When it comes to choosing your next fishing location, especially around Sydney, it is no great surprise that Australia is often referred to as “land of the long weekend.” It’s own Emerald City, Sydney is blessed with so many waterways and beaches that you could go mad poring over every potential fishing hole along the some two hundred and fifty kilometres of shoreline in Sydney Harbour alone.
Fortunately, Corleone Marinas are no slouches when it comes to keeping tabs on the fisheries of Sydney, Australia. With three prime locations in the Sydney Harbour, as well as our Long Island Marina on the Hawkesbury River that runs to the north, our sailing club and recreational yachting clientele are no strangers to fishing in Sydney.
Here’s just a few of our favored fishing locales, to help get you you started on your own long weekend planner.
Clarkes Point
Within the Harbour lies the Woolwich Peninsula, where a multitude of points line the joining of the Parramatta and Lane Cove Rivers. It can be a lot to choose from, but if you take Woolrich Road east, to Egin Street, then turn into Clarke Place, you’ll find a reserve that backs up to the water’s edge.
From here, you can expect to fish up luderick right up from the wall and leatherjackets off of the rocky shoreline. A longer cast and some soft plastic lures may hook some bream, whiting, snapper, dusky flathead and mulloway. Kingfish have also been caught here with live bait or a popper lure.
When the tide is out, you may find better fishing on the eastern end of the point, while the southern face is more popular while the tide is in. This is typically an evening and night time fishing locale, but you will find BBQ facilities and toilets along the bank to accommodate your stay.
Five Dock Bay
If you were to travel around the north point of Drummoyne from the Corleone Marina, you would find Five Dock Bay, with plenty of off-street parking and a long concrete path that is popular for walks. The path runs for most of the shoreline, and as long as you don’t hook any unsuspecting passersby, you can cast out toward the deeper water where the swing moors are.
With some live bait and a good cast, you can find flathead, whiting and bream. But, you should mind the maritime traffic around the moorings and aim for early morning or later evening casting times. Just mind the joggers.
Parsley Bay
The Old South Head frames the southern end of the mount of Sydney Harbor, coming to a point with the iconic Hornby Lighthouse. Just inside the South Head lies one of the Harbour’s best kept secrets: a sheltered cove with a cable footbridge, a peaceful beachhead, even a swimming pool, and all within road access!
The jetty here has all of the typical species: bream, yellowtail, leatherjacket and trevally. And, with just a saunter up the northern rock ledge and a bread burley, you can even hook yourself some blackfish. The water here is so calm, you can leave your weights off and give your bait some time to sink. This location is best visited at sunset if you really want to bask in the colourful splendour of these dusky waters.
Huntleys Point Wharf
Otherwise known as the Gladesville Wharf, Huntleys Point is a recreational fishing spot, along the Parramatta River, for when you aren’t planning on bringing home dinner.
The fish populations around this wharf, unfortunately, carry elevated levels of dioxins, prompting the Sydney government to encourage a catch and release policy. However, that same policy has encouraged some more sizable potential catches in the area.
The wharf is accessible both by foot and from your dirigible. And, with some hefty fishing line, a good three metre rod and a strong fishing arm, you can expect to reel in some massive yellowtail, bream, flathead, leather jackets and even the rare mulloway. Just make sure to show up in the later evening, after 8 pm, to avoid heavy traffic from the ferries.
Beulah Street Wharf
Just east of the northern end of Sydney Harbour Bridge lies the picturesque Kirribilli Point. Just before you get there, though, there’s a prime fishing hole at the Beulah Street Wharf, with a panoramic view of the bridge and the Opera House.
This is a keen point for fishing up squid, but you can also net yourself bream and trevally out of the wharf. A walk up the nearby rocks may put you in range for flounder, snapper and flathead, as well. The views from this wharf, however, make it a popular spot in an already bustling city. Cast your lines here first thing in the morning or last in the evening to avoid the crowds and the excess maritime traffic. Also, be mindful that Sydney’s catch and release policy is advised here as well, as a result of regular harbour pollution.
Iron Cove Bridge
There’s nothing like a good bridge for fishing under. Just between the Corleone Marinas at Drummoyne and Balmain there is the Iron Cove Bridge, accessible from Victoria Road. The parks here offer toilets, BBQ areas and even a play area and a stretch of grass to kick the ball around with the kids. It’s an equally good site for fishing off your boat.
Live bait, white meat or lures, ranging from soft plastics to blades and hard bodies, could give you a chance at bream, whiting or flathead. Catch and release isn’t necessarily enforced here, but be mindful if it is particularly busy on the waters.
Hawkesbury River
North Sydney is home to the magnificent Hawkesbury River, one of Australia’s biggest and best river systems. You can find countless bays, tributaries and national parks to explore around the river, so it is no great surprise that Corleone Marinas took up the Long Island Marina at Brooklyn. It’s well worth getting in touch with the marina to make fishing arrangements with a good self-drive boat, and there are always yachts for sale; but, make no doubt about it, this is an entire fishing trip of a river on its own. The waters around the islands are teeming with bream, flathead and morroway, as well as troublesome catfish. The more shallow tributaries are fine locations for fly fishing. You can even pot for crabs in this river!
Corleone Marinas Wish You A Fine Cast
Whether you choose the Parramatta, Lone Cove or Hawkesbury Rivers, or cruise out through the Sydney Harbour into open water, Corleone Marinas wishes you the best. We hope that these location ideas have helped taut your line for planning your next fishing day. Keep Corleone Marinas’ four different locations in mind, if you want to moor in Balmain, Drummoyne, Elizabeth Bay or along the Hawkesbury at Long Island Marina.
Each one of Corleone Marinas’ locations offers the full range of marina services: wet berths, moorings and slipways up to sixty feet, with experiences and courteous shipwrights and mechanics on hand for boat repair. The only thing we can’t do is catch the fish for you, so good luck and fish on! Contact us today, and let’s have some fun on the water.
