Port Macquarie land based fishing options

[seasponge]

I am heading up to Port Macquarie for a few days next weekend and am looking for some tips for good land based locations. Intending to flick plastics or lures for flathead and whiting. 

Any suggestions would be helpful.

 

Cheers

 

[grandad]

You can fish all along Settlement Point road, and if you go to the end past where the ferry leaves there are some shallow sandy areas, Town beach also a good spot to try.

Grandad

[seasponge]

Thanks for the reply granddad. Are you talking from experience, and have caught fish there? Only asking because I've fished that stretch of settlement drive before, and area near the ferry, and have never caught anything. Happy to persist there if there are catches to be made.

[dirvin21]

head down to Lake Cathie fish the flats near the roadbridge plenty of flatties, bream and whiting 

[grandad]

Stayed in the caravan park there, at settlement point, caught blackfish and bream along the rock wall. close in.

Was using bread burly,

Pumped nippers passed the ferry and had a feed of whiting.

Saw a couple of Flathead caught from a boat doing drifts,

One chap in the caravan park caught a nice Jewfish one night.

 

Grandad

 

[Hansard]

You could try along Hasting river drive. There is a rowing club behind the football fields that has good/easy access. Further down the road past the whalebone restaurant is also worth a look.

[seasponge]

On ‎4‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 10:51 PM, dirvin21 said:

head down to Lake Cathie fish the flats near the roadbridge plenty of flatties, bream and whiting 

Have driven past there previously. Might give it a shot

[seasponge]

On ‎4‎/‎20‎/‎2019 at 7:46 PM, Hansard said:

You could try along Hasting river drive. There is a rowing club behind the football fields that has good/easy access. Further down the road past the whalebone restaurant is also worth a look.

Thanks. I had a crack there last year, but the current was flowing so fast it was hard to work any lures or plastics there. I'll target the dead of the tide if I go there. 

[Ah Me Ting]

On 4/18/2019 at 10:51 PM, dirvin21 said:

head down to Lake Cathie fish the flats near the roadbridge plenty of flatties, bream and whiting 

Not sure there's much water in the 'lake' ATM - locals are pushing council to do something.

https://www.camdencourier.com.au/story/6080162/lake-cathie-community-unites-with-council-submissions-lodged/

[Ah Me Ting]

On 4/18/2019 at 8:30 AM, seasponge said:

I am heading up to Port Macquarie for a few days next weekend and am looking for some tips for good land based locations. Intending to flick plastics or lures for flathead and whiting. 

Any suggestions would be helpful.

 

Cheers

 

As others have suggested, the upstream options around Port Macquarie are endless.

But, if you have time, and don't mind a 30min drive, head south to "North Haven", which is the road that takes you though 'Lake Cathie'. When you get into North Haven, head toward Laurieton and as you drive, you'll see the river, and a 'big' sandbar on low tide. You can cross the small channel next to the wall and walk across the sand bar. You can fish the drop off on the other, deep water, main river channel side and around the edges of the sandbar, and if you do not get a Flathead or three, you're a very unlucky fisho!

 

 

 

[seasponge]

12 hours ago, Ah Me Ting said:

... head toward Laurieton and as you drive, you'll see the river, and a 'big' sandbar on low tide. You can cross the small channel next to the wall and walk across the sand bar. You can fish the drop off on the other, deep water, main river channel side and around the edges of the sandbar, 

Thanks for that. Is this where you mean?

[Ah Me Ting]

12 minutes ago, seasponge said:

Thanks for that. Is this where you mean?

Bingo!

There is a little group of shops, and parking area across the road near them. The shallow channel runs along there and you can walk across, low tide, no more than about knee deep.

And, as you can see, it's a BIG sandbar with plenty of Flathead hunting ground north, south, east and west.

 

 

 

Edited April 23, 2019 by Ah Me Ting
typo

[Hill373737]

A couple of other land-based spots if you make the trip down to North Haven.

From the map, on the right hand side where it says Gogley's Lagoon, fish from the sandbar into the channels, you can also pump yabbies on the flats there. There is a gap in the breakwall, I'll spin or flick lures back into the river on a dropping tide when the lagoon is draining out. You get to it by driving through Laurieton and Dunbogan.

Also, the channel on the map under the Dunbogan Caravan Park writing can be a good spot for flatties - I think its usually best from the bank on either side of low tide but I have also caught fishing floating down there in my boat on the top of the tide.

[seasponge]

1 hour ago, Ah Me Ting said:

There is a little group of shops, and parking area across the road near them. The shallow channel runs along there and you can walk across, low tide, no more than about knee deep.

And, as you can see, it's a BIG sandbar with plenty of Flathead hunting ground north, south, east and west.

Thanks Dean. 

 

1 hour ago, Hill373737 said:

From the map, on the right hand side where it says Gogley's Lagoon, fish from the sandbar into the channels, ...........

Also, the channel on the map under the Dunbogan Caravan Park writing can be a good spot for flatties...........

Thanks for that. Looks like a good spot. 

[bluefin]

When are you coming up ? You can cross back creek at settlement point, which will give you access to yabbies for bait if you wish, then a couple a km of sandflat all the way back to the town centre on the ocean side of the island.

 

Edited April 24, 2019 by bluefin