Clarkes Point Reserve (Woolwich)

Clarkes Point Reserve is the grassy, seawalled tip of the Woolwich peninsula, where the Lane Cove River meets the Parramatta River and both pour into the upper harbour opposite Cockatoo Island. That junction gives it something few upriver parks have — deep, tide-scoured water that holds harbour pelagics as well as river fish. DPIRD names it as a hot spot for four separate species across its Sydney Harbour and Parramatta–Lane Cove guides — kingfish, salmon, bream and mulloway. It is also a proper family park with lawns, shade and toilets, which is rare for water this good. The fine print is that it sits well west of the Bridge, so the session is release-only.

Fish the seawall around the south-eastern corner of the reserve, where the current from both rivers wraps the point and drops into deeper water. Bream are DPIRD's headline here — prawn, mullet or tuna strip on a size 2–1/0 circle hook under a small 00 ball sinker, with a slow berley trail along the wall, or 1–2g jigheads with 3–8cm wriggler tails on a lift-and-drop. Mulloway are a dusk-and-night game on fresh squid or live yellowtail near the tide change, or on soft plastics and vibes worked along the drop. Salmon and school kingfish come through the junction in the warmer months and fall to 20–40g metals and small plastics cast across the current. Keep a lighter rod handy for silver trevally, which DPIRD calls prolific at times in the rivers.

Yellowfin bream are the year-round mainstay, and DPIRD lists Clarkes Point among its best bream spots in both of its Sydney guides. Mulloway are the prize, usually around a tide change in low light. Kingfish and Australian salmon push up from the main harbour, with salmon peaking from October to April and kingfish from late spring into autumn. Dusky flathead, silver trevally, tarwhine and luderick round out the mix, and everything goes back.

Bring your own bait — the Parramatta and Lane Cove foreshores are part of the harbour-wide Intertidal Protected Area, so nippers, worms, crabs and oysters cannot be collected here. NSW advice is that no fish or crustaceans caught west of the Sydney Harbour Bridge should be eaten, so this is catch-and-release by design — circle hooks and a wet-hand release suit it. Mulloway have a 70cm minimum and a bag of one in NSW, but here even a legal fish goes back. The reserve is busy with picnics and dogs on weekend afternoons, so dawn and the last hour of light are the better sessions in every sense. Pack out line and hooks; a bin full of braid is how waterfront parks end up with no-fishing signs.

Clarkes Point Reserve is at the end of Clarke Road, Woolwich, with a paid council car park inside the reserve — Hunters Hill residents with a W2 permit park free. There are toilets, barbecues, picnic shelters and big flat lawns running to a level seawall, so prams, trolleys and wheelchairs can get to the water's edge. Woolwich has its own ferry wharf on the peninsula for anyone coming by water. The Harbour Trust's Woolwich Dock and the sailing club sit next door; keep to the public reserve foreshore.

The point is sheltered from any ocean swell, and the flat seawall fishes in most weather. A strong westerly funnels down the Parramatta River and makes the southern wall hard work for casting light baits, while a north-easter comes in over the lawns and leaves the water in front calmer. Tide is the driver — the run-out draining both rivers past the corner is when bait and mulloway move, and slack water goes quiet. After heavy rain both rivers flush dirty and fresh, and the bite takes a few days to come back.

The seawall is a sheer drop into deep water with nothing to climb back out on, so children need watching every minute near the edge. Boat traffic is constant at the river junction — ferries, sailing club fleets and cruisers — and their wash slops over the low sections of wall. Hunters Hill is not a declared rock-fishing lifejacket area, but a lifejacket is strongly recommended for anyone fishing the edge at night. Dogs, cyclists and kicked footballs share the lawn behind you, so check your backcast. The concrete coping gets slick with bait and scales, so bucket it down before you leave.

Yes. DPIRD's Sydney Harbour and Parramatta–Lane Cove guides both list Clarkes Point Reserve as a land-based site and a hot spot for bream and mulloway, and the Harbour guide adds kingfish and salmon. Fish from the seawall, bring your own bait because the foreshore is an Intertidal Protected Area, and carry your NSW Recreational Fishing Fee receipt.

No. Woolwich is west of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and NSW advice is that no fish or crustaceans caught west of the Bridge should be eaten because of dioxin contamination in the harbour and Parramatta River. Fishing is legal and popular — release what you catch.

Yes. There is a paid council car park inside the reserve off Clarke Road, and Hunters Hill residents with a W2 permit park free. Toilets, barbecues and picnic shelters are close to the water, and the walk to the seawall is flat.

DPIRD's guide suggests fresh prawn, mullet or striped tuna strips, or marine worms, on a size 2–1/0 circle hook with little or no weight, plus a berley trail. Bring the bait with you, because collecting worms or nippers on the harbour foreshore is prohibited. On lures, 1–2g jigheads with 3–8cm wriggler tails on a slow lift-and-drop are DPIRD's pick.