Bateau Bay help

[DerekD]

Hi All,

A long time friend expressed an interest in taking up fishing. He lives at Bateau bay.

Part 1 of my plan is to invite him to Sydney for the day and then teach him about casting, the gear, lures and how to work them, fish psychology, locations and the usual lesson for beginners.

Part 2 is to head up his way and show him how to fish his local area. I can get some ideas about what I am likely to expect from Google maps but nothing beats local knowledge.

First thing I'd like to know is are there yabbie grounds up there and where they are?

Next thing is are there good sandflats for topwater lures such as bent minnows, MMD splash prawns and similar.

A bonus would be weed beds where we have a chance on squid landbased (Nora head was a suggestion).

I'm keen to get him onto flatheads so will probably hit some of the beaches too unless people have other recommendations.

I haven't looked to see what local tackle shops there are but part of teaching him will be visiting them and getting an idea of what help he can get there..

I'll also be going through past posts but any assistance/suggestions with current knowledge would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Derek

[Little_Flatty]

Hi @DerekD,

No rocket science here needed up that neck of the woods! I've had a few amazing sessions on lures at The Entrance on the flats when the prawns are running. Bream, flathead, whiting and flounder, in good quantities and sizes. Squidgy prawns are great in 65 and 85mm sizes, but keep a few bio-toughs and Z-mans and heavier jig heads and/or EWG weedless hooks for when the tailor are running (to get through them faster and to avoid hooking up on them). Whiting are highly likely on surface lures (but I've never tried). Just watch out for the giant stingrays! Unlikely they will hurt you if they are just swimming by but if you step on one, what happens next will be anyone's guess.

Both sides, near the bridge and further out, wherever there is space (gets busy at times and that really limits your luring options). Early mornings are quietest (night time will be busy on the flats).

Both tackle shops I know in the area have a good supply of fresh and live bait if your friend is time-strapped. I don't know if the flats have yabbies there, but I'd be gobsmacked if they didn't.

Off Bateau Bay beach I have caught a good whiting amongst the weeds. I'm not sure if it's a coincidence, but I suspect not!

Hope that helps.

Mike

[DerekD]

4 minutes ago, Little_Flatty said:

Hope that helps.

Mike

It is certainly a very good start. My mate gets out early in the mornings and I think he will enjoy catching yabbies with his family. Also means if he buys a yabby pump then he has fresh bait pretty easily. It will soon pay for itself.

[Hill373737]

18 hours ago, DerekD said:

It is certainly a very good start. My mate gets out early in the mornings and I think he will enjoy catching yabbies with his family. Also means if he buys a yabby pump then he has fresh bait pretty easily. It will soon pay for itself.

Hi Derek - I lived at Bateau until I moved earlier this year and I fished the area a couple of times per week-  not sure if your mate has a boat or kayak but I fished the lake a lot for flatties and would be happy to share a few areas that worked fairly consistently. If that helps, drop me a message and we can connect on a call, I'd prefer that to posting info on specific spots on the site.

steve

[DerekD]

Hi Steve,

Will do. By the way are you aware of any easy to access yabby grounds?

He is looking at getting a kayak but i want him to enjoy getting into fishing first and getting some runs on the board.

[Hill373737]

I only fished with lures in the lake so would be a bit hazy on where to find yabbies.

There is a set of steps off the NW side of the Entrance Bridge which might be shallow enough to wade onto the flats beside Terilbah Island otherwise I'd suggest trapping poddy mullet would be the go.

[Koalaboi]

Hi,

Based at Bateau you have rock, beach and estuary fishing options to consider. The rock platform at Bateau offers the usual suspects including spinning/live baiting for kingies and pelagics along with your bread and butter drummer, luderick, bream, tailor, groper etc.

The Tuggerah Lakes system offers good fishing despite the very heavy toll of around 40 professionals who take many tons of fish, prawns and crabs. Flathead, luderick, bream, estuary perch, whiting and crabs are your go to fish but there are good tailor and jewfish in the system near The Entrance.

The beaches are famous for tailor, salmon, jewfish, whiting though the huge catches of yesteryear are no longer around. 

From Bateau it’s not too far to other spots like Terrigal and Avoca as well as Norah Head, Wybung etc to the north.

So a huge range of options…years and years of exploring and learning ahead.

KB

[Rebel]

HI @DerekD a bit late with this one.

When I moved up to the Central Coast years ago I didn't know anybody so i  bought a book called Fishing guide to NSW Central Coast.

Great book. I suggest your friend buys one, heaps of info.

Cheers.

[DerekD]

Hi @Hill373737 , @Little_Flatty , @Koalaboi and @Rebel

Thanks for taking the time to help me with some advice on this. My mate still hasn't locked in a date but every bit of information helps and it also makes it easier to track down options.

It will probably be October before I get the chance to put the information to use but with the warmer days coming that is not a bad thing.

I'm really hoping to get him to find the passion for fishing that the people on this site have. Usually the joy is contagious once you have been given a head start and get a couple of runs on the board (pretty sure I'm mixing metaphors there).

Thanks once again.

@Hill373737 I'd like to take you up on your offer for a call but I'll wait till it is closer to the date as the information will then take the seasonal changes into account.