Heading to South West Rocks need advice

[Mhawat]

Hi Gentz,

Heading to south west rocks maybe Thursday for the first time and taking the boat up as well, looking for tips and hopefully locations/gps, what's biting at the moment. Really any advice will help and would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for looking

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[raysenior]

The only tip i can give you is be very careful crossing the bar on runout tide it can be treacherous , sit back and watch it for ten minutes before crossing , some great fishing up there , but a damn site safer going out of Coffs harbour !!!

cheers snr

[Mhawat]

Thanks

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[dan88j]

Seen some reports of good snapper being landed up around that way, not sure of locations just going off other reports

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[Overdraft]

Good luck up there.

I'll be keeping an eye in this thread. I'm heading up at Christmas. never been there before either

I hear all sorts of bad stories about the bar crossing. Then I talk to locals and they say "If it's to rough to cross is probably to rough to fish"

So let me know what you think after your trip

Enjoy and good luck

[dirvin21]

First of all the bar is dangerous, especially on the run out tide there is a much safer launch at Scotts head (main beach) boatramp

You could try around fish rock and green island for kingies

there are snapper and pearlies depends on the day whether they are in close or outwide (you will find trag and gummies outwide) also I have heard of bar cod being caught out near the fad in 90+m

if the fish are in close try drifting lightly weighted baits down or suspending them under a piece of foam about 2m off the bottom

I don't fish offshore much so I don't have any marks

The estuary is excellent, you can drift livies from your boat along the breakwall for XOS jewies, cod and jacks

plenty of options for bream spinning around the oyster racks also loads of small to medium sized GT's and big eye trevs around at the moment

Under the roadbridge at Jerseyville is a prime spot for jewies on plastics or livies

The flats are loaded with flathead it has been a bumper run of late on plastics

good luck

look forward to your reports

Dave

[dirvin21]

Good luck up there.

I'll be keeping an eye in this thread. I'm heading up at Christmas. never been there before either

I hear all sorts of bad stories about the bar crossing. Then I talk to locals and they say "If it's to rough to cross is probably to rough to fish"

So let me know what you think after your trip

Enjoy and good luck

There will be plenty of people but there is also a miles and miles of river to fish as well as offshore there should be dollies at the FAD by then

I live across the highway at Eungai if you let me know when your around and the gods of annual leave come through I'll take you up to the sweetwater for some crackin bass

[Overdraft]

Now that sounds exciting.

Thanks for the info. I'll shoot you a message towards the end if the year

[dogbox]

Here is a report from the SWR

Outside there are a few snapper about but these fish have been a little hard to get over the last few weeks. Some of the guys have been going as far as Nambucca to get them.

There are plenty of kings at Fish Rock; it’s been going really well there.

There have been a few pearlies coming from The Dot, and heaps of mowies there as well. There are also plenty of leather jackets. Once you get past 60-80m the jackets are there.

Off the rocks there are good numbers of tailor and drummer.

In the river we’re seeing a fair run of blackfish, and there are still plenty of good size bream. A few jew were caught this week as well.

Off the beaches, especially Smoky Beach, there’s tailor, bream and some thumper whiting.

The bar can be dangerous be really carefull

dogbox

[Towlersbay boy]

Depending on the size of your boat you can launch at back creek & drive out the shallow entrance to the ocean or at the caravan park at the break wall. You will need to watch the tide as both spots run out water at low tide. The bar is one of the worst I have seen & I have surfed it more than I have drove my boat through it. Good luck

[Mhawat]

I've got a 5.6 freedom sport quintrex with 115hp on the back

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[galini09]

Be super careful in that bar mate, especially if the wind turns nor easter and the run out tide.. If the swells above 1.5 don't cross it if you have t done it before... I've been across at least 100 times and every time is different.. still shit myself too

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[Mhawat]

Hi all,

Would like to thank you all for your advice, greatly appreciated.

Arrived at SWR about 9.30am and in the water by 10:30, crossing the bar was easy today as it was pretty flat. But I see how it would be a worry if conditions changed.

In 3.5 hrs of fishing we pulled out 4 snappers biggest was 42cm, one big marwong, one big pearl perch and about 10 red rock fish also known as poor mans lobster.

The whales also put up a show for us, never experienced that before flying whales.

No pics yet all the fish caught at middle ground

Tomorrow will try for kings near the islands

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[Mhawat]

Hey all,

Last report for SWR, day one we fish for about 4hrs few snapper in there mid to late 30s, and about 8 poor mans lobster (cods)

And one pearl perch

Day 2, we spent 11hrs on the water we caught 4 snappers about the 40cm, 1 mach tuna, 1 bonito, 7 poor mans lobster few Sargent bakers and 1 flathead

Day 3, 5hrs fishing and we caught 15 snapper most in the 40s and late 40s and one 56cm, one flathead, and few more poor mans lobster and 2 pearl perch

We tried chasing kings but they won't taking anything I had, they literally came up to the boat and they where all about the meter plus, most of the fish where caught at grassy heads.

We also had some massive hits that we lost and that really burns.

All in all great trip, day 3 topped it off.

Also I just came back from a day at bellambi, 4 snappers one was 68cm and the rest in the late 30s and early 40s.

Thanks for the advice

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Edited August 15, 2016 by Mhawat