Advice on Port Hacking/RNP landbased

[FishnDish]

Hi guys,

I've been a few times to Maianbar in RNP to pump nippers and to fish around at the wharves and waded the main waterway next to the nippers but with not too much success. Some smaller fish here or there. I'm not sure if it's because I was at the wrong spot, or there at the wrong time or both. Is there a solid landbased area/technique to the Hacking?

I've been thinking there must be some good flats to wade on the right tide.

I'm happy to collect poddies too, I would think they would be prime for some size flatties and choppers.

Intent on catching a nice bag when I'm there next as it is quite a long drive for me, but to be fair the beauty of the place is worth the drive itself.

Thanks in advance!

[Little_Flatty]

Hi @FishnDish,

@Yowie and @jenno64 have got some reasonable bags of fish at the Hacking of late on nippers. Have a browse of their reports. They are two of the main Hacking experts on this community.

I think you're on the money in thinking about trying the flats; if you're collecting your nippers on the flats, chances are that the fish that eat them are also in the vicinity.

One mistake I made early on is to not try the shallows when fishing for whiting. Often schools of big whiting are on the prowl in water between one metre and ankle deep, especially as the tide comes up. Often you will see them, or at least the telltale flashes as they mope about the bottom.

On flats, most anglers walk out to a dropoff and cast as far as they can into the deeper water (guilty as charged!). But every now and again, it's worth casting behind you into the shallows . I'm no whiting expert, but from my experience, they seem to like it when you slowly retrieve your bait. Just see where you find the bites and try different locations on the flats until you find the fish.

We know you have good bait. So two of the remaining variables are line diameter and weight. Keep your line/leader to <= 6lb and your sinker as light as possible (for the shallows, a pea-sized sinker might do it, depending on wind and current).

Hope this helps!

[Yowie]

FishnDish,

what is mentioned above from Little_Flatty is fairly good advice, whiting and flatties will be in very shallow water at times. 

The whiting I have recently caught around Maianbar flats have been undersized. The bigger ones will turn up soon, though some larger ones are up river at present.

[Rebel]

Top Info.from the expert.