Travelling anglers heading east from Melbourne will find some of southern Australia’s best, and most accessible fishing, in East Gippsland. Between the Gippsland Lakes Region in the south to the New South Wales border, there are diverse and bountiful opportunities.
When the bream are running in the Gippsland Lakes, it can be wall to wall anglers in the Mitchell, Nicholson or Tambo Rivers. Locations like Marlo, Bemm River and Tamboon Inlet are exciting places to be when the fish are running.
However, for my money, the best estuary fishing in this region is Mallacoota Inlet. There are places in an angler’s travels where visits become regular events, with return visits predicated on fishing success. In my travel log, Mallacoota Inlet is one such place. I am not alone in my travel habits.
Mallacoota Inlet is situated on the Victorian New South Wales border, about half way between Melbourne and Sydney. For travelling anglers based in these cities who want to catch black bream or dusky flathead, Mallacoota is angler central.
One of the largest estuaries in the state, it is fed by the Genoa and Wallagaraugh Rivers, and a host of smaller creeks and streams. The Wallagaraugh River joins the Genoa River just above Gipsy Point, and this river in turn continues down to the sea at Mallacoota. There are smaller feeder rivers like the Betka and the Maramingo, as well as bays, inlets, and backwaters. And the mountains and heavily forested shoreline offer shelter from the elements, so that regardless of weather, there is always protected water somewhere that you can fish.
While species like estuary perch and Australian salmon often receive a mention in media despatches, the serious end of fishing in this part of the world revolves around bream and flathead. Other species caught here include mulloway, mullet, silver trevally and luderick, and in the upper reaches of the system, where the brackish water changes to fresh, you will find Australian bass.
Bream and flathead are the bread and butter species of most anglers. These two species put the biggest smile on the faces of retailers and tourism operators, and are the main reason cash registers ring.
In most of East Gippsland, the best fishing is had from small boats, however, this is because boats allow access to more areas. There is still plenty of quality shore based fishing available in these waterways.
It’s a neat part of the world, and as with any waterway, it is a matter of looking around to find the right spot. There is no lack of bays, inlets, and backwaters; if you have a boat then exploring to find good fishing spots is easier.
For those who want to stay close to camp then whiting, mullet, and trevally can be excellent at Mallacoota. The wharf area is popular with holidaymakers who also take reasonable numbers of bream and luderick in the same area. Some of the more common baits include prawn, bass yabbie (nippers), and sandworm. Weed is a favourite for luderick.
Black bream are the most sought after species, and they run from about autumn when they move into the Bottom Lake, to late spring when they will be found in the Top Lake, and farther upstream in the Genoa and Wallagaraugh Rivers. August through to late September is a productive time for the big, spawning bream, and some of the best big bream fishing is to be had well upstream.
In most areas, it is a matter of finding likely looking snags, and fishing them. In the Wallagaraugh River, upstream from Johnson Bridge, is the famous Bullring, a noted hot spot for bream, but they are also to be found in tight against rock walls, at places like Cape Horn, or hovering among the snags.
Flathead fishing is year round. And wherever the bream are running well up the rivers you can be sure there will be some serious flathead around the same area.
Flathead are caught in both lakes. Goodwin Sands, east of Snapper Point at the southern end of The Narrows, is a noted flathead area during warmer months. Many anglers access the area by boat, and then wade and cast lures or saltwater flies for frogs.
The Narrows area, which is a neck of water joining the Top and Bottom lakes, is a local hot spot for bream, flathead, and even the occasional mulloway. The latter are irregular captures for most anglers, and some of the biggest mulloway are caught at night during summer and autumn. Baker Bight and Swimming Point are also well regarded for mulloway.
The junction of the Wallagaraugh and Genoa Rivers, upstream from Gipsy Point, is one of the top fishing spots in the area. Here there are shallow sand flats, channels, weed beds, and fallen trees. Bream can be caught near the snags and close to the bank where there is overhanging vegetation and deeper water.
Some of the biggest dusky flathead in southern Australia are found in the same area. Fish to 8kg have been caught on baits, lures and flies. The biggest fish are in the deeper water, but lure and fly fishers often prefer to work the shallow grounds because they like to see their fish. A few better-known areas for big frogs are Muddy Inlet, Cape Horn, Mulligans and Coleman’s Inlet.
Upstream from the Wallagaraugh River Resort, past Johnson Bridge, is the famous Bullring. The Bullring is a bend in the river with a small island and plenty of rushes and trees. Nobody knows how it got its name, but the area is often productive.
It’s a pristine part of the world, one that gets better the further away from civilisation you head. One stretch of the Wallagaraugh River boasts a tropical rainforest, and that’s about what it is. Tall trees and dense scrub covered in verdant green vines. If you weren’t so far south, you’d swear you were in North Queensland fishing along the Daintree. Mind you, there are no crocodiles in the Wallagaraugh, although the goannas in this part of the world can grow to a fair size.
Continue upstream as far as you can go, you reach a wall of rocks. Park the boat on the north side of the river, scramble through the scrub and you reach the first of the freshwater pools, which can be good for bass. Both the Genoa and Wallagaraugh Rivers are noted bass waters. Bass is a freshwater species, and sometimes tracking them down can mean a solid slog through the bush. The more isolated and rugged the terrain, the better your chances of finding this fish.
BAIT
Yes, here is a place where anglers use bait to catch bream. I for one am always happy to thread a prawn, yabbie, sandworm or scrub worm on a hook. Local fishing reports often refer to anglers making catches using local prawns. What they are referring to are prawns available from local bait outlets, and the locals swear that local prawns work better than those sourced from elsewhere. When the prawns are running in the inlet, during summer, it makes sense to go out and net some fresh ones.
A good method is to use unweighted baits, and fish the snags along the river. Sinkers are a liability you can do without whenever conditions allow. Sometimes when fishing from shore, you can’t avoid rigging up with a running sinker rig. In this case, always use as small a lead as conditions allow.
After a flush of freshwater, scrubworms become serious bait. And some of the scrubworms you dig up in this region are more like small snakes. My preferred hook size is about No. 4 to 1/0, and the Baitholder pattern is ideal. When using large scrubworms, keep threading them up the line if they are too big.
Flathead are not as fussy as bream, and will take most bait including prawns, pilchards, scrubworms and live mullet. The difference in fishing technique is that you can catch flathead in areas where there are no snags. A bit of deep water combined with mud is often best, but then flathead also like weed and sand in knee-deep water.
LURES
The soft plastic revolution hit Mallacoota Inlet like a tornado. Hard bodied, bibbed lures were discarded as anglers marched to join the soft plastic revolution. But the storm has slowed; there is now more balance between the lures as many anglers now use both types.
In the hard bodied lures, some of the most successful are small minnow lures and vibes. Soft plastic lures do well on flathead. Colour, size and action influence results, but not as much as presentation.
Hard bodied lures are presented with a pause and twitch technique to imitate a crippled baitfish. For soft plastics, the presentation procedure is a simple lift and drop. If the lure is heavily impregnated with aniseed based attractants, as many plastics are, then they will often attract a strike with the angler doing nothing other than casting and allowing the lure to sink. Regardless of lure type, the retrieve needs to be ultra slow for both species – unless of course they inhale the lure on the first drop as it is sinking.
OUTFITS
A small threadline and light spin stick will suffice for all bait and lure fishing. A size 20 threadline spooled with 5kg braid is just about ideal. The rod needs to have sharp recovery so you can flick a lightweight lure accurately. Make sure the rod isn’t too soft, you may need a bit of grunt to steer a big bream away from a snag.
There is plenty of variation among tackle, however, as long as the outfit is balanced, the reel oiled and the guides in good order and smooth, you won’t need anything more.
FLY FISHING
The estuary system is a fly fishing paradise. An 8-weight outfit is ideal for most situations. To fish both flathead and bream, choose an intermediate line to save line changes and run a level line leader of about two metres long. If you are chasing only flathead, a sinking line gives you the option of working deeper water, faster.
For bream, flies are cast into snags or in close to rock walls and allowed to sink. Intermediate, or sink tip lines do well in this scenario. Some fly fishers work their flies in similar fashion to nymphing, using floating lines, and focussing on watching the tip of the fly line as the fly is sinking. Whatever you do, don’t ignore the flats for the bream. Some days these fish move away from cover and feed on worms and nippers in shallow, exposed ground. You can tell where the bream have been by the pockmarked appearance of the bottom.
When using a fly, work shallow areas for flathead, drop-offs, snags and sandbars. My method is to a pause and slow strip, pause and fast strip, technique. The pause is the killer. A big dusky will strike hard, sometimes breaking the surface during its head shaking antics as it attempts to toss the fly.
Proven bream flies include Skinner’s Shrimp and Skinner’s Prawn, these hard bodied flies are opaque and have a proven record in these water. Crazy Charlie pattern flies tied with Polar flash (green and orange) or with rubber tails threaded over the hook also produce. Flies for flathead start and finish with Clouser Minnow patterns. My preference is for Skinner’s Frog, an orange and black variation that comes complete with rattle.