Shore based fishing Huskisson area

[Mullatt]

Hi all, hoping some of the locals around Shoalhaven area or others in the know may assist in clarifying what I read in the regulations.

Going for a week to Jervis Bay, staying at Huskisson,  not taking my boat as doing a few tourist type things, but will take a few rods as will probably flick a plastic/lure somewhere from the shore. l have all the official apps on my phone and I'm assuming that areas will be marked...but the way I interpret the DPI zoning maps re sanctuary zones is that I can' t do shore based fishing from about Nelson Beach down past Sailors Beach (including Hyams Beach).

Am I interpreting this correctly? I definitely don't want to do the wrong thing, but I find these maps to be not overly user friendly...but maybe its just me.

Any advice will be glady received.

Thanks

[Berrero]

While I'm not local to the area, I did a similar holiday in huss a few years ago and happy to shed some light.

I fished shore based around the actual bay a fair bit but didn't get much interest from anything. There weren't many gutters or anything per se, more just a gradual slope off and was fairly shallow still a fair bit out. 

There are a few rocky outcrops scattered around the bay which looked better, I saw some people a few times throwing squid jigs and going for luderick but was a bit too washy for my liking at the time.

There is a REALLY nice inlet at the entrance of Moona Moona creek, which at high tide has large sand flats with plenty of fish -- saw plenty of 40+ whiting cruising around and even managed a few salmon off the flats. Also a nice bridge to fish off (burrill st) which is really deep and holds plenty of fish. Was crystal clear conditions last time I was there and you were able to see fish cruising around at 4-5mtrs deep. Also saw a huge school of larger luderick on the other side of the bridge, holding around the mangroves on the left looking upstream.

If you're up for a bit of a change I also ventured down into Jervis Bay territory and fished murrays beach boat ramp, it looked like an amazing squidding ground. Only managed a couple of them but fished all the way west down to hole in the wall with jigs and lures for a mixed bag. Huge kelp beds right on the shore and plenty of rocky outcrops.

You are correct about the exclusion zones, might be best to check with the locals before you try somewhere new, but I'm pretty sure the locations I listed are good to fish as I saw plenty others in the same spots.

You'll probably have most of what you need however there is a small tackle shop in Husskisson that I highly recommend, the old bloke there was really friendly & helpful.

 

Hope that can shed a bit of light for you, like yourself I only had a week so didn't really have time to knuckle down and fine tune any specific type of fishing, but I think once you get there and see the conditions you'll be pleasantly surprised and have a great time regardless.

Also not sure if you'd have the time / funds for a fishing charter but the middle of the bay is prime trophy flathead grounds, was one thing I wasn't able to do last time I was there... next time for sure!

Enjoy your holiday mate

[Green Hornet]

I have recently moved away from Hyams Beach after living there for over 30 years. You are allowed to fish from the shore from the north end of Chinamans Beach at Hyams and south from there, down to the navy base, HMAS Creswell.

 It has its good and bad days, but it can be worthwhile walking the beaches flicking a plastic, blade or vibe for flathead and bream, or you can cast a pilly out and relax with the family, while waiting for a salmon to cruise on by.

 I won’t go into too much more detail as @Berrero has given you a good run down on a few local spots. 

If there’s anything more you’d like to know, feel free to message me.

I should add, if you decide to have a fish in Moona Moona Creek, there is a sanctuary zone that starts 50m from the upstream side of the bridge. Its clearly marked with a yellow buoy and okay to fish from that, down to the entrance.

Edited June 21, 2022 by Green Hornet

[Mullatt]

4 hours ago, Berrero said:

While I'm not local to the area, I did a similar holiday in huss a few years ago and happy to shed some light.

I fished shore based around the actual bay a fair bit but didn't get much interest from anything. There weren't many gutters or anything per se, more just a gradual slope off and was fairly shallow still a fair bit out. 

There are a few rocky outcrops scattered around the bay which looked better, I saw some people a few times throwing squid jigs and going for luderick but was a bit too washy for my liking at the time.

There is a REALLY nice inlet at the entrance of Moona Moona creek, which at high tide has large sand flats with plenty of fish -- saw plenty of 40+ whiting cruising around and even managed a few salmon off the flats. Also a nice bridge to fish off (burrill st) which is really deep and holds plenty of fish. Was crystal clear conditions last time I was there and you were able to see fish cruising around at 4-5mtrs deep. Also saw a huge school of larger luderick on the other side of the bridge, holding around the mangroves on the left looking upstream.

If you're up for a bit of a change I also ventured down into Jervis Bay territory and fished murrays beach boat ramp, it looked like an amazing squidding ground. Only managed a couple of them but fished all the way west down to hole in the wall with jigs and lures for a mixed bag. Huge kelp beds right on the shore and plenty of rocky outcrops.

You are correct about the exclusion zones, might be best to check with the locals before you try somewhere new, but I'm pretty sure the locations I listed are good to fish as I saw plenty others in the same spots.

You'll probably have most of what you need however there is a small tackle shop in Husskisson that I highly recommend, the old bloke there was really friendly & helpful.

 

Hope that can shed a bit of light for you, like yourself I only had a week so didn't really have time to knuckle down and fine tune any specific type of fishing, but I think once you get there and see the conditions you'll be pleasantly surprised and have a great time regardless.

Also not sure if you'd have the time / funds for a fishing charter but the middle of the bay is prime trophy flathead grounds, was one thing I wasn't able to do last time I was there... next time for sure!

Enjoy your holiday mate

Thanks for all the great advice @Berrero, very useful info. I had noticed Moona Moona Creek and did think it was worth a try tho I can imagine in the warmer months people picknicking & swimming would probably far out weigh the number of fish hey. Will try around the shorelines and bays if time permits as we are doing a whale watching cruise and may indeed do a bay fishing charter too.

Thanks again for the info, much appreciated.

[Mullatt]

4 hours ago, Green Hornet said:

I have recently moved away from Hyams Beach after living there for over 30 years. You are allowed to fish from the shore from the north end of Chinamans Beach at Hyams and south from there, down to the navy base, HMAS Creswell.

 It has its good and bad days, but it can be worthwhile walking the beaches flicking a plastic, blade or vibe for flathead and bream, or you can cast a pilly out and relax with the family, while waiting for a salmon to cruise on by.

 I won’t go into too much more detail as @Berrero has given you a good run down on a few local spots. 

If there’s anything more you’d like to know, feel free to message me.

I should add, if you decide to have a fish in Moona Moona Creek, there is a sanctuary zone that starts 50m from the upstream side of the bridge. Its clearly marked with a yellow buoy and okay to fish from that, down to the entrance.

Thanks for the reply @Green Hornet. I noticed that you lived around the area and thought that you would know all the right stuff...which you obviosly do, so thanks heaps mate. Thanks for the heads up re Hyams beach area, will definitely give that a go at some point. We have been down that way a few times but not fishing...did notice last time we were there that Hyams gets extremely busy and parking seems to be an issue (probably more so for locals hey).

Also thanks for the note re the Moona Moona Creek sanctuary zone, shall watch out for that.

We're staying at the Holiday Park on Currambene Creek so will give that a go at some stage too. I'm aware there is a sanctuary zone further down towards the mouth too.

Cheers

Cheers and thanks again

[Green Hornet]

@MullattNo worries mate, happy to help. Over our time at Hyams we saw it go from a little known, hidden away village to a tourist Mecca. We eventually became surrounded by holiday rental properties and late night parties 7 days a week, left us no option but to leave. Sad to say the least from our point of view.

If the caravan park your staying at is the one not far upstream from the boat ramp, I know they get good flathead straight out the front on low tide. Not too sure about this time of year though, but certainly worth a throw. If you decide to fish there, bring an old pair of shoes as its a bit muddy. Not deep mud but a good idea to protect your feet from hidden nasties. You can pump yabbies there or throw smallish plastics.

[Mullatt]

Thanks again @Green Hornet. Yep thats the Park we're at so thanks for the tips...we'll definitely pack some crappy shoes.