Forster–Tuncurry Bridge Foreshore

The Forster–Tuncurry bridge crosses the Wallis Lake channel less than a kilometre inside the entrance, and its pylons are, with the two breakwalls, the lake's luderick hot spots. The fishing is from the Forster bank just north of the bridge, where a grassy foreshore and rock seawall drop straight into the channel. Every tide drags weed, prawns and baitfish past the pylons, and the bream, flathead and whiting follow. It is a town-centre spot with parking, shade and cafes behind you, and it fishes in weather that shuts the walls.

Luderick anglers float green weed or cabbage down the current toward the pylons, letting the run carry the float along the seawall. Bait fishers drift live yabbies or worms with minimal weight down toward the bridge for a mixed bag of bream, flathead, whiting and leatherjackets. Flathead also take soft plastics and small vibes hopped down the channel edge on the last of the run-out. In summer, the shallows between the bridge and the walls are worth ten minutes with a small surface popper for whiting.

Luderick are the headline fish, 27 cm minimum with a bag of 10. Yellowfin bream are 25 cm in a combined bag of 10 with tarwhine. Dusky flathead must be between 36 and 70 cm to keep, with a bag of five, and sand whiting are 27 cm in a shared whiting bag of 20. Leatherjackets have no size limit and a bag of 20 in total across the species, and they will strip a bait faster than anything else here.

The lake tide lags the ocean, so the run past the bridge often keeps going after the printed tide time — fish the current, not the chart. The DPIRD Wallis Lake closure covers this water and bans hoop and lift nets, hand-hauled and push prawn nets, crab traps and lobster traps all year, so check the closure before you bring any net for the summer prawn runs. Fish from the foreshore and seawall, and keep casts and lines well clear of the bridge's road deck and its shared path above you. Yabbies pumped on the lake flats at low tide are the go-to bait for almost everything here.

Park in the Forster town-centre car parks beside the bridge and walk to the grassy foreshore just north of the bridge's Forster abutment. The foreshore is flat, grassed and close to the road, which makes it an easy spot for families, though the seawall edge itself is rock. Cafes and shops are all within a short walk.

Sitting most of a kilometre inside the entrance, the foreshore is protected from ocean swell and fishes in conditions that shut the breakwalls. The tidal current under the bridge is the main driver, running hardest in the middle of each tide. A strong north-easter or southerly can push chop across the channel and make float fishing hard. Heavy rain colours the lake for days, which slows the luderick and whiting.

The seawall drops straight into deep, fast-moving water, so keep children back from the edge and don't climb down the rocks to land fish. Boats use the channel under the bridge all day — cast across the current only when it's clear. The road and shared path above are busy; keep rods and lines off them. Oyster-crusted rocks at the waterline will cut hands and line.

Yes, from the foreshore and seawall on the banks beside it. The bridge pylons are a Wallis Lake luderick hot spot. Keep lines clear of the road deck and the shared path on the bridge itself.

Luderick, yellowfin bream, dusky flathead, sand whiting and leatherjackets. Drifting live yabbies or worms toward the bridge is the classic mixed-bag method, and luderick take green weed under a float.

Not with hoop, lift, hand-hauled or push prawn nets — the DPIRD Wallis Lake closure bans those, along with crab and lobster traps, in this part of the lake all year. Check the closure page for which nets are still allowed before you go prawning.

Live yabbies pumped on the lake flats, worms, and green weed or cabbage for luderick. Fresh prawns and small soft plastics also work for bream and flathead.