There are plenty of good spots up the NSW coast, depending what you're into. I fish a hell of a lot, mostly catch and release hard and soft body lure fishing from a trailer boat, so no offshore stuff. Being in Canberra, I hit the South Coast a lot, as well as the Gippsland in VIC and the local freshwater lakes and rivers. I also have a lot of family in Newcastle and do a lot of fishing up there. Some of my favourite places are;
Batemans Bay-Plenty of different environments and on a good, calm day you can easily get a trailer boat out to the fringing islands if you're experienced at crossing a bar. You can either fish the drop offs back from the bar or the beaches for bream and flathead, if you have a sounder there are inshore reefs that hold small jewfish, snapper, rat kings, big bream, blackfish, drummer and the like...or you can venture a bit further out to the islands in the middle of the bay that attract the abovementioned species plus pelagics like salmon and tailor. And like I said, on a nice calm day, I recommend heading out to the islands at the edge of the bay, which hold a nice population of good sized silver trevally, the odd gummy shark and big snapper off the more sheer faces, and big salmon, tailor and kingfish in the washes. I've also seen a bloke haul a big blue groper out of the wash at the southern, shore facing side of the island. Also, in summer, you can hunt around the bay looking for birds and casting at schools of pelagics on light spinning gear, which can land you anything from salmon and tailor to small tuna, bonito, and kingfish. The one problem I find is that the water quality is sometimes too good, and the fish are skittish in the clear water.
The Clyde River-If you can't get out on Batemans Bay, head up the Clyde...one of the best spots in NSW to catch big bream on soft plastics. There are also plenty of good sized flathead on the many mud flats, and drifting with a good bait or casting plastics can get you a monster on the right day. I've landed the odd school jew here as well, and I know that big jew congregate around the bridges and in the channel along the rock wall at night.
The Hunter River-The biggest flatties I've ever landed have all been caught drifting the Hunter on the flats just upriver of the Stockton Bridge. I've also never caught more flathead than I have in this river anywhere else. Basically it's flathead heaven...a big area of mangroves drains out over mudflats and deep channels, dragging out thousands of tonnes of food every day. It's also an excellent spot for big bream...drifting live prawns on an outgoing tide in the channel will land you some whoppers. And for the guys who like to chase the big fish, this is also the best jewfish spot on the east coast. Newcastle harbour at night is a plave where it's impossible not to catch a jewfish, as long as you have live bait. Fish the deep channels, around Stockton bridge, the edge of the big mudflats and the rock wall on the Kooragang Island side and you can't go wrong. If you're really hardy, spend a night fishing the Jewfish hole where the river splits into the lagoon upriver from Kooragang...you may not catch anything, but the biggest jews around hang out here and you're always a chance of hooking a 150 pounder. I've been smoked here many a time :lol: If you can't get out on a boat, all the same species can be taken from Stockton breakwater (another Jewfish hotspot) or the Stockton beach. In winter, it's one of a few places that has a big hairtail run. You can catch these very odd fish in the deep parts of the harbour.
Lake Macquarie-A great place for learners and experienced guys alike. Especially since the commercial fishing ban. Plenty of land and boating spots for bream, flathead, mullet, whiting and tailor. I've landed a couple of school jew to 8kg off the point at Summerland Point at night over the years, so they're around too. Surprisingly, there is a deep hole of Pulbah Island that yields big jewfish, big snapper, the odd shark and kingfish, and a rare oddity like a cod. Swansea channel is also a good spot for flatties, whiting, and at night, tailor and jewfish.
Jervis Bay-An amazing ecosystem, really. Launch your boat at Huskisson and head out into various areas of the bay to catch big snapper, kings, jewfish, and pelagics. Fish the creek at Huskisson for whiting, flathead, and bream. Fish the rocks (with care!) for drummer, groper, bream, tailor, salmon, some of the biggest kingfish you will ever see (there is a place called the Blue Hole that is home to some monsters. It's a 300ft cliff climb down there, however...but worth it), and blackfish. Or fish the ocean ledges (only for experienced rock fishermen, anyone else, forget it) for kingfish, tuna, marlin, sharks, salmon, tailor, and big blue groper and drummer (seriously, some of the drummer here will pull your arms out of their sockets). I do stress, though, that not just anyone can fish these ledges. People DO DIE here, so this is only for the experienced rock hoppers. There are also plenty of beaches to fish.
Forster-Wallis Lake is a big, diverse lake with plenty of environments to fish. One of my favourite bream areas, you can pull some thumpers out of the oyster leases and they hold an annual professional bream tournament here. There are also plenty of flathead, decent leatherjacket, whiting, and luderick in the lake. Certain areas hold good populations of estuary cod...they're great fun, but protected in NSW so if you land one be sure to release it. The bridge and rockwalls have jewfish, tailor, and bream aplenty, and the beach fishing can be amazing. Hit the beaches here in winter for some monster black backed salmon...just put out a pilchard on ganged hooks and hold on (a big Australian Salmon hits like a speeding semi-trailer and runs even harder, awesome fun). In summer, they're great for whiting.
There are plenty of other spots, but these ones are good for every kind of fisherman. Also, around Sydney, hit the Parramatta River for flathead and bream, and the harbour has some great fishing too. Botany Bay, Pittwater, and the Hawkesbury can be brilliant as well. Like Newcastle, the Hawkesbury has a winter run of hairtail if you want to catch a truly unique fish, and is an environment much like the Hunter.
