Harrington’s Manning River is the attraction here, being a great producer of estuary fish, along with bass in the upper reaches.

The lower river is a complex shallow estuary with two entrances, the main one at Harrington and the other 12km south, called Farquhar Inlet.

Farquhar Inlet at times closes over while Harrington is usually open.

The Manning River is about 150km long with tidal influence to Abbotts Falls, a gravel bar 54km from the mouth, and is navigable to Wingham, 30km from the entrance.

The lower Manning has many good landbased spots, especially from the rock walls.

The river has shallows where boaters must proceed with caution, and the bar entrance also requires care.

flathead and whiting are the main catch, along with bream and winter luderick.

The 2km Harrington wall (on the north bank) produces most estuary fish, including mulloway.

Yabbies are found on the inside flats.

On the south bank, Manning Spit is accessible by 4WD – the rock wall here produces good fish.

Upstream, Pelican Bay has oyster leases with bream.

Mud crabs, blue swimmer crabs and prawns are found in the estuary.

Crowdy Head, north-east of the Manning sea entrance, has good rock fishing platforms.

It is within Crowdy Head National Park, where there is a coastal campground.

Reef fishing is good along the coast, particularly off Diamond Head.

A lucrative tagged fish competition has been held on the lower Manning, which was affected by the COVID pandemic, keep an eye on this website for the event to hopefully kick off again some time in the future.

Local tides have up to about 1.41m movement, relatively small but enough to produce strong currents in the river and at the sea entrance.

The upper Manning River’s bass includes 40cm+ fish, though most are much smaller.

Here is a list of recommended tackle for NSW waters.

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Harrington tides
Harrington coastline on Beachsafe
Crowdy Head National Park
NSW fishing regulations
NSW marine parks

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Dunbogan is between the lower Camden Haven River and the ocean surf beach on the New South Wales’ North Coast.

This great destination gives easy access to the lower river and its tidal lakes, along with fishing off Dunbogan Beach, the river entrance walls, and Diamond Head.

Dunbogan Beach is 9km long, running between Camden Head and Diamond Head.

The northern section is accessible on the Camden Head road and for 2km south along Nursery road.

The northern beach gutters can be viewed from Hamey Lookout on Camden Head.

The southern section of the beach is part of Crowdy Head National Park.

Vehicle access is at Blackbutts, Cheese Tree and Geebung picnic areas and Diamond Head Rest Area, which has a beachfront campground.

Dunbogan Beach has 4WD access. The best gutters are usually at the northern end, with more variable gutters further south.

Big bream and school mulloway are caught off the North Haven wall, mostly by fishing on the river side.

Tailor are usually best on the beach side near the end of the wall.

Further into the river towards the local park, luderick are caught on weed baits in the cooler months.

There is rough bottom in the middle of the river along the walls, try casting to this area.

Watson Taylors Lake and Queens Lake form part of the lower Camden Haven River, and are shallow but productive fishing areas, especially for prawns and crabs.

Gogleys Lagoon has a sandflat behind the Dunbogan rock wall where yabbies (nippers) can be found, with whiting and flathead caught on a rising high tide, best in summer.

There is an opening in the wall from Gogleys with shallow reef nearby close to a red channel marker.

The creek that follows Camden Head road into Gogleys Lagoon has good fishing for flathead and whiting.

Another good spot is around the Laurieton-North Haven bridge that crosses Stingray Creek.

Stingray Creek is good for boat fishing, with bream caught around structure and where the creek enters Queens Lake.

Travelling up to and past Watsons Taylor Lake the river becomes very shallow.

For surf fishos, South Beach on the Dunbogan side has mulloway, tailor, bream and whiting.

Beach worms and pipis can usually be found on the surf beaches and are great bait for bream, whiting and mulloway.

Tailor are a regular catch from the better beach gutters, use pilchard baits or lures.

The Camden Haven River’s tidal lakes are among the best prawn and crab locations on the north coast. During the dark moon, prawns run for sea on the run-out tide. Dip or scoop nets are used to catch them. A light is used to see the prawns and crabs.

Hand-hauled prawn nets are also used for prawning. These are 6m long nets dragged through the water by two people. These nets must be registered with NSW Department of Primary Industries.

Queens Lake has large flathead, try fishing around the sandflat where the creek opens into the lake.

While Dunbogan’s rock walls are probably the best fishing spots in the estuary, fish can be caught from an easy access platform near the sea entrance to Gogleys Creek, adjacent to the Dunbogan Jubilee Community Hall. Gogleys boat ramp and pontoon is nearby, and a reserve with playground, toilets and picnic area.

The sea entrance walls and lower river produce quality fish, but strong currents flow. The best time to fish is at the turn of the tide and around early morning or dusk.

There is good beach and rock fishing at Diamond Head, Point Perpendicular and Bonny Hills, with mainly tailor, mulloway, whiting, flathead and bream.

The north and east side of Diamond Head are among the best ocean rock fishing spots.

The upper Camden Haven River has bass in the freshwater reaches.

Here is a list of recommended tackle for NSW waters.

Book your fishing stay early at Booking.com

Dunbogan tides
Dunbogan Haven coastline on Beachsafe
Crowdy Head National Park
NSW fishing regulations
NSW marine parks

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North Haven, on the lower Camden Haven River, is one of the NSW North Coast’s great holiday fishing locations.

The Camden Haven River flows into Watson Taylor Lake, Queens Lake and Gogleys Lagoon before entering the sea near Laurieton, Dunbogan and North Haven.

Arguably best landbased spots are the North Haven and Dunbogan rock walls in the estuary, with bream, flathead, whiting and luderick the main catch.

Watson Taylors Lake and Queens Lake form part of the lower river, and these shallow tidal waters are renowned for prawns and blue swimmer crabs.

There is also great bream, luderick, whiting and flathead fishing to be had from the lower rock walls, along with access to the sea for boaters.

The Camden Haven River catchment starts in the Great Dividing Range and runs east through Kendall. The upper river has bass.

The sea walls around North Haven produce quality fish, including big bream, flathead and tailor, with mulloway best after rain.

The best time to fish is early morning or dusk at the turn of high or low tide.

Available local baits include beach worms and nippers.

Queens Lake and Watson Taylor Lake are among the best prawn and crab locations on the north coast.

During the dark moon, prawns run for sea on the run-out tide. Dip or scoop nets are used to catch them. A light is used to see prawns and crabs.

Hand-hauled prawn nets can also be used for prawning. These are 6m long nets dragged through the water by two people. These nets must be registered with NSW Department of Primary Industries.

Boaters must beware the shallow sections in the river and lakes.

Further afield, there is good beach and rock fishing at Diamond Head, Point Perpendicular and Bonny Hills, with mainly tailor, mulloway, whiting, flathead and bream.

Beach worms are usually readily available but are not easy to catch.

Here is a list of recommended tackle for NSW waters.

Book your fishing stay early at Booking.com

Camden Haven tides
Camden Haven coastline on Beachsafe
NSW fishing regulations
NSW marine parks

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