Forster Breakwall (Wallis Lake entrance)

The Forster breakwall is the southern of the two rock walls that frame the Wallis Lake entrance, running out from the Forster Main Beach end to a tip that faces the open sea. Everything Wallis Lake drains — one of the biggest coastal lakes in NSW — squeezes out between this wall and Tuncurry's on every tide. The walls are short, which concentrates the fish into a small area, and the Forster and Tuncurry breakwalls are the lake's luderick hot spots. The same channel throws up mulloway, bream, tailor and, when the warm water is in, kingfish within sight of the main boat ramp.

Luderick anglers trot green weed or cabbage under a stemmed float along the channel side of the wall, letting the run carry it down the rocks. Mulloway are a run-out and slack-water job with live baits, big soft plastics or vibes worked along the bottom of the channel. Bream fishers drift yabbies or cooked prawns on a lightly weighted running sinker rig into the eddies behind the rocks. Tailor and kingfish come to metals, stickbaits and live bait cast off the tip when bait is schooling in the entrance.

Luderick are the wall's bread and butter, 27 cm minimum with a bag of 10. Yellowfin bream are 25 cm in a combined bag of 10 with tarwhine, and leatherjackets — no size limit, general bag of 20 — are the constant bait thieves. Mulloway are 70 cm minimum with a bag of one, tailor 30 cm with a bag of 10, and yellowtail kingfish 65 cm with a bag of five. Longtail tuna and cobia also come off the Wallis Lake walls when conditions line up.

The tide inside a big lake lags the ocean, and up the lake the tide can run about three hours behind the printed chart — at the entrance itself, watch the water, not the clock. The DPIRD Wallis Lake closure covers the channel inside the walls and bans hoop and lift nets, hand-hauled and push prawn nets, crab traps and lobster traps all year; line fishing is not affected. Bring bait or pump yabbies on the lake flats, and keep lines clear of boats using the bar crossing. Berley lightly for luderick — the current spreads it for you.

Park around Forster Main Beach and walk to the root of the wall, which starts beside the Reflections holiday park. The approach is short and flat, but the wall itself is uneven rock and not suitable for wheels or prams. Forster's shops and cafes are a few minutes' walk away along the foreshore.

The channel side of the wall is reasonably sheltered, but the outer face and tip take any east or north-east swell directly. The entrance runs hard on the middle of each tide, and the run-out is the stronger flow. After heavy rain the lake drains brown water out through the entrance for days. Calm, clear days suit the luderick, while a bit of colour and low light suit the mulloway and tailor.

The wall is loose, uneven rock that is slippery wet or dry, and the outer face and tip are exposed to breaking swell. The entrance current is strong enough to carry anyone who falls in out across the bar — check the swell forecast, watch the sets for ten minutes before walking out, never turn your back on the sea, stay off the tip in any real swell and keep children well back from the edge. MidCoast is not a declared lifejacket area, but a lifejacket is strongly recommended on the outer end, with grippy footwear and light clothing you can swim in. Don't fish the tip alone; if you go in, swim clear of the wall, float, signal and have your mate call 000, and know your retreat along the wall. Boats cross the bar here, so watch your casts and keep lines clear of the channel.

Luderick, yellowfin bream, mulloway, tailor, leatherjackets and, when the warm water is in, yellowtail kingfish. The Forster and Tuncurry breakwalls are luderick hot spots, and the Wallis Lake walls also produce kingfish, longtail tuna and cobia when conditions are right.

The run-out and the slack around it, especially for mulloway. The lake tide lags the ocean, so the run at the entrance can keep going well after the printed tide time — watch the water rather than the clock.

No crab traps, lobster traps, hoop or lift nets, hand-hauled prawn nets or push prawn nets are allowed in the DPIRD Wallis Lake closure, which covers the entrance channel and the foreshores up to Godwin Island. Line fishing is allowed.

MidCoast is not on the list of declared areas under the Rock Fishing Safety Act, but a lifejacket is strongly recommended on the outer face and tip, where swell breaks on the rocks.