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Georges River hot spots
  |  First Published: November 2015



The bay hasn’t reached its full potential, but the notice is on the wall. When the water temperature climbs a few degrees, this should set the scene for vastly improved catches.

Anglers fishing the shoreline along the Grand Parade between Kyeemagh and Dolls Point found flathead in the 45-55cm class. These fish have been taking whitebait slowly retrieved on the edge of the weed corridors.

Good trevally have been taken from the dropover in front of the Novatel at Brighton Le-Sands on live nippers on the top of the tide. The little park at the end of the grand parade at Dolls Point has provided comfortable fishing for anglers seeking bream, whiting and luderick.

Boaties have found the going a little tough, with school flatties taken at the entrance to Quibray Bay near the sanctuary zone border buoys. Squidgy Grasshoppers slowly retrieved have been accounting for the better fish.

The sticks in the middle of the bay proved very popular at first light, with bream taking live nippers cast close to the structures, with the run-out tide the better option. Locally pumped nippers have been providing the spoils. The runways, as always, have been very popular with anglers chasing flathead and pelagics. Schools of salmon have also provided great sport close to the marker buoys for fishos using 10g slices, and prawn bait users have taken trumpeter whiting on the drift.

The Georges didn’t live up to expectations, with limited catches of whiting taken at night, and luderick making up the balance. For some unknown reason, small bream have been around in droves, taking baits meant for larger fish. In all my years I have never seen so many; they’re everywhere. The best way to avoid them is to fish the shallow sand flats.

November should see increased numbers of school mulloway filtering through, with fish around the 5kg mark chasing small baitfish. You’ll find them around the bridges and the deeper holes in the system. The Black Hole at Picnic Point, which is the deepest part of the river, will be the hot spot.

Whiting should make an appearance along the Towra shallows, with numbers increasing further down the track. Expect fish around the 40cm mark to be on the chew in front of the Sans Souci Sailing Club and on the Caravan Head channel. The last of the run-out tide and the first of the incoming will be the preferred times. The full moon period will once again provide the better catches.

I expect Watts Reef and its surrounding areas to provide good catches of bream at night. While the fish will not be huge there should be no shortage of them. I suggest fishing a run-up tide reaching a peak high around 11pm. All you need is a small splitshot behind the hook to keep the bait down, and live nippers for bait.

Stick to the lower areas of the bay if you’re chasing flatties, because duskies will be feeding between Molineaux Point and Bare Island during the outgoing tide. The last couple of hours prior to the slack water are the ideal time.

GEORGES RIVER SPOTS

Georges River is one of my favourite fishing haunts, having yielded many outstanding catches over the years. If fished correctly, it can always be relied upon to provide a good feed.

Tom Uglys Bridge

On any weekend you can see anglers packed like sardines fishing the Sydney side of Tom Uglys Bridge at Blakehurst. This spot is easy to get to and makes for comfortable fishing, hence the mob!

You don’t need a ute to take away your catch but this spot does at times come up with the surprise packet in the shape of mulloway and big bream. Because of the run of water you need to fish with a heavy sinker, and the run-in tide which sweeps your bait towards the pylons is favoured. It’s a good spot to get to know your gear and practice casting with the bonus of a few fish. For the boat fishers, I suggest the third pylon from the city side on the western perimeter on the low tide for bream and school mulloway.

Live or fresh bait in the shape of local squid, pink nippers or blood worms is necessary for a good catch.

Woronora River Entrance

The Woronora River, or ‘The Wonnie’ as the regulars call it, is probably the most underrated river in Sydney. Anglers who dismiss it in favour of the bigger Georges River often miss out on bream, blackfish, whiting and flathead catches.

And on the upper reaches beyond the main road bridge you can catch perch. In a fresh, a lot of perch are washed downstream and are often picked up by bream fishers using lures.

The Wonnie is for small boats only, and the entrance has been dredged to deepen the channel. The entrance is as good a place as any to fish, and just out from the big house on the corner is a good spot. So is the channel post. If you’re fishing the big tides, anchor in the middle of the sand bank and cast towards the drop-over.

There are excellent mud crabs to be had, so take a heavy-duty dilly and place it close to the mangroves with a slab of mullet in it.

The key to success in the Wonnie is the right bait. It’s pointless to fish there unless you have live blood worms or nippers, and keeping the line size down to 2-3kg breaking strain will give you a good chance of picking up a good feed.

Liverpool Weir

Since the construction of a fish ladder at Liverpool Weir early in 1998, bass are now able to travel up and down the Georges River to reproduce. I have lost count of the times that I’ve fished it armed only with a black Jitterbug lure and a pair of pliers to remove the trebles for bass to 50cm.

Unfortunately, the water below the weir never seems to get too clear but this hasn’t stopped local fishos from catching mullet, bream and bass from the immediate area for years.

The stretch starting from the two stormwater drains, down past the yellow post to where the big palm is set against the riverbank is a great trolling or lure casting spot. Alternatively, you can cast a live mullet in the deeper water for a chance at catching one of the small bull sharks which frequent the area.

If you’re berleying and targeting bread and butter fish here, use fine particles of moist bread and fish with a running float rig, similar to that used by luderick fishos.

Milperra Bridge

I know this area particularly well, having owned the tackle and bait shop next to the bridge. I recommend you fish this spot at night or midweek because of daytime boat traffic. Anchor on the upstream side of the bridge and set your baits down near the pylons of the bridge on the run-out tide. Alternatively, you can move down below the bridge and set your baits back downriver towards the first sharp bend, opposite Hind Park.

These two spots can yield good bream and tailor, plus class school mulloway. A good quality line of around 6-8kg can be required to handle the added lead needed to reach the bottom on the run-out tide. This can also come in handy when school mulloway are around.

Fresh prawns, squid, pilchards or a nice fillet of mullet produce the best results, and don’t forget to take a long-handled landing net with you.

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