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The state of The Entrance Feb 2020


ptran

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Hi Raiders,

This post is just a heads-up for those heading to The Entrance for fishing. Recently the heavy rain has caused major flooding to the folks who live nearby causing some local and council action to open the channel to the lake.

It is a completely different system now, high currents washing to and from the ocean carrying sea grass all over, dirty brown water and large deposits of soft sand on the bottom making wading a nightmare. 

I've only found out about this myself heading up here from Sydney for a weekend fishing trip with the family (damn it!). Hardly any fish spotted after bait fishing a variety of places in Tuggerah lake and tonight I'll have a look at prawning situation, not looking to favorable.

 

Take care out there and hope this information is helpful. Tight lines.

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Just had a look this morning (Saturday 15th at 9.00am)and it is still flooding out. Locals have been picking up the odd flathead.

Last big flood (Pasha Bulka 2007) saw great fishing once the lake settled down but that may take some time. The outflow removed a lot of the sand between the bridge and the sea but when i looked this morning there is still a lot of sand here.

That being said, the fishing has been very good the last couple of years in the drought so we'll just have to wait and see what effect the flood has.

Saw a couple of fishers this morning, one with poddies and the other with SPs not getting any action.

@Chokpa The flood has been a controversial issue with lots of political posturing, breakwall talk and blaming. Realistically, with well over a metre of water in the 80 sq km of lake entering the system over a few days, flooding was inevitable.

Big rivers like the Hunter have a deep outflow protected by a breakwall (recently identified as a significant cause of the alarming erosion of Stockton beach) yet the Hunter still has serious floods when there's lots of rain.

I think that flooding is a necessary part of an estuary's life cycle and we need to adapt to that.

KB

Edited by Koalaboi
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11 hours ago, chokpa said:

saw some guys had an excavator opening the channel up last weekend. What did the locals think? Did it actually help?

The local council opened up a couple of lagoons around Avoca & Terrigal before the big rain event due to potential flooding but it was a local plumber with his excavator you probably saw who was fed up with with the floodwater & sewage in his neighbourhood, the council were going to fine him & if so the locals are going to chip in & help pay the fine. Yet a day or two later the council opened up the channel & the floodwaters have since subsided & roads have become passable again. Supposedly  council didn’t do anything because of direction from the E.P.A late last year. 

The recent council meeting was closed early due to fed up & angry rate payers. Mid last year the local community got together with shovels & tried opening the channel because of silting & the smell of dying weed.

Years ago there used to be another natural  outlet somewhere north of the entrance bridge that helped the lakes system stay reasonably healthy but that was closed off in the name of progress 

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1 hour ago, Rebel said:

 

I asked the Council to open the Chanel to relieve the flooding. No. The Pacific Hwy was closed at Charmhaven for 5 days. We have a Council that doesn't care.

 

I feel for all of you living up on the lake system, it’s like the council doesn’t give a damn but if you live in Terrigal or Avoca they react for fear of reprisal, yet it is us the people who pay there wages & if we made mistakes like this in business or our jobs we would get the sack or be fined

     “Bloody bureaucratic  ‘a’ holes “

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2 hours ago, 61 crusher said:

it was a local plumber with his excavator you probably saw who was fed up with with the floodwater & sewage in his neighbourhood, the council were going to fine him & if so the locals are going to chip in & help pay the fine

Just heard the council aren’t going to fine the plumber, probably from fear of a major backlash 

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I had dinner at walarah bay club tues arvo  the water was over a metre higher than normal   once the channel was trenched and busted out  it drained back to normal in 24hrs    the council is responsible for all the traffic problems for 5 days because of flooding  and for hundreds of houses being flooded round the 3 lakes

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1 hour ago, rickmarlin62 said:

the council is responsible for all the traffic problems for 5 days because of flooding  and for hundreds of houses being flooded round the 3 lakes

Hence why the council meeting was closed early, would’ve been a lot of affected ratepayers frothing over yet another blunder by these Bloody bureaucrats , sorry about ranting on

I wasn’t effected by the flood around the lakes but know of a few who were, the incompetents just makes my blood boil

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Guest Guest123456789

Central coast council has 1600 staff. Second only to the city of sydney council. 180 people work in IT. The council employ more full time IT staff than Qantas. 

Our rates as being effectively stolen to the detriment of our lakes, roads and infrastructure. There’s $80mil a year in savings that could be used to fix the entrance lagoon issue and so many others.

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4 hours ago, flatheadluke said:

Central coast council has 1600 staff. Second only to the city of sydney council. 180 people work in IT. The council employ more full time IT staff than Qantas. 

Our rates as being effectively stolen to the detriment of our lakes, roads and infrastructure. There’s $80mil a year in savings that could be used to fix the entrance lagoon issue and so many others.

Something to think about when its council election time!

If your not happy with your council just like your other reps then vote them out!!

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Seems to me the council is focused on the small day to day operational issues, not the big picture benefits a healthy lake system brings (economic/lifestyle etc.). I'd have thought this tourist destination this close to Sydney would benefit tremendous economic value from a healthy lake system - let alone the locals who pay their tax for it!

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Hi Everyone,

The recent flooding has seen a lot of people angry and upset over the damage to homes and property etc. Blaming and scapegoating in times of stress is unfortunate if understandable.

But just the same, the continual complaints about how unhealthy the Lakes are and how little councils have done to put in place a long term strategy for the lakes are hard to justify.

Council has a lot of documentation on long term strategies for looking after the lake:  https://www.centralcoast.nsw.gov.au/environment/coastlines/estuaries-lagoons-and-wetlands/tuggerah-lakes-estuary

Floods are inevitable, not a matter of if but when. With a changing climate seeing more extreme weather events happening more frequently, and this summer showed that forecast to be true, living in fire and flood risk areas is just that: risky. For the Lake we also have to include sea levels rising. Again not if, but when. Council has planned for flooding:

http://www.friendsoftuggerahlakes-cen.org.au/FLOOD STUDIES/2014 11 21 tuggerahlakesfloodplainriskmanagementstudyplan-final-all-lr.pdf

But when dealing with nature, even the best laid plans may not be enough. This recent summer of catastrophic fires caught fire scientists and fighters short in that the conditions were of an unprecedented severity. We can only expect more of this.

Back in the 90's Wyong Shire Council commissioned a scientific investigation of the Lake by the CSIRO to inform it about management of the system. Attached below.

For fishers, the CSIRO also compiled an oral history of fishing the lakes also attached.

For lots of up to date as well as historical reliable information on the lakes it's worth looking at:

http://www.friendsoftuggerahlakes-cen.org.au/

For myself, the lake has been fishing the best I can remember in my 30 years of fishing here. During the last two years in particular, the fishing has been excellent (I usually only fish for flathead and blackfish). Last Tuesday, I spent a couple of hours flicking for flathead and landed 9 fish from 40 to 60 cm. It was a similar story the Tuesday before the floods.

KB

Tuggerah Lakes.pdf History of Fishing Tuggerah Lakes.pdf

Edited by Koalaboi
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