Berowra Waters (Dusthole Bay)

Berowra Waters is the old ferry settlement on Berowra Creek, a steep-sided Hawkesbury tributary where the road drops into the gorge and crosses on a cable ferry. The land-based spot is Dusthole Bay, the Hornsby Shire Council foreshore park on the western bank beside the boat ramp, where a seawall fronts a small bay off the main creek. DPIRD's Hawkesbury guide marks Berowra Waters for mulloway, flathead, bream and hairtail, and the creek's mangrove edges and rock walls are known bream and flathead water, with mulloway in the deeper bends on the tide. It is the quieter, cheaper cousin of Bobbin Head — no park entry fee, and the parking is free.

Fish from the seawall along the Dusthole Bay park, casting out of the bay toward the main creek channel, and leave the boat ramp and its pontoon to the boats. Bream respond to peeled prawn, mullet strip or worms on a light running sinker rig with a little berley, worked close to the rocky and mangrove-lined edges. Flathead sit on the drop-offs and take 2.5–3in plastics or small vibes hopped slowly back along the bottom. Mulloway are a low-light and night proposition with a fresh squid or butterflied yellowtail fished hard on the bottom around a tide change — DPIRD's guide notes that is when they feed hardest.

Yellowfin bream are the staple, year-round, at 25 cm and a bag of 10 shared with tarwhine. Dusky flathead move along the edges from spring into autumn in a 36–70 cm slot with a bag of 5, and every fish over 70 cm goes back. Luderick feed along the rock walls in the cooler months at 27 cm and a bag of 10. Mulloway are the prize, at 70 cm and a bag of one fish per person, and Berowra Creek's deep bends are the reason they are on the list at all.

Tide changes run later the further you are from the mouth of the Hawkesbury, so Berowra Waters turns well after Broken Bay — DPIRD's guide suggests using that lag to fish more than one tide change in a day. Bring bait with you, since digging in the mangroves that line the creek is prohibited statewide. Keep well away from the cable ferry crossing, a few hundred metres east of Dusthole Bay; the cables run under the water and a snagged line there is your problem and the ferry's. After heavy rain the creek runs brown and fresh for days, and the bite usually slows until it clears.

From Berowra, follow Berowra Waters Road down into the gorge and cross on the cable ferry, which is free; Dusthole Bay is on Bay Road just past the western ferry ramp. The council car park beside the park is free, and the park has public toilets, picnic shelters, covered barbecues and a playground, with a café beside the car park. The seawall is a short, flat walk from the car, which makes this an easy family session as long as kids stay back from the edge. Berowra Waters Road is steep and winding, so allow time on the way down.

Deep in a sandstone gorge, Berowra Waters is sheltered from ocean swell and from most winds, so it fishes when the coast is blown out. Tide movement is the key variable — the hour either side of a change is when the mulloway and bream switch on. Clear water after a dry spell suits bream and lure fishing; heavy rain dirties the creek and pushes the fish downstream. Summer weekends bring a lot of boat traffic past the bay, so early mornings and evenings fish quieter.

The edge of the seawall is a drop into the creek, so watch small children closely. Oysters on the rocks cut hands and lines, and the mangrove mud along the edges is soft and deep. Boats launching and retrieving at the Dusthole Bay ramp have right of way — don't cast across the ramp or tie up its pontoon. The cable ferry crossing is a no-go zone for lines, and the steep, winding road into the gorge needs care, especially after dark.

The most straightforward option is Dusthole Bay, the Hornsby Shire Council park on the western bank beside the boat ramp, where you can fish from the seawall into the bay and out toward the main creek. Keep off the ramp and its pontoon while boats are using them, stay well away from the cable ferry crossing, and treat the marina and restaurant pontoons as private.

DPIRD's Hawkesbury guide lists Berowra Waters for mulloway, flathead, bream and hairtail. From the bank, yellowfin bream and dusky flathead are the everyday targets, luderick feed along the rock walls in the cooler months, and mulloway are a night or tide-change chance. Hairtail are a winter fish mostly caught from boats in deeper water.

Yes. The Berowra Waters cable ferry is a free vehicle and foot crossing run for Transport for NSW, linking Berowra Waters Road on the eastern side to Bay Road on the western side, where Dusthole Bay is.

There is no licence as such, but anyone fishing in NSW waters, including Berowra Creek, needs to pay the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee and carry the receipt unless they hold an exemption. There is no national-park entry fee at Dusthole Bay.