5 minute read
Kayak:Wellington Point
Kayak fishing Wellington Point
BRISBANE Ray Hawes
Living just six minutes away from the Wellington Point boat ramp, you’d make the assumption that this is where I fish most of the time. However, I have to choose my time carefully, especially when fishing from a kayak.
There are a number of factors to consider when fishing the bay, such as wind and swell. Before I Point, or as us locals affectionally call it ‘Wello’, you have quite a few options.
I would always recommend you have a sounder of some sort. It doesn’t have to be an expensive model, just one that at the very least, provides a good visual of the bay bed that you are passing over. You will be surprised how shallow the bay can be, especially at low tide.
I nearly always launch
A tasty juvenile snapper for the plate. Micheal Sweeney with a 44cm snapper caught near the Huybers Beacon at Wellington Point.
my kayak at the main boat ramp, although there is a choice of four different ramps to enter into the bay. All the ramps are on the western side of the peninsular.
The bay immediately to the right-hand side of the channel markers from the main boat ramp, holds plenty of bream and flathead, so some good sport can be had in this vast area. Again, your trusty sounder should put you on to some fish here. You don’t have to necessarily be looking for the arches to appear on your sounder, Micheal Sweeney with an excellent by-catch of a tailor. It fell prey to a soft plastic near the Huybers Beacon.
A nice grassy sweetlip caught at Wellington Point on a soft plastic.
Launching from the main boat ramp at sunrise at Wellington Point. but a good rule of thumb is ‘find the structure, and you will find the fish’. Of course, not all structure
try my luck at this great fishery, I always check the weather and conditions and normally cross reference on a couple of sites. I never fish without a PFD and I always make sure my loved ones know where I am fishing, and roughly what time to expect me home. And I always carry my mobile phone.
That said, and assuming the weather gods have given me the go ahead to have a go in the bay, I still keep a watchful eye on the conditions, as the bay can blow up pretty quickly. At quite short notice, it can quickly transform from one of our most calm and pristine fishing locations to a pretty risky place to be.
When I fish Wellington The author netting a decent flathead at Wellington Point. The author with another decent snapper caught at the Wello.
A typical size snapper caught at Wello on a soft vibe. Wello. The tide flow doesn’t push towards the shoreline and away from the shoreline like so many other locations, but instead it runs right to left or left to right, depending whether you are fishing the incoming or outgoing tides. This is a very important piece of knowledge to have when fishing this location. As most lure fishers will confirm, it is very important to cast up current and retrieve your lure back with the current towards you. This is because most species of fish will generally face into the currents, as this is
beyond. The reason that I do this is because there is a ledge that pretty much runs parallel to the shoreline. The ledge starts just inside Huybers Beacon to the left of the bay and runs parallel to the shoreline all the way to what appears to be a peninsular to the right. It is said that the better reef species can be found at the two extreme ends of this ledge, but I have always gone straight out and located the ledge, then drifted with the current for equal success.
Speaking of currents, this is another phenomenon that you will discover when fishing the bay at This flathead was caught in the shallower ground at Wellington Point. The author with a nice grassy tusk fish caught at Wellington Point on a soft plastic.
an easier way for them to hold position or wait for the food to be delivered directly to their faces.
When I fish Wello during the cooler months, I concentrate on this ledge as that is when I have my best success chasing snapper. As the weather warms, I tend to come back into the shoreline a little more. To provide you with a visual on where I target the warmer species. Using an eye of line sight, while facing Straddie, I normally line up the 3rd channel marker with the peninsular of land to the right-hand side of the bay, then I look for structure and weed inside this line.
As the weather warms, this is a successful approach for chasing grassy sweetlips and tusk fish.
When I am chasing the grassies, my by-catch can be good size bream, flathead and cod. Unfortunately, from time to time, the bay also holds plenty of pike and grinners. If I locate a school of these pests, I quickly move on as they make short work of my soft plastic presentation.
I hope that this helps, so have a go and enjoy. At all times, stay in your comfort zone, stay safe and keep an eye on those everchanging bay conditions.
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