Seaforth's Inshore Islands

by Lee Brake on 2 Sep 2013 Last week Lee Brake looked at the fishing possibilities available around the creeks of the Seaforth area. This week we are checking out the inshore islands and rocks that help to make this area such an exciting fishery.

The inshore islands
Part of Seaforth’s appeal is the small string of islands that, along with the natural shape of the bay, help to shelter the area from offshore swells and sea breezes. Even on a blowy day there is always somewhere to shelter as long as you have a medium sized vessel (4m+). Before we go further you should know that a Yellow Zone encompasses the Newry Group, while a Green Zone centres on Acacia, Mausoleum and Rocky islands. Ensure you obtain and consult a zoning map.

With that out of the way let’s talk fishing! The islands of Newry and Outer Newry contain some exciting fishing opportunities that shouldn’t be ignored. Between these two islands is a sheltered bay popular amongst travelling yachties and on the Newry side is a beautiful pearl-coloured beach and the remnants of one of the region’s earliest resorts. The bay is deepest along the seaward point on the Outer Newry side and the rocky flat here was once a fish trap.

The point can be cast, trolled or bait fished for fingermark, mangrove jack and coral trout. Big parrotfish will also take prawn and crab baits here. If you’re casting, work the shallower flats with long cast shallow minnows and then change to deep divers for the rocky drop-off. Further into the bay, about halfway towards the landward point, the bottom becomes sandier and sight casting for pelagics, flathead and the odd barra is an option near the high tide around the fringing mangroves. Long casting plastics and blades is a good strategy.

Out of the bay and on the seaward side of Outer Newry is a nice deep rocky headland complete with breathtaking rock formations. Casting plastics, blades and deep divers along here is a top way to catch various reef species, especially coral trout, with jacks prevalent on the shallower western end.

Newry Island (inner) has just as many options. The landward side has some exciting rocky flats that can be worked toward the top of the tide for barra and pelagics. These flats change to sand as you push north around the corner to the Rabbit Island side. It’s quite shallow here on low water, but if you’re careful you can sneak through and into the deeper section between the two islands.

A deep hole here can be trolled and barra are known to hold in this location during the wet season. However, a sand/shingle bar extends between the islands and will block access to the seaward side at low water. This provides exciting options on the run-in though, as the tide pushing through the bar brings a healthy influx of feeding fish and bait. Fishing this edge at this time with bait will yield flathead, whiting, bream, parrotfish and pelagics.

The water here can be crystal clear at times and fly fishers can often be found sight casting trevally, dart and queenfish as the tide rushes onto the flat on the Newry side. On the other side of the sandy bar, between the islands, the water becomes deeper, and the Newry point fishes similar to the seaward point of Outer Newry. Jacks, coral trout and fingermark are taken on the rocks here on cast lures.

Fish Reef is another spot worth having in your itinerary and is just north of the channel between the two Newry islands. It’s a rocky shoal that comes out of the water at low tide and at high tide is covered and surrounded by white, turbulent water. Castling surface lures and fast twitching plastics into this white water often produces exciting sessions on trevally and queenfish. Trolling the edges with fast swimming minnows is a top way to catch mackerel. The odd Spanish does show up, but it is mostly the haunt of doggy, spotty and grey mackerel, so medium size minnows are a good bet.

Lastly, Rabbit Island is the largest in the area and is a mix of shallow mangrove/seagrass flats on the landward side and rocky bays and beaches on the seaward side. Apart from the small creek already mentioned last week, the most exciting opportunities are offered on the northern tip. Here, a series of rocky bays split by rocky spits offer amazing sight fishing for blue tusk fish, barra and pelagics. If you want some fun on light gear, schools of sladey bream also black out the bottom in this area from time to time. If you’re not into flats flicking, then the point between Rabbit and Crocker Reef is deeper and can produce reef species as well as mackerel on the troll.

Low Rock (a.k.a Lonely Reef) sits all by itself between Croaker Rock and Carpet Snake Point and its isolation makes it an attractive target for fingermark, the odd cod and reef fish and school mackerel. It’s best trolled or live baited on a run-in tide, however, casting five to seven' plastics around its fringes will get results. The High Islands to the north are popular for coral trout and grassy sweetlip and are popular for mackerel trolling.

From there it’s about an hour’s run out to the Smith Group of islands which are extensive and contain some excellent reef fishing as well as some outstanding anchorages, but that’s for another week.

Till then, fish hard and stay safe.