocean Addiction's advice would be the go to follow. Loverly little place, Sussex and it's environs. God's own holiday spot, I reckon.