Fishing and boating Weymouth and Lulworth Tasmania

by Carl Hyland on 13 Aug 2012 Weymouth is a small township in northern Tasmania, Australia on the Pipers River opposite Bellingham and about 60 km from Launceston.

It has a very small permanent population; however, it attracts many visitors during the summer months. This is true and most of these visitors are anglers, all chasing species such as Kingfish, sharks and flathead both sand and king. The estuary at Weymouth (Pipers River) has a strong tidal inflow and outflow and is popular for recreational angling, swimming and skiing.

It also has a boat ramp that can only really be used at high water but it is a great escape ramp for when wave surges along the coast makes it impossible to retrieve boats on the seaward facing ramps. There are two ramps that face seaward in Weymouth and Marine and Safety Tasmania in conjunction with the local Georgetown Council will soon be building a sea wall to minimise wave surge at the Weymouth ramp. This has been a long time coming and I’m sure any improvements will be welcomed by boating enthusiasts.

Surf beaches at Weymouth and around to Belingham, make it a mecca for those who like to cast a long rod and species such as gummy shark, seven gilled shark, Australian salmon and many other species, all make the effort worthwhile. Many choose to camp along the verges of the beach but recently there was talk on closing the camping areas due to wilful damage by some users.

The local surfers reckon this coastline is amongst the best for dancing on the glass, and judging by the popularity of the area on surf web sites, will remain so for some time to come. Access is easy and you can drive your vehicles right to the foreshores. Further around the coast there is Lulworth and Tam O’Shanter another popular destination for surfers and anglers alike. Fishing here too can be sensational, particularly during the warmer months of the year.

Access for boats is very good, but again as with any sea facing ramp, strong NW winds can whip up the surf making retrieving trailer boats difficult. It really does pay to keep an eye on the weather here.Lulworth is also renowned for its golf course which caters for visiting golfers and does a great pub style meal. It has a wonderful beach which is very popular amongst families and is a great spot for kids and pets.

Offshore is located Tenth Island, which is home to a seal colony and also the hunting grounds for many great white sharks. Unfortunately, a local woman was taken by a shark some years ago whilst scuba diving in this area, so it pays to be cautious. It is a very popular spot for fishing and also kayaking.

A small ramp exists in Weymouth which can also be used in an emergency. I am not sure who maintains it.