bcosta

Heading off to the lake as soon as the wife gets home to look after the kids. Yeah, that ship is a long way off shore 🙂 I don't think I will bump into that one. My thinking is if police and fisheries are more active at the moment because of COVID, they are more likely to pick people up for doing things that they usually are fine with them doing (if not strictly permitted) so I might avoid the port. Also I don't know what I am doing in there and might accidentally get in the way of a police boat going to/from the Ruby Princess... With the swell (it sounds largish to me, but again I don't really know) I will give bass point a try another time until I have more experience. If it was from the south I would have considered it as would be sheltered by the point. It is a nice afternoon for a paddle. The lake will be good today even if there is probably less chance of getting on a good fish than the other locations. Thanks for the feedback and suggestions.

Yeah. Thanks again for the reply 🙂 made me re-evaluate again. I think now is not the time to be stretching the rules, I imagine they will be more likely to crack down with all the restrictions about. Looking online there is a 1.4m swell with possible 2.8m max waves hitting directly on the north side of bass point. Also possibility of some rain. I haven't done a lot of ocean kayak fishing so might leave this for another time until conditions are more favorable. I imagine trying to get through the breakers might be a pain unless I paddle from shellharbour. I guess I will try more areas on the lake again this-afternoon and see if I cant get any late season flatties. I saw a number of posts in the past (on different message boards) for people doing group trips to bass point, pig island and other places around the Illawarra. But I haven't seen much activity since I got my kayak. I am interested in going out with a group of people to learn the ropes a bit more. I guess a trip like this will probably have to wait until next summer when the conditions are more consistent, fish are more active and the COVID restrictions have been lifted. I might see if anyone is interested in a spring/summer time holiday day-trip.

Thanks for the info. Just did some more reading after reading your comments and it sounds like you are not allowed to fish in the outer harbor from a boat 😞 I didn't realize this. Might leave this alone and head to shell-harbor / bass point.

Does anyone know if there are any restrictions for Kayak fishing in Port Kembla at the moment? I am planning to head out there tomorrow (Sunday 19th) around 2pm and catch the incoming tide for a few hours around dusk (and also the only time I can get away). First time fishing in the port (been on the lake mostly with not much luck). Any idea what I might catch this time of year in the port, or suggestions on bait / lures / rigs to use? I wont have much time before-hand to catch any poddy mullet or worms, only going to the shop and buying something on the way. Thanks.

Thanks for the info. Sounds like the issue was going in the middle of the day with high swell. I might give early morning a try next.

Sounds like I was in the right spot. Maybe wrong time. I tried a few different colour jigs and didn't get a single hit after 4 hours. There was a bit of swell at the time (was planning to paddle to bass point but decided not to because of the swell). Does this impact squid a lot? Do you mean like near the east side of the lake? The kayak came with a fish finder (I wasn't particularly interested in one at the time but has been fun learning more about them and using it). So I was using it to find drop-offs and fishing some on the southern side of the lake. I also tried near the entrance of the lake where the large shallow flat near the small island opens into the deeper water. I saw a bunch of others fishing (not the tourists) at the time too and no one getting anything. I have been trying different plastics, and lures and keep a second rod left out while drifting with a pilchard on a paternoster to keep it just about 20cm off the floor so it doesn't get destroyed dragging on the ground. I was also planning to try around the Tallawarra Power Station sometime too. Thanks for that suggestion, I might give Port Kembla a try first and then here next. With summer finishing up I think I need to get out a bit soon before things get cold and slow down. I have a month of long service leave coming up over April, any suggestions what/where to target at that time as I plan to do a fair bit more over that month? Thanks again.

Thanks for posting. I was interested in joining too but had to look after kids. Looked like there used to be a bit of activity on this board, but not seen much since I got a Kayak. How did you go? I have been looking out for others going Kayak fishing in the area. Done a bit of land fishing and just Kayaking in the past. Wanted to join the two and am still learning the ropes (Never been boat fishing, not really sure what I am looking for). I haven't been out in Port Kembla harbor yet. Do you have any issues with the ships? Only tried the lake and spent some time near Shellharbour boat ramp as well looking for squid. Not had much luck since I got my Kayak last year though. Only caught a bass on the Shoalhaven river and some under-sized flatties up north.