WHERE: Anywhere from Sussex Inlet to Batemans Bay.
HOW FAR: Choose your spot. Sussex Inlet is about 245km or 3 ’/2 hours, Batemans Bay is about 145km or two hours.
THINGS TO SEE: Fishing correspondent Rob Paxevanos reports that anglers are abandoning tinnies for kayaks and getting to places hardly fished before. Bream, he reports, are among the plentiful species being caught. Whatever you decide, it ’s the time to go fishing. The South Coast is an angler ’s paradise, offering almost every type of fishing possible. The freshwater creeks through Berry and Jamberoo hold good stocks of Australian bass, with the lower reaches producing particularly large specimens during summer.
The Minnamurra River, Crooked River and Shoalhaven River estuary systems are all great spots for a day of family fishing, yielding bream, whiting, flathead, luderick and mulloway.
The coastline ’s many beaches and rock ledges offer the more experienced land-based fisherman a chance to hook up on to schools of salmon, tailor and kingfish pretty much right throughout the year.
For the boat fisherman, there are boat ramp facilities all along the South Coast with most anglers accessing the inshore fishing grounds from ramps at Shellharbour, Kiama, Gerringong or Gerroa.
If you ’re tired of catching snapper, morwong, leatherjacket and reef fish, then the abundant game fishing grounds off Jervis Bay are just as easily accessed from the Crookhaven River. Expect anything from mako sharks to marlin and everything in between.
There ’s also Sussex In let, about 50km south-east of Nowra, on the southern side of the waterways at the neck of St Georges Basin. The town itself seems surrounded by water and is sometimes referred to as an island getaway.
Fishing on the peaceful waters of St Georges Basin is a great way to unwind. Take to the water for some fishing or prawning, either in your boat or a hire vessel, available locally.
Beach fishing is also handy at nearby Cudmirrah and Berrara beaches.
Be sure to check your bag limits and get a current fishing licence, and a useful site for anglers is www.fishnet.com.au Heading out iuto the hay, wind iu the hair, doiphius swimmiug alougside, fishiug rod at the ready, seems like a dream way to start a day, but for Simon Minney it ’s real, all right He heads down from Canberra to Huskisson on the South Coast at Jervis Bay with his 6m Bowrider for a luxury cruise.
It ’s an open runabout, but it ’s one of those ones with a lounge out the front," Captain Minney, of Farrer, says.
The public launch is 50Dm from the main jetty in town and from there it ’s a gentle motor to a place that is pretty familiar to this 43-year-old sea dog.
My mum aud dad hved down at Burrill Lake at Ulladulla, but they just left So after 24 years they ’ve moved to Brisbane so the holiday home is gone." Now he takes family and friends down to spend a day surrounded by the spectacular views provided by a pristine place.
We did a cruise around the bay, a little bit of fishing, ended up having dolphins surfing in our bow wave." The appeal of the area for a waterborne angler is pretty clear to see once yon ’re in the bay. As Minney says, [It ’s a] fantastic place and it ’s sheltered, we did a little bit of fishing, we didn ’t catch anything, we were just out and about, had a fun day. Came back, cruised up the river, everybody was brand new to boating so when we pulled up they all got off at the jetty and left me to try and bring the boat in by myself." The jetty provides wildlife such as hungry pelicans to entertain daytrippers, including step sons MaxBrodel, 14, and Toby, 17. The kids grabbed a five-kilo bag of pilchards and instead of throwing a couple, progressed right through the bag," Minney says, laughing.
And then I said, Where ’s me 20 bucks for the bait, ’ and they just looked at me dumbfounded." The beauty and the creatures in this location are added to by the shelter provided by the bay, all of which makes it a perfect area for vessels of many sizes.
There ’s lots of boats moored in the channel." There are boats ranging from $100,000 to $300,000 ones moored all the way up aud theu there ’s lots of tiuuies pokiug arouud doiug fishiug".
Alteruative places iuclude St Georges Basin, which is in the upper reaches of Sussex Inlet, Lake Conjola or the Clyde River.
The hardy Minney is not just a daytripper when it comes to his crafthe and his Bowrider are off on a summertime sojourn south that ’ll certainly test his sea legs, including three weeks of fishing in Port Phillip Bay.
Take in the National Archives ’ new exhibition Shell-shocked Australia after Armistice. It puts a personal slant on an extraordinary time. It also offers daily tours, which highlight the background, personal stories and the archival records featured in the exhibition. The exhibition runs until January 26, and the tours take place at 11am daily. You don ’t need to book. There are also curator tours, taking place on January14, January21 and January28 between 2pm and 3pm. Booking is essential for these. You ’ll find the National Archives at Queen Victoria Terrace in Parkes, for more see www.naa.gov.au or ring the events program information number on 6212 3956.
Lynne Minion,
Canberra Times,
Canberra,Australia
