Lake of Fire

Describing Lake Macquarie on the NSW Central Coast to someone who has never heard of this magnificent piece of Australia is difficult, as most can't comprehend its sheer size.

Growing up in Sydney, I never gave Lake Macquarie much thought as the famous harbour and beaches were so close. Even as a kid I remember on the annual family holiday trip north to visit the relos, Lake Macquarie was just a glimpse of water while crossing over Swansea Channel, which connects the lake to the Pacific Ocean. I never gave much thought to what lay just over the skyline.

Out of sight was the largest saltwater lake in the Southern Hemisphere - it's more like an inland sea. Even its 'spec sheet' doesn't translate its vastness.

Consider this: the lake covers more than 110 square kilometres (over four times the size of Sydney Harbour). It is 24km long, 3km across at its widest point and up to 10m deep. The beaches and rocky bays that make up its foreshores snake over 200km.

The majority of the lake's foreshore is a waterfront reserve to be enjoyed by the public, so even without a boat there are plenty of places to throw in a line or have a picnic.

Scattered around its "coast" are 92 towns and villages, 29 boat ramps and seven marinas. There are six boat ramps in the Swansea Channel alone - plus there are national parks to explore.

The best way to see the entire lake is from an aircraft or from the Watagan Mountains some 50km away.

INLAND SEA
There is little tidal variation in Lake Macquarie, although the narrow channel needs to be navigated with care due to the differences in depth, and it does possess a decent current especially during big spring tides. The channel markers are definitely not there for show either, and any inattentiveness will have you quickly running aground.

It's easy to forget that not too far away is the industrial nerve centre of Newcastle, or that Sydney is just two hours to the south. But look closely and the lake reveals its industrial heritage with working and decommissioned power stations dotted around the lake fuelled by about a dozen coal mines scattered along the waterway.

Now that I've moved to the district, it never fails to impress me just how exquisite this place really is - especially on a beautiful early morning with a perfect glass-topped lake, or on a glorious late afternoon. 

GETTING AROUND
With so much water, newcomers can become a bit lost when finding a place to start exploring. There's no better way to learn its secrets than from a local who has lived a stone's throw from the lake most of his life.

Kevin Curtain was the man to see, and besides being passionate about boating and fishing he's pretty handy with a motorbike too, having won 12 Australian road racing titles since 1995 and set 12 lap records in 2003 alone. If he knows his way around the lake as well as he knows racetracks, then this could be a marvellous education.

Unfortunately, Kevin had recently sold his trusty fishing boat, so with the assistance of Damien at Hirecraft Marine, Toronto, Kev was going to show me around my new backyard in a Stacer 455 Sunmaster.

PLACES TO START
Not everywhere is a secret spot, so if you can't find your own friendly local to show you around, there are a number of well-known places to try for a feed of bream, whiting, tailor, flathead, salmon or mulloway.

Only trouble was that someone forgot to tell the fish, as everywhere we dropped a line there were nibbles but nothing latching on. Fishing during the middle of the day probably didn't help.

The channel is one of the most popular rendezvous points, with plenty of flathead to be had on soft plastic lures and baits - but "upstream" there are plenty of places to have a few casts. Try drop-offs near the sandbars and little islands as the channel opens to the lake.

Pulbar Island in the middle of the lake is another option. While you can't camp on it (it's a national park), there are plenty of sheltered anchorages around for overnighting on your boat.

It's a fairly safe bet to say that no matter where you throw a line in the lake these days, you'll get a bite. The bigger ones are too cagey to just jump on your line with every cast, but the chances of Average Joe landing a trophy fish are improving by the day despite years of overfishing.

Along with a handful of other rivers and estuaries in NSW, the lake was handed back to recreational fisherman in May 2001 after a huge buyout of the commercial fishing fleet, funded by NSW Recreational Fishing Licence revenue. While stocks are still a fair way from being back to the halcyon days of last century, they are rapidly improving.

TAKE CARE IN A SOUTHERLY
As luck would have it, my week-long exploration of the lake in the loan boat was dampened by a stiff southerly that blew like a bugger for four days. One of the problems with the lake is that there are few places to hide when there's a strong southerly around.

The leeside of Pulbar Island and the northern side of Wangi Point offer handy nooks in a southerly, or trek southwards to tuck into the eastern shore.

To test this theory while the blow was on, I went with a mate for an all-night fish, thinking the gale would drop off as the night wore on. Wrong again - it only blew stronger.

We travelled to a few spots but the battering we took getting to each location quickly ruled out driving long distances in the boat. Believe me, the whitecaps get to a fair size out here. Where we parked for the dawn provided a few tailor and bream, so that was some consolation at least. 

FUN FOR EVERYONE
Obviously the lake has wider appeal than just fishing. Lake Macquarie is one of the most popular destinations in NSW for power and sail cruising boats as well as PWC riders and waterskiers.

There's a heap of sailing clubs bordering the lake too. One afternoon when we were out taking photos, we ran into the middle of the final twilight sailing race for season with all the crews enjoying themselves immensely.

There are a few establishments scattered about the lake where you can resupply with food, ice and drinks, but probably the most convenient is in the channel beside the coastguard shed, although the cost of fuel is more than you would pay at a normal servo.

There are plenty of great eateries and clubs, like the Gwandalan Bowling Club in the south, boasting a great seafood restaurant if you can't catch anything. It's easier to get to via boat than by road, and if you fancy a frosty treat during the day, staff are happy to lend you a collared shirt if you don't have one.

On the eastern shore is the Belmont Sailing Club, while on the western shore there is the Toronto Royal Motor Yacht Club.

There are also plenty of places to tie up to a jetty or to land for a picnic, but for me, there's nothing better than dropping anchor somewhere, having a bite, a few frosties and throwing a line in. Bliss!

There's also a variety of houseboats for hire, so the days can go on forever. The only problem is that we all have to face reality and return to the real world at some stage.

No wonder more and more people want to live here. I know I don't want to leave any time soon.

SEVEN-DAY TEST: Stacer 455 Sunmaster
Most of us would like to buy a brand-new boat, but for some the budget just doesn't stretch that far. Looking at a model that's a few years old is one way to save some dollars, and most reputable dealers like Hirecraft Marine - who kindly supplied us with the test boat - offer a decent warranty.

We used a 2001-model Stacer 455 Sunmaster and, while it's not perfect, it offers great value for money and wouldn't take much to trick it up to an excellent little family fisher.

This particular vessel was well looked after with a zippy 40hp Mercury outboard on the back. Its former owner used the Stacer primarily as a barra boat, and had racked up just on 200 hours - not bad for the asking price of about $19,000 (BMT).

Features included a deck-extension boarding platform at the rear as well as a boarding ladder, depthsounder, compass, a large 60lt fuel tank, speedo and VHF radio.

It has plenty of storage and enough room under the removable rear lounge to keep tackle boxes and the like out of the way. There was plenty of undercover bow storage for anchors and rope, and also two full-length sidepockets.

Although it's registered for five people, it works best as a two-up fishing craft.

It's a handy little mover, getting up on the plane effortlessly to boast a top speed of 46kmh as the three-cylinder four-stroke spins out to 4700rpm: perhaps slightly over-propped.

The engine is a cracker. The new four-strokes are very quiet and make it a lot easier to carry out a conversation while underway. The boat handled well and is very manoeuvrable at slow speeds when docking, and it also rode the chop really well at an average clip. Heading into a strong southerly gives you a bit of a workout, though.

There's really not too much wrong with a boat like this, and personally, there were only two things that would take some getting used to: the wheel was a little too low for my height when driving standing up, and I also found the step up into the cockpit from the helm area slightly awkward.

But I'm sure its owner would quickly adapt to it. For the money, it's a hard river and lake boat to go past.