Escaping to Scott’s Head
Wayne Kampe
THIS month's camping destination is a pretty little spot with a lot to offer the travelling angler. So typical of the more secluded localities in northern New South Wales, Scott's Head features on a single signpost on the Pacific Highway just 3km south of Macksville. The turn-off is at Warrell Creek and it's necessary to travel under the Pacific Highway before heading east a couple of kays to enter Scott's Head. Travelling south on the Pacific Highway, Scott's Head is an easy hour's travel south from Coffs Harbour.
As the name suggests, there is a pretty fair sort of a headland at Scott's Head. The main area of shops and the caravan park are located in the big hill's lee and enjoy good shelter from the southerly winds that rip along our eastern seaboard from time to time.
The headland offers some very attractive views of the beaches to the north and south, excellent fishing locations, and is popular with the surfing fraternity as well. During our stay we just missed the best of weather and had to contend with a vicious southerly that made rock fishing near impossible, but stirred up some great swells for the surfers. I did manage to score some bream just in behind the main headland where it joined the surfing beach (on the northern side) using pipis. It was the old high-tide-at-daylight routine, which is near infallible on bream when good seas are pushing and jostling things around. Fishing light, minimal sinker, right against the stones is the key.
THE TOWN
Even though this is a quiet spot, there are still sufficient amenities to make it a comfortable place to sit a spell. Local businesses include a bakery, butcher, bank, newsagency, liquor outlet, supermarket, and post office. Petrol and LP gas are also available in town. Businesses catering for other needs are situated at the town of Macksville which is only minutes away, but if there is a need to find a spool for a recalcitrant reel or a drag knob that has gone into the drink (like mine did at Iluka last July), it's a simple matter to rip into the big tackle warehouse at Coffs Harbour to the north.
Accommodation is available through L.J Hooker (ph. (02) 6569 8399), or at the excellent Scott's Head Caravan Park (ph. (02) 6569 8122) with cabins, caravans, and camp sites. With 200 sites available - most with power - this caravan park is well situated to care for a traveller's needs for peace and quiet. And during August, hosts Jim and Helen Brazel are running a special deal of ‘pay for three weeks, stay for four’.
Features of the caravan park include proximity to tennis courts, the bowls and recreation clubs, modern amenities blocks, a shopping centre, rainforest walking areas, and the all-important beach access. Which means, of course, that the sound the traveller hears mostly at night is the ocean. Who could ever get tired of that lullaby?
THE FISHING
With the main surfing beach virtually on the park's back door, you can walk straight out for a fish, do a bit of beach worming, or maybe have a swim. If beach fishing is high on the agenda, it's no big deal to grab a rod and try for a feed of whiting, dart, or bream right in front of the caravan park, or just walk up or down the beach to find a good gutter that has a fishy look about it. All it takes is the right sea conditions, and you’ll be able to enjoy some top beach fishing without going to any trouble.
Walking the wide golden expanse of beach is also very popular, and many groups head out for an early morning or evening stroll just to enjoy the sensation of the ocean and sand. If you are a keen beach angler, you’ll know what I mean.
The headland, as I touched on earlier, offers some good rock fishing for the likes of jew, tailor, bream, luderick, and the odd drummer in the washes. As in many rock fishing situations, sea conditions need to be right or it can be a risky business. Generally speaking, as the northern side of the headland is reasonably well sheltered from the big southerlies, rock fishing is still quite possible unless seas are too big. As in all rock fishing situations, it pays to sit and watch the waves for at least 10 minutes before committing to a lower rock shelf.
There two local ramps for boaters to head offshore for a feed of pelagics or quality deepwater reef fish. The first ramp is on the northern side of the headland and is very much a high tide beach launching proposition, although the ramp is well-sheltered due to the headland's proximity. The second ramp is at Warrell Creek. Again, high tide makes launching and travelling out to sea an easier proposition. Canoe or punt anglers might like to take a look at Warrell Creek (north of Scott's Head) as well, and throwing some lures around the snags could prove productive for resident bream.
