Mid north coast adventures - ignoring all signs!

[Little_Flatty]

Hi Raiders,

Just back from a weeklong family holiday to the mid north coast. The fishing was relatively ordinary compared to my usual trips and in retrospect I'd ignored a lot of signs that I could've recognised and had very different results. Apologies, not many pictures this time, but hopefully something to be learned with this report.

Session #1 - Swansea

On the way up at Swansea, there's a little creek next to the RSL club that I have a real affinity for. Normally the family likes to do their own thing in Swansea while I fish, but this time my youngest really wanted to fish with me. Both kids have shown more interest in fishing lately than I've ever seen.

So rather than pestering the pike on lures, we opted for bread baits, under a float and then unweighted. We were happy to get a puffer, but then fishing an unweighted bread bait, we got wiped out by something massive amongst the trawler moorings. Probably a big bream or a trev.

Session #2 - Forster Town Centre

We were waiting for takeaway and Forster was still really busy with the holiday rush. We were on the wharf watching the sunset while we waited for takeaway and when told that dinner would be a 40 min wait, I thought "stuff this, I'm getting the rods". The kids wanted in again, so some bread baits were put out, along with some stealthily deployed berley (as to avoid the ducks).

My eldest was the first to hook up to a ~20cm luderick. This was the first sign, which I completely ignored. Then there were a series of bream, tarwhine and butterfish caught by both kids, all released to fight another day. Dinner came and was duly eaten, then we were begged for 'one last cast'. It was an interesting experience being on the receiving end of those requests!

We had many sessions like this on this trip, all rather similar. We also had a tantrum over wanting to go fishing when we were out and about doing other stuff. My eldest and I got a hit on a lure from what was probably a flathead, but missed.

One thing I tried with the kids this time was fishing with hooks with crushed barbs. On all their hooks, I crushed the barbs with pliers. My kids target mainly small fish which are all released and I thought it would be easier for myself, the kids and the fish if I crushed the barbs, and this turned out to be correct. I've since crushed the barbs on every hook in my kids' fishing sets. I didn't notice any losses of fish as a result. I think I'm going to keep doing this and maybe even on my own lures (but maybe not my flies just yet, because my fly fishing line management skills leave a lot to be desired).

Session 3: Flat Island Passage (Tuncurry)

It wasn't until morning 3 that I decided to venture out on my own with the fly rod. Unfortunately while setting up, I dropped my fly reel and warped the reel's foot. Every fly fishing trip onwards would involve a 20 min wrestle with the reel foot/seat to get it on

Anyhow, I was told by the local tackle shop that there were a few flathead to be found in this area, along with some oyster leases within casting distance.

Unfortunately the tide was raging during this time and it was a little deep to wade comfortably, but I still had a go. No hits, but I did encounter a lady who had lost a big flathead on bait.

Session was a donut. But later that day, I was prospecting that area while the kids were at the park, and I noticed a few luderick about (second sign). Mental note to come back with the weed flies.

Session 4: Smith's Lake

There's a well known cafe on Smith's Lake that sits near a really fishy looking sand spit. I only had half an hour or so, and only managed one hit on a shrimp fly. Mental note to come back on my own in the morning (third sign...I never did!).

That day I also found a good source of cabbage and weed! (fourth sign).

Session 5: Great Lakes Sailing Club

On Wallis lake there are numerous expanses of likely looking flats, but most are inaccessible from land. The one exception is the massive expanse of flats at Tiona and the Great Lakes Sailing club. This needs to be seen to be believed, they stretch for miles! The satellite imagery showed there was a clear dropoff to the right of the sailing club, so I went looking for it. I waded and waded and waded...and waded and waded...but no dropoff! Mid wade, I checked the maps and my phone had me positioned well into the deep water! Stuff this!

I found some waist deep water and cast a fly about for 40 mins, for not a nibble nor nick. This session was to be a donut too. But on the way back in, I spooked an elbow slapper whiting (fifth sign). I had also noticed lots of nipper holes (sixth sign) but I made a conscious decision not to bring a nipper pump!

Never came back here, but I definitely will come back if I could spend a day wandering these flats.

Session 6: Smith's Lake

Went back down the sand spit again. My wife had kindly allowed us to make the detour so I could have a fish, and they some lunch. I volunteered to buy the lunch but unfortunately there was a 40min wait for food (which I didn't know at the time). Waited and waited, then by the time lunch came, the kids were over it. As they ate, I had a quick cast with a gulp shrimp and hooked/lost a decent flounder. That was a shame, I would've loved to have shown it to the kids.

I'd definitely come back to Smith's lake one day!

Session 7: Forster Town Centre

On our final morning in Forster, I went for a wander with my lure rod looking for a flathead. There were none to be found, even on gulps!

BUT just as my morning coffee cravings started, I finally noticed that there were Luderick schooling EVERYWHERE! I got some weed flies out and started casting, but only had fifteen minutes to play around. As I left, it occurred to me that if I had targeted luderick all long, I might have got a few in the bag. Lesson learned for ignoring all the signs!

Session 9: North Pindimar

My wife wanted to go to Tea Gardens or Hawk's Nest, but there was no accommodation in the area. So we booked a little house in North Pindimar instead. Key attraction for me was that this house sat on a expanse of sandflats. And what a wonderful spot this was!

Got out on the flats first thing and spotted a lone kangaroo hopping about the flats. That was pretty special:

There were lots of nipper holes on the flats. I'm now well and truly kicking myself for not bringing my nipper pump, but I decided that my fuzzle shrimp fly would be a decent approximation of a yabby. Turned out it was, and I nailed my first and only fish on fly:

An estimated 30cm flatty.

Later in the afternoon, I get talking to some locals pumping yabbies on the flats. I asked them to show my youngest some of the yabbies and they were most obliging and showed her the male and female yabbies, as well as how they dug into the sand. She loved it. Apparently there were lots of good whiting on these flats and they love a nipper. Bit surprised as I didn't see any when I was on the flats, but it was low tide in the morning.

Came back the next morning and on my third cast, hooked what felt like a 50+cm flatty on a fly, but dropped it. Nothing more for the session.

I ask my wife if I could wait for the tide to come up a bit and then chase a few whiting on bait, with some worms I had bought in town. The answer was yes! In quick succession, out the back of our rental, I caught three little whiting:

Run out of bait, then tie on a Sugapen and start casting. Masses upon masses of whiting climb over each other to clobber it! It occurred to me that if I had brought the nipper pump, or fished more surface lures, that I might've had a bag of whiting for dinner!

My family comes back to pick me up and it was time to head back to Sydney. It was then that I noticed our host had a nipper pump leaning on the side of the house and I could've asked to borrow it

The moral of the story is to not just be observant, but to adjust your plans accordingly.

Thanks for reading!

 

[Pickles]

Brilliant report and very comprehensive Mike - love reading your accounts.

I well know the feeling “I wish I had thought to put in my…..”, but you’ll know for the future. (I keep a fly rod, nipper pump box of assorted flys clousers, surf candy’s , weed flys and 17 rods tucked away in my boat “just in case” - you never know?) 

 

[Little_Flatty]

34 minutes ago, Pickles said:

Brilliant report and very comprehensive Mike - love reading your accounts.

I well know the feeling “I wish I had thought to put in my…..”, but you’ll know for the future. (I keep a fly rod, nipper pump box of assorted flys clousers, surf candy’s , weed flys and 17 rods tucked away in my boat “just in case” - you never know?) 

 

Thanks Bob, now the kids are more into it, I might well have a nipper pump as a standard carry.

[Little_Flatty]

Also forgot to mention, on our way back, we stopped off in the Newcastle suburbs of Hamilton and Mayfield to visit the op shops.

I found a beautiful set of wooden and cork handlines in a hand made wooden box for $295. They offered it to me for $200 but I don't really have the storage for it at home. If I did, I'd have loved to have bought it.

Then there were the old Bakelite Alvey tackleboxes. @noelm and @Green Hornet guess how much they were? $95!

Then I saw an old fisherman's creel for $30. It occurred to me that one of the Bakelite tackleboxes, with a couple of cork handlines, would've made a great vintage fishing set (and still operational too), but alas, I don't have the space for that either.

[Bennyg78]

Awesome report @Little_Flatty

All your talk of flats and whiting has my topwater thoughts triggering!!

My uncle owns a little accommodation place at pindimar it’s a nice spot

[Little_Flatty]

Just now, Bennyg78 said:

Awesome report @Little_Flatty

All your talk of flats and whiting has my topwater thoughts triggering!!

My uncle owns a little accommodation place at pindimar it’s a nice spot

Thanks Benny, my (underdeveloped) topwater wrist was twitching as I cast my fly. It completely messed with my loops! 🤣

I should've given in to the topwater urges. Come to think of it, I think I heard a few flathead boofing in the shallows.

You should definitely get up to your uncle's place over the summer.

[mrsswordfisherman]

So glad your girls are enjoying the fishing. The Forster area is always great. We used to stay in the NRMA Forster Tuncurry Holiday Park when we would visit Stewy's Mum (RIP) in our caravan. They have cabins and fantastic amenities/activities for kids. It is right on a waterway. 

That was a long wait for takeaway!! Good job you seized the opportunity to go for a fish. Hope you tried Beach Bums cafe on main beach or the very BEST place to get takeaway (seafood) is down at the Wallis Lakes Fishermen's Co Op.

All raiders carry "just in case" gear. We are going soon to have a few weeks away fishing and swordie is making "just a few more spinnerbaits". He has painted "just a few more lures" and added some special reflective eyes. It never stops does it 

Thanks for a great report Mike. I am sure that info will help many that may venture to the area. 

[Little_Flatty]

4 minutes ago, mrsswordfisherman said:

So glad your girls are enjoying the fishing. The Forster area is always great. We used to stay in the NRMA Forster Tuncurry Holiday Park when we would visit Stewy's Mum (RIP) in our caravan. They have cabins and fantastic amenities/activities for kids. It is right on a waterway. 

That was a long wait for takeaway!! Good job you seized the opportunity to go for a fish. Hope you tried Beach Bums cafe on main beach or the very BEST place to get takeaway (seafood) is down at the Wallis Lakes Fishermen's Co Op.

All raiders carry "just in case" gear. We are going soon to have a few weeks away fishing and swordie is making "just a few more spinnerbaits". He has painted "just a few more lures" and added some special reflective eyes. It never stops does it 

Thanks for a great report Mike. I am sure that info will help many that may venture to the area. 

Thanks Donna,

I didn't get to main beach and my wife will be angry with me now that it comes highly recommended 🤣

Of course Stewy is making 'just a few more spinnerbaits'. I'm like that now with my fly tying  Looking forward to the reports!

I do hope this report helps others. Particularly the note on NOT LEAVING THE NIPPER PUMP AT HOME! 🤦‍♂️

Mike

[kantong]

fantastic report and love the opportunistic mindset to get a quick fish in. Looked like a really good family trip. Thank you for sharing!

[Green Hornet]

More “I shall returns” than Douglas MacArthur Mike LOL.

Sounds like a great week away with the family and just goes to show, you never stop learning in this game. Especially in hindsight.

Those Alvey, bakelite tackle boxes are highly collectible and often go for ridiculous prices. I still have my father’s along with his bakelite reels.

Edited January 14 by Green Hornet

[jenno64]

Great report Mike!

You sound like you’ll be busting to get back to try out those spots!

We just returned from Hawkes Nest and I had a similar experience getting a chance to scope out plenty of spots but not as much fishing as I would have liked as we were with friends and doing lots of other stuff. 
 

My nipper pumped lost its inners and I couldn’t find a set of replacement washers etc. so that also slowed me up. 
 

id love to go back there with my boat as there are so many options in those waterways!

[wazatherfisherman]

Great post Mike!

[Little_Flatty]

3 hours ago, kantong said:

fantastic report and love the opportunistic mindset to get a quick fish in. Looked like a really good family trip. Thank you for sharing!

Thanks kantong. Family trips are awesome, even with kids fighting in the car and all that😎

2 hours ago, Green Hornet said:

More “I shall returns” than Douglas MacArthur Mike LOL.

Sounds like a great week away with the family and just goes to show, you never stop learning in this game. Especially in hindsight.

Those Alvey, bakelite tackle boxes are highly collectible and often go for ridiculous prices. I still have my father’s along with his bakelite reels.

Yep, many returns for us, especially of the kids stay keen. I thought of you guys when I saw all that retro equipment. My wife who has a keen eye for antiques and good design, thought they were seriously cool.

2 hours ago, jenno64 said:

Great report Mike!

You sound like you’ll be busting to get back to try out those spots!

We just returned from Hawkes Nest and I had a similar experience getting a chance to scope out plenty of spots but not as much fishing as I would have liked as we were with friends and doing lots of other stuff. 
 

My nipper pumped lost its inners and I couldn’t find a set of replacement washers etc. so that also slowed me up. 
 

id love to go back there with my boat as there are so many options in those waterways!

Thanks Rob, what’s the bet you turn up there later with a ripper catch of whiting and a few big flatties?

1 hour ago, wazatherfisherman said:

Great post Mike!

Thanks Waza!

[Yowie]

Sounds like quite an adventure there Mike.

Here, there and everywhere. Maybe not a lot caught, however, places found for future fishing adventures.

NeXt time, try it out of peak holiday time, AND, DON'T FORGET THE NIPPER PUMP. 🤣

[Little_Flatty]

7 hours ago, Yowie said:

Sounds like quite an adventure there Mike.

Here, there and everywhere. Maybe not a lot caught, however, places found for future fishing adventures.

NeXt time, try it out of peak holiday time, AND, DON'T FORGET THE NIPPER PUMP. 🤣

Cheers Dave,

Yep the nipper pump is going to be a standard carry on road trips from now on!

Peak holiday fishing is unfortunately my lot in life, for the foreseeable future. A lot better than nothing at all!

[bessell1955]

That was indeed a Mid North Coast adventure!

[FishingFables]

That's a great report Mike. I visit Smiths Lake one a year and have had some great sessions chasing whiting and bream on surface lures. Having a kayak helps because you can reach more sandflats that way.

It seems your kids are keen little anglers in the making - that's the true success of your trip because it will lead to many more fishing adventures for you in the future!

Cheers

Jason

[Green Hornet]

I meant to add Mike, that I crush all the barbs on my bream and flathead hard bodies. I started when I first got a kayak many years ago after watching flatties go ballistic on the deck, just inches away from “the jewels”.
You need to pay attention with rod work to keep any slack out of the line and I’ve never noticed any reduction in fish making it into the net.  
Still leave the barbs on my jigheads for plastics though, as I believe it helps keep the flatties pinned when their head breaks the surface and they start thrashing around.

[Crabstar]

Epic detailed report mate! Seems you covered a few km’s! I’m due to hit macksville in 2 weeks can’t wait!

[Little_Flatty]

8 hours ago, bessell1955 said:

That was indeed a Mid North Coast adventure!

Thanks Bessell, when I look back at it, it really was a great many spots! I thought I was holding back but I really fished a lot. I only reported on one of the many kids sessions on this trip!

7 hours ago, FishingFables said:

That's a great report Mike. I visit Smiths Lake one a year and have had some great sessions chasing whiting and bream on surface lures. Having a kayak helps because you can reach more sandflats that way.

It seems your kids are keen little anglers in the making - that's the true success of your trip because it will lead to many more fishing adventures for you in the future!

Cheers

Jason

Thanks Jason, I totally understand why you visit every year, now that I’ve been there. Magical place!

I’m really happy the girls are getting into their fishing now. Hopefully it continues.

4 hours ago, Green Hornet said:

I meant to add Mike, that I crush all the barbs on my bream and flathead hard bodies. I started when I first got a kayak many years ago after watching flatties go ballistic on the deck, just inches away from “the jewels”.
You need to pay attention with rod work to keep any slack out of the line and I’ve never noticed any reduction in fish making it into the net.  
Still leave the barbs on my jigheads for plastics though, as I believe it helps keep the flatties pinned when their head breaks the surface and they start thrashing around.

Thanks Pete. Good idea re the hardbodies.

2 hours ago, Crabstar said:

Epic detailed report mate! Seems you covered a few km’s! I’m due to hit macksville in 2 weeks can’t wait!

Thanks Crabstar. Macksville looks awesome! Looking forward to the report!