Yawning Yamba

I have just completed 12 months on the road between Port Douglas (Far North Queensland) and Sale (Victoria) - dropping into most of the coastal towns along the way. While some were quiet little seaside hamlets, others that should have been serene fishing holiday venues were absolute bedlam with pedestrian and vehicle traffic overflowing their edges. Consequently I was glad to leave a few of them behind.

However, a handful really caught my eye due to their aqua-blue waters, calm estuaries, slower pace or tranquillity. Yamba was one of those idyllic locales.

Yamba sits perched at the mouth of the mighty Clarence River, where it empties into the Pacific Ocean on the New South Wales north coast. The hustle and bustle of city life hasn't reached Yamba. Even though it is only 25km off the Pacific Highway and has modern amenities, the fact that the road in is the only road out probably accounts for much of its attractiveness.

The township is home to a commercial fishing fleet that ties up on its 'doorstep'.

Five boat ramps in prime positions service the trailerboat fraternity close to town, while another three are available on the southern side of the Clarence on the way to the Pacific Highway/Clarence River Bridge. Seven caravan parks on the Yamba side augur well for those inclined, while there is ample motel accommodation.

ON THE BEACH
For those with a non-fishing family, Yamba offers some of the cleanest, safest and sheltered swimming beaches available on the east coast of Australia.

The size of the Clarence and its tributaries is surprising. It is, in fact, the largest river on the east coast of the continent. Its waters are influenced by the tide to Copenhearst, above Grafton, some 70km by road from Yamba.

On my third trip to Yamba, which was my first with boat in tow, I concentrated my efforts within the estuary. The constant northeasterly wind would have made fishing a little uncomfortable outside, so with much territory to cover I opted for a few sessions on flathead.

With my local fishing knowledge registering zilch, I organised a day and a bit with Ray Connolly who came downstream from Grafton. Ray has been the President of the Grafton Angling Club for 19 years and knows this system like the back of his hand. A session with Ray resulted in my fishing partner, Peter Campbell, and I hauling in lizards like the experts.

It was interesting to note the tackle that Ray and some of the locals were using from their dinghies. Rods that were 3-4m in length and Alvey reels were the norm. Terminal rigs were simple: a small bean or ball running sinker and a long-shanked hook tied direct to the line. The extralong shanks alleviated the necessity to use any wire traces. (Mustad 4540 and/or Mustad 3191 patterns are popular among the regulars.)

Considering the farming land all the way up to the watershed of this river, the health of the Clarence was exceptionally good. At the time of my trip in November the system was chock-a-block with large whitebait, herring and juvenile tailor. There was so much livebait in the system, catching a flathead on a lure was a real chore. Subsequently we went with the strength and fished livebait most of the time.

WALL TO WALL
A typical session began at the rock walls scattered about the estuary, dampening the swell that comes into the mouth of the river. Locating bait was not a problem as it could be seen boiling across the surface as the tide was making.

The small herring are easily located at the gaps in the rock walls where the current rushes through. Also on the incoming tide, colour change will be seen moving up into the Clarence. Jigging baitjigs along these colour changes will produce plenty of livies. The diving terns will also give away bait location.

On our trip, the tides were quite large for the area. Two metres is considered large and it was hard to hold a bait in one place. The flathead are located hard up against the base of the rock walls. More than a couple of metres away with a cast and there will be little reaction to the livebait. The water in these places might only be one-third of a metre deep during some parts of the tide, but the flathead will still lie in tight to the rocks.

The main breakwall, called Middle Wall, produced the most fish on my visit. There is another breakwall across the estuary from Yamba, at Iluka. That structure is called Collis Wall and Turkeys Nest. The northern side of that breakwall is also the best to fish. While both breakwalls are fairly straight, sections do jut out where extra stone fill has been used. These protruding points produced more fish than featureless straight sections.

As with much of the eastern seaboard, the full moon from April onwards is a good time for bream and mullet. Around Anzac Day (April 25) through to June, these fish move upstream.

Around the end of June, blackfish take the attention of many of the locals and these may be taken on the Middle Wall. The blackfish will stay around until the end of August when they will make their way gradually upstream.

SPITTING IT OUT
Blue swimmer crabs, summer whiting and flathead are available on and around the many shallow sandy spits which appear in the system. They should be found right through to February.

Around Christmas, spotted mackerel and some of the Spanish variety should be available and will be found out at the mouth. The spaniards at that time will be quite fleeting and will disappear until around April when they should return in reasonable numbers. Northern bluefin tuna should also turn up around the northern wall at this time. The odd juvenile black marlin has also made an appearance around this time and place.

From time to time, large schools of trevally invade the system and round-up the whitebait. They may be taken on surface poppers wherever you find them.

The west bank of Harwood Island is the graveyard for a string of old sugar-cane barges, which are partially submerged. Their rusting hulls are home to flathead and bream, but also a well-placed livebait might produce the odd mangrove jack.

If the salt is not your cup of tea, but a freshwater wild stream bass tickles your fancy, there is myriad pristine waterway all the way upstream worth exploring.

Peter and I jumped onboard with Glen Porter, who runs a local guiding service when not committed to his radio segment on Sydney's 2KY or running Yamba BP which encompasses The Bait Place.

A valuable map, Fishing on the Clarence is available from most tackle outlets around Yamba. It has extensive information on the area, its species and their seasons, accommodation and the like. I approached North Coast Maps for a relaxation on the copyright but was not able to obtain it without parting with $500.

Make sure you purchase a map on arriving at Yamba as it's most informative.