New member looking to fish Yamba NSW

[BrettJ]

G'day folks, I am an avid freshwater fisho in country VIC. Will be driving up to Yamba NSW for a 2 week break in July. I plan to go on a fishing charter or two in my time there. So thats covered.  Will hire a tinnie most days for a fish in the Clarence and will be looking to fish the beaches in and around the surrounding areas.  I usually like to take the 4x4 off the road and onto the beach if possible. 

Would anyone be kind enough to give a few hints and tips for the area ? 

As i mentioned travelling around not an issue for me. I will be camping most nights. 

[Brodie_S]

4 hours ago, BrettJ said:

G'day folks, I am an avid freshwater fisho in country VIC. Will be driving up to Yamba NSW for a 2 week break in July. I plan to go on a fishing charter or two in my time there. So thats covered.  Will hire a tinnie most days for a fish in the Clarence and will be looking to fish the beaches in and around the surrounding areas.  I usually like to take the 4x4 off the road and onto the beach if possible. 

Would anyone be kind enough to give a few hints and tips for the area ? 

As i mentioned travelling around not an issue for me. I will be camping most nights. 

I haven’t fished Yamba but I’ve fished a lot of similar places and the surrounding areas of Yamba my best advice would be to target fish on the last 2 hours of the run out tide and last 2 hours of the run in tide near mangroves and creek openings for GT and mangrove jacks . Using baits such as live or dead poddy mullet seem to work well in tight structure also using 3 inch plastics or divers tight against mangroves and creek openings is excellent for GT jacks flathead cod etc . Generally a 2-4kg setup with 8lb braid will do good for bream flathead and whiting a 3-5kg rod with 10-12lb braid is good for flathead average size cod and smaller jacks and GT’s a 4-7kg setup with 15lb or 15lb+ braid will handle jacks and GT’s well . Hope that helps make sure you tie good strong knots to as saltwater fish are very rarely forgiving . Welcome to AFO everyone here is pretty good feel free to ask any questions 

[BrettJ]

Thank you very much. Great information. I will study up on jacks, lizards, bream and GT fishing i like casting so will be lure fishing in the estuaries. I can certainly cover gear used. Would a 2500 size reel suffice on all applications? 

I do use mono on the lighter gear. Do you suggest using braid instead? If so would a mono leader be required ? 

Thinking to give the local tackle shop a call or email and chew their ear off and purchase a heap of lures line to respool etc to pick up when i land.  

Again thanks for your informative reply.  

Cheers,

Brett. 

[Brodie_S]

2 hours ago, BrettJ said:

Thank you very much. Great information. I will study up on jacks, lizards, bream and GT fishing i like casting so will be lure fishing in the estuaries. I can certainly cover gear used. Would a 2500 size reel suffice on all applications? 

I do use mono on the lighter gear. Do you suggest using braid instead? If so would a mono leader be required ? 

Thinking to give the local tackle shop a call or email and chew their ear off and purchase a heap of lures line to respool etc to pick up when i land.  

Again thanks for your informative reply.  

Cheers,

Brett. 

A 2500 with 10-12lb braid should handle legal jacks and GT’s alright but if you did get a trophy jack it would be a challenge to land it’s not impossible I’ve seen it before but it’s definitely not a easy battle to land a trophy jacks on such light gear. Mono should be fine for lighter gear but if you are fishing lures on the lighter gear I highly suggest 6-8lb braid as the casting distance and sensitivity will be greatly increased and you generally land more fish on lures because of it . Although braid is expensive I’ve found Diawa j braid x4 to be a great cheaper option. A mono leader should be fine as well but when you start getting over 12lb leader with mono it can effect lure action negativity but not always it should be fine anyway as long as you have braid . Hope that helps

[benno573]

Plenty of variety off the rock walls at the mouth of the river too. Bream, trevally dart, tailor, occasional kingfish etc. definitely mulloway along the walls too. I have hooked and lost a couple but never landed one.

 

the parreara channel on the way into town offers good banks for flicking for flathead around low tide. 

 

North of yamba a bit is woody head, Fraser’s reef and a few other rocky headlands that are well worth a look if wind/swell allows.

[BrettJ]

54 minutes ago, benno573 said:

Plenty of variety off the rock walls at the mouth of the river too. Bream, trevally dart, tailor, occasional kingfish etc. definitely mulloway along the walls too. I have hooked and lost a couple but never landed one.

 

the parreara channel on the way into town offers good banks for flicking for flathead around low tide. 

 

North of yamba a bit is woody head, Fraser’s reef and a few other rocky headlands that are well worth a look if wind/swell allows.

Sensational !  

Great information Thanks.  I will look at google maps for entry points.  I had a look at Woody Head campgrounds earlier in the week on maps, so that's great to hear worth a shot.  I did plan on spending a few nights out up there.  I am hoping the wind is manageable during my stay.

Again thanks benno, appreciate the reply.

 

Cheers,

Brett.

[BrettJ]

3 hours ago, Breaming with bro said:

A 2500 with 10-12lb braid should handle legal jacks and GT’s alright but if you did get a trophy jack it would be a challenge to land it’s not impossible I’ve seen it before but it’s definitely not a easy battle to land a trophy jacks on such light gear. Mono should be fine for lighter gear but if you are fishing lures on the lighter gear I highly suggest 6-8lb braid as the casting distance and sensitivity will be greatly increased and you generally land more fish on lures because of it . Although braid is expensive I’ve found Diawa j braid x4 to be a great cheaper option. A mono leader should be fine as well but when you start getting over 12lb leader with mono it can effect lure action negativity but not always it should be fine anyway as long as you have braid . Hope that helps

Thanks for the advice , I run J braid x8  30lb on my Murray Cod/baitcaster setup but Id reckon bringing that combo would be overkill for the estuaries ! 

I'm certainly looking forward to gearing up, certainly a bit of planning before the trip. Cant wait to get up there. all tips and hints are very much appreciated. 

 

Cheers, 

Brett. 

[Drop Bear]

Hey mate,

Have a look at this thread. It has heaps of info on Yamba

 

 

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Hey Brett

I haven't fished Yamba but have watched a few videos of people who have. In the Clarence river, I've seen people do good on flathead fishing with light line, about 10 pounds, on sand flats. I've also seen trevally, whiting, bream, and some other bits and bobs landed. With access to a small tinny you should be able to manage these. I don't know if you have one or if they are there but lightly weighted yabbies would work for the same species.

I've seen tailor, bream, flathead, and heard of jewies being caught off the beach. Look for some structure, like rocks, or a gutter, and fish with the freshest baits possible. I've seen people have success on lures for flatties in the surf as well. Mono should be right on most fish but in general braid is regarded better as it helps you sense the bites when lure fishing. A 2500 reel would be good as long as you don't hook something massive - still possible to land just a bit harder.

Cheers Hamish

P.S. Have fun and good luck.

[benno573]

On 16/04/2021 at 10:16 PM, BrettJ said:

Sensational !  

Great information Thanks.  I will look at google maps for entry points.  I had a look at Woody Head campgrounds earlier in the week on maps, so that's great to hear worth a shot.  I did plan on spending a few nights out up there.  I am hoping the wind is manageable during my stay.

Again thanks benno, appreciate the reply.

 

Cheers,

Brett.

Not difficult to scratch together a few fish off Fraser’s reef. Just be aware that the best spot can only be accessed about 2hrs either side of low tide. You can be out there over a high tide but not get on and off.