Oyster Bay is a significant fishing location on Tasmanian’s mid East Coast, a little over a two-hour drive from Hobart or Launceston.

A great range of saltwater species are caught in this region, and it was chosen to host two of Tasmania’s first saltwater FADs, installed in 2021.

Species to be caught include sand and tiger flathead, barracouta, salmon, snotties, jackass morwong, pink snapper, kingfish, KG whiting, garfish, leatherjackets, flounder, bluethroat wrasse, black bream, silver trevally, rock lobsters, striped trumpeter, albacore, bluefin tuna and squid.

Note that much of Great Oyster Bay is a shark reserve, which means sharks and rays may not be taken.

The bay’s waters are reasonably protected from most winds except southerlies.

The bay is quite shallow with a mostly bare sand bottom, with patches of seagrass and a lot of fringing reef.

Most of the seagrass is found in the depth range of 5m to 12m, and if you are boat fishing for flathead, flounder, KG whiting and squid, this is a good range to concentrate your efforts, fishing deeper on clear days when the fish may spook more easily.

Great Oyster Bay has two significant estuaries feeding the bay, being Greater Swanport to the north and Little Swanport on the south-west side, both great producers of black bream, some of which make their way into the bay. These estuaries are great fishing spots in themselves.

There are extensive reefs south of Little Swanport and Schouten Island.

Reef south of little Swanport runs off the headlands Cape Bougainville, Grindstone Point, Barwell Point, Point Bailey and Seaford Point.

There is offshore reef out of Bolton’s Beach and Cape Bougainville extending to 20m to 30m depth and sometimes 1.5km from the coast.

North of Little Swanport there is less reef, being mainly fringing reef to 10m to 15m depth and usually located less than 250m from shore.

Near Swansea there is a cobble bottom. The western shoreline is dominated by dolerite, while the opposite side of the bay (Freycinet) has granite.

There is no reef along Nine Mile Beach.

Landbased fishos in this region can try near inshore seagrass beds off Gravelly Beach, Cooks Beach, Promise Bay, in Coles Bay, and south of Swansea.

Wrasse are usually easily located around reef edges in the bay, and expect occasional snapper, trevally and more in deeper water.

KG whiting can be hard to find within the bay, but usually the edges of seagrass patches are the place to look, with some good KGs caught in the bay by those in the know.

flathead can be found by drift fishing with bait or jigs run along the bottom, or trolling lures that swim near the bottom.

Being shallow and usually clear, overcast conditions can fish well in the shallow areas.

Beaches such as Nine Mile Beach and the west sides of Great Oyster Bay are good places to fish from shore.

There are good access points to the bay along the highway on the west side of the bay.

The Swan River just north of Swansea has black bream, including some big fish. There are spots along Dolphin Sands Road that can be fished.

Jetties at Swansea and Coles Bay produce mainly squid, best at dusk and dawn. Sometimes salmon, slimy mackerel, snotties and pike are also caught.

For boaters, Schouten Passage is a deep channel between Freycinet Peninsula and Schouten Island.

Expect tiger flathead, snapper, trevally, kingfish and striped trumpeter. Strong currents flow here and the sea can whip up. You will need heavy sinkers to hold bottom.

Big flathead and trumpeter are more reliable outside the passage, but this is open ocean.

Tuna come close to shore here, with albacore usually easily found.

Bluefin tuna are the main target gamefish species, but yellowfin tuna occasionally show up, along with mako sharks.

Try the southern end and east side of Schouten Island for gamefish.

Extensive areas of reef exist west and south of Schouten Island extending to the 40m depth and 2.2km or so from shore.

Another great East Coast location is St Helens.

Great Oyster Bay tides
Tasmanian FADs
Tasmanian fishing regulations
Tasmanian marine reserves
Tasmanian saltwater fishing seasons
Trout fishing spot access programs
Fisheries assessment reports
Buy a freshwater fishing licence
Tasmanian lake levels (hydro)
Tasmanian river flows (govt)
Bag and size limits
Private Tasmanian trout fisheries
Return to the Tasmanian Fishing Map

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Kakadu National Park lies at the end of the Top End’s Arnhem Highway, which lead to some of Australia’s best wild barramundi fishing hotspots.

Driving in, fishermen pass turn-offs to famous NT locations such as Shady Camp, Corroboree Billabong and Hardies Lagoon before finally entering Kakadu National Park.

Kakadu’s great barramundi fishing is associated with the vast wetlands around three big rivers.

The massive wetland catchment extend westward outside the park through to the Adelaide River.

Every year these wetlands fill with monsoonal floodwaters and fish life becomes supercharged in abundance through the bait cycle.

The wet season and shortly after is the best time to fish the tidal waters, concentrating efforts where bait has collected, especially where clear or green floodwater is flowing into the turbid tidal water.

Kakadu’s freshwater locations are fishable in the dry season when tracks have dried out.

Wet season fishing requires a boat, although there is a good chance of catching barramundi by casting around flooded culverts.

The main waterways are the Wildman River and South Alligator and East Alligator Rivers.

Kakadu’s West Alligator River is closed to fishing.

The Wildman River’s tidal water is reach by boat from Shady Camp or Stuart Tree on the coast, a long journey.

The South Alligator River has a boat ramp near the highway into tidal water. Fishermen go upstream or downstream to chase barramundi during the dry season, depending on conditions.

In the dry season “the South” forms waterholes in the upper section, many of which can be reached by track and have camping areas.

Yellow Water is one of the better known freshwater locations.

The East Alligator River is accessed from Cahills Crossing, which marks the limit of most tidal movement into the freshwater section.

There are boat ramps immediately above and below the crossing, and a campground.

The East Alligator River can not easily be reached during flooding, as Magela Creek cuts the road, and even then the road after the creek will be flooded.

Fishermen tend to drive in with boats in as soon as the water level drops enough to allow safe access.

The freshwater section of the East Alligator is pleasant and scenic but shallow and sandy.

The Wildman River has freshwater holes accessible from the highway, they are the Two Mile and Four Mile Holes, with a foreshore campground accessible further along the same road at West Alligator Head.

Beach launching can be done at Kakadu’s West Alligator Head, which is the only beachfront campground. Expect sandflies, mozzies and crocodiles, and great fishing.

Fishing in Kakadu’s rivers can be very exciting and also frustrating, but a good wet season usually brings on great barramundi fishing.

Boaters must contend with big tides, floodwaters and mudbanks.

There are also abundant large crocodiles, and these are often seen on the highway, so don’t take risks.

Reef fishing outside the rivers can be very good for jewfish, cod and snapper, but it is a long run from the boat ramps.

Travel the rivers on a rising tide so you don’t get stuck on a mudbank.

Every year, tagged barramundi worth $10k are released in this region for the Million Dollar Fish annual promotion. Some of these fish are eligible to collect the $1m prize.

Detailed fishing maps and marks for this area, including charts of fishable river rockbars, are in the North Australian FISH FINDER book.

There is good fishing in the freshwater holes for grunter and saratoga.

Night fishing works well on barramundi in the dry season waterholes but crocodile attack is a real possibility, as big crocodiles are always in the vicinity.

Wet season floodwater turns the catchments into an inland sea when barramundi spread far and wide.

The fishing improves as the rivers fall after flooding.

Barramundi congregate at floodplain creeks along the river channels, and at coastal floodplain creek mouths.

Colour changes between turbid tidal water and clear run-off are always worth a cast but the real secret is to find where bait is located.

Once floods subside there is a period of greenwater flow which provides good fishing, and tides will then usually decide when the fish come on.

Trolling the river rockbars can work well, especially when the tide turns.

Use at least 15kg braided line and well-made Australian lures such as Reidys and Classics.

Leaders of around 40kg are needed.

Big threadfin salmon are super-abundant along the Kakadu coastline and become almost a nuisance when targeting trophy barramundi.

Accommodation near these great fishing locations is at Corroboree Park Tavern. Book early if visiting in the popular dry season.

Darwin has a range of accommodation options.

Booking.com

South Alligator River mouth tides
East Alligator River mouth tides
Note that the river mouth high tides occur almost three hours earlier than at the upstream ramps
East Alligator Cahills Crossing tides
NT tidal variations
Latest Kakadu access report
Kakadu fishing rules
Recent NT rainfall – important for run-off fishing
NT Million Dollar Fish promotion
NT fishing regulations
North Australian FISH FINDER fishing map book

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Burrinjuck Dam is just less than a two-hour drive from Canberra and four hours from Sydney, on the Murrumbidgee River.

Burrinjuck is best known as a murray cod fishery, with trophy fish taken, but it also has golden and silver perch, brown and rainbow trout, carp, redfin and yabbies.

The dam level goes up and down quite quickly.

Burrinjuck water is used for crops and pastures in the the 660,000ha of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area around Griffith and Leeton.

The dam also supplies domestic water, environmental flows and hydroelectricity power.

A rising level may see fish such as trout feeding along the edges.

Burrinjuck is known for its winter cod fishing.

Cod chase redfin, trout and carp in the shallows in the cold months and that’s when to target big cod with lures.

Try casting soft plastics to 200mm or hard lures.

Ideal spots at this time are shallow flats.

At other times rocky points and the edges of former river and creek channels are worth fishing.

Moor your boat and cast towards the bank, or troll the 4m to 8m range.

June, July and August are the best months for this technique, but many cod are caught at other times.

Murray cod peak fishing time is usually April to August.

Golden perch (yellowbelly) are stocked in the dam and there are some big fish.

They are caught all year, with the best fishing from September to December.

To catch golden perch, cast small soft plastics and hard lures around trees, newly flooded banks and rocky areas.

Many fishos use bait such as yabbies and grubs, and fishing from the bank at night can work well.

Troll lures to 150mm along rock banks and submerged timber.

if you are not chasing cod, it is best to err on the side of using the smallest lures, as golden perch, trout and redfin will take these, as will small cod.

The dam is also stocked with silver perch.

If you wish to target silvers use the smallest lures or flies on fine tackle.

Silvers take baits including worms, mudeyes, shrimp, yabbies and domestic baits such as bread, much the same as carp will do.

Burrinjuck is stocked with rainbow and brown trout.

Trout fish best in cool weather.

Use small lures or flies or baits such as worms or mudeyes on a tiny sinker or float rig.

Redfin are often about in numbers and have no bag limit.

They respond to small lures and the same baits as trout.

Redfin are legally pests but they are good to eat, and an attractive fish that fight well.

Hoop or lift nets and shrimp traps are permitted in the dam but not yabby traps.

Nets and traps used must be within NSW specifications.

One of the drawcards of the dam are the available accommodation and the plentiful local wildlife.

Here is a list of recommended tackle for freshwater fishing, including within stocked dams.

Book your fishing stay early at Booking.com

NSW dam levels
NSW stocking histories
Sydney dam levels
NSW fishing regulations
Blowering Dam NSW Govt website

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