Six top fishing destinations to visit this summer

Summer in Australia is pure magic. Long days, warm water, and that unmistakable buzz around Christmas when everyone seems to sneak in a fishing session before or after family lunches.

For boaties and fishos, it’s the best time of year.

After years filming, fishing, and travelling across the country, I’ve had the privilege of dropping a line in some of Australia’s most exciting waters.

With summer fast approaching, here are six of my favourite fishing destinations, what makes them special, and the moments I’ll never forget.

Lake Macquarie isn’t just a destination for me; it’s home.

Australia’s largest coastal saltwater lake is a boater’s dream, with more than 170 kilometres of shoreline, countless bays, deep holes, weed beds, and tidal influence that keeps the fishing dynamic year-round.

The lake is ‘tailor-made’ for exploring. Boaties can launch from dozens of well-kept ramps, and once you’re out there, the options are endless – drift the flats for whiting and bream, sound up deep marks for mulloway, or find bait balls along the edges and throw plastics for tailor and salmon.

Unlike many east-coast systems, Lake Mac is mostly protected from swell, meaning even on breezy summer days you can usually find a calm corner to fish.

It’s a genuine all-rounder.

My earliest fishing memory lives here. Dad would take me trolling for tailor at first light, two small hardbodies swimming out the back as we idled along at 3 knots.

I remember the excitement of a double-hookup – that chaos when both rods buckle over, Dad scrambling, me laughing, the lake sparkling behind us. It’s the moment that hooked me for life, and I’ve spent every year trying to recreate that excitement.

If there was ever a lake that captures the imagination of Australian anglers, it’s Lake Proserpine – also known as Peter Faust Dam.

Located just inland from the Whitsundays, this impoundment produces metre-plus barramundi with frightening consistency.

Glass-off mornings in Proserpine are something else. The dam is a wide, scenic expanse dotted with timber stands and bays, and it’s perfectly suited to modern barra fishing – electric motors, side-scan, shallow-water anchoring, and methodical casting sessions.

Because it’s an impoundment, you don’t have to worry about tides or saltwater factors. Instead, it’s all about understanding the fish’s behaviour – and when you do, the sessions can be phenomenal.

The size of the fish is what shocks people. A “small one” is 70-80cm, and metre-plus fish are genuinely on the cards every trip.

My biggest barramundi came from Lake Proserpine – a proper donkey of a fish that inhaled a soft plastic near a patch of timber.

I remember the hit: violent, unexpected, almost like being electrocuted. The fish tore off into the timber and for a moment I thought I’d lost it.

Somehow, by pure luck or fate, it turned and swam free, and I brought it boat-side shaking like a leaf.

That photo still hangs in my office; it’s my reminder that sometimes the fish of your life appears when you least expect it.

Glenbawn Dam is one of those places that makes you want to slow down the moment you arrive. Nestled among the Hunter Valley’s rolling hills, the drive into the dam is as beautiful as the fishery itself.

The dam’s structure is what makes it so interesting – steep rock walls, timbered arms, open basins, and shallow flats. If you love using your sounder, exploring new ground, and working out a pattern, Glenbawn is the ultimate puzzle.

For bass fishos, this place is heaven. During the summertime the surface bite can be outrageous.

Because it's an impoundment, it offers stable conditions for boating, plus camping facilities and easy access for weekend getaways.

My standout Glenbawn memory isn’t a fish ironically – it’s the approach.

You crest the hill, and the water appears below you, framed by gum trees and dry hills that glow gold in the morning sun.

Every time I drive in, it feels like stepping into a different world – a pocket of stillness where time slows, and all that matters is the next cast.

Rockhampton has become a pilgrimage for serious barra anglers.

The Fitzroy River system is vast, dynamic, and alive with barra and king threadfin – and the city has fully embraced its identity as the Barramundi Capital of Australia.

The Fitzroy is a proper working river with big tides, deep holes, feeder creeks, and rocky ledges. Modern boaters love it because of the challenge – reading the tide, positioning the boat, watching the sounder like a hawk, and making precise casts.

Rocky’s net-free zone has transformed the fishery, creating an inshore and estuarine barra population that rivals anywhere in the country.

One of the best things about Rockhampton is that world-class fishing lives right in the heart of town. You can see skyscrapers behind you while fighting a metre barra in the river – it’s surreal.

My mate Jack and I had one unforgettable session chasing barra and threadies.

The sun was dropping behind the bridge; the tide had just turned, and the sounder lit up like a Christmas tree.

Cast after cast, we came tight to fish – big, powerful threadies that tore off across the river, and barra that thumped hard before launching into the air.

It was one of those sessions where you look at each other, shaking your head, knowing you’ve struck gold.

If you want a destination that feels like a tropical escape without leaving NSW, Broughton Island is your summer pick.

Sitting offshore from Port Stephens, the island offers crystal-clear water, rugged cliffs, hidden beaches, and exceptional fishing.

The trip over from Port Stephens can be spectacular on a calm day. Once you reach the island, you’re greeted with sheltered anchorages, shallow reefs, deeper ledges, and baitfish so thick they black out the sounder.

For trailer boaters, it’s a dream setup: nearshore waters, great ramp infrastructure, and the ability to target species usually found much farther afield.

Spearfishing and snorkelling are also popular – the visibility can be insane.

I’ll never forget swimming off Broughton on a scorching summer’s day.

The water was so clear it felt like floating in glass.

We’d been catching snapper all morning and decided to jump in for a swim before heading home. Drifting over bommies, with baitfish shimmering below and rays cruising through the sand patches, it hit me how lucky we are as Aussie boaties – places like this are right on our doorstep.

Exmouth is one of those rare places that genuinely lives up to the hype.

Sitting on the doorstep of Ningaloo Reef, it offers something almost nowhere else in Australia can: world-class fishing within sight of the ramp.

For boaties, it’s as close as you’ll get to offshore-quality fishing without long runs or big fuel bills.

What makes Exmouth so special is accessibility.

You can launch at first light and be casting at bluewater species in minutes.

The reef runs parallel to the coast, creating protected inside waters for calmer days and serious offshore options when conditions allow. Even small trailer boats can safely get in on the action with sensible weather planning.

The scenery doesn’t hurt either - red dirt, turquoise water, and that unmistakable West Australian sense of space that makes every trip feel like an adventure.

Exmouth is a genuine multi-species playground:

It’s a place where you can start the morning casting poppers in knee-deep water and finish the day trolling bluewater.

What ties all these places together isn’t just the fishing – it’s the feeling. The boat ramps full of families. The smell of sunscreen mixed with 2-stroke. The eskies packed the night before. The mates piled into the boat for a dawn start. These memories created on the water that stick with you long after the rods are packed away.

No matter which of these destinations you choose this summer, you’re in for an adventure, a good feed, and maybe even one of those magic moments you’ll be talking about for years.

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