Huntleys Point Wharf (Parramatta River)

Huntleys Point Wharf is a commuter ferry wharf on the north bank of the Parramatta River, about 500 m upstream of Gladesville Bridge, with a short fixed jetty running out to a floating pontoon. DPIRD lists Huntleys Point first among its mulloway hot spots in both Sydney guides, and its plastics-and-vibes advice singles out the river "from Gladesville Bridge up to the Ryde Bridge" — this wharf sits at the start of that stretch. Unlike Kissing Point, Abbotsford and Chiswick, it carries no 5am–10am fishing ban on DPIRD's map. It is a mulloway spot first and a bream spot second, and like everything this far up the river, it is release-only.

Mulloway are fished from the fixed section of the wharf into the deeper water off the end, with fresh squid or live yellowtail on a running sinker rig close to a tide change, at dawn, dusk and into the night. Lure anglers work 4–5in soft plastics and 15–20g vibes along the bottom on the same tides, which DPIRD rates as effective as fresh bait on this part of the river. Bream take prawn or mullet strip on a size 2–1/0 circle hook fished close to the pylons with a little berley. Flathead and trevally show up on small plastics hopped along the bottom. Every ferry that pulls in takes priority, so fish with a rig that can be wound up in seconds.

Mulloway are the reason to come — DPIRD names Huntleys Point as a hot spot and rates the species peak season as all year, with low light and tide changes the trigger. Yellowfin bream are the reliable catch around the pylons year-round. Dusky flathead move up the river through the warmer months, silver trevally can be prolific at times, and luderick come on in the cooler months. Every fish goes back under the west-of-the-Bridge dioxin advice.

Bring your bait — the Parramatta River foreshore is part of the harbour-wide Intertidal Protected Area, so nippers, worms and crabs cannot be collected. NSW advice is that no fish or crustaceans caught west of the Sydney Harbour Bridge should be eaten, so plan on catch-and-release; mulloway in particular deserve a quick, wet release after a long fight. Ferries and passengers have right of way — clear lines and gear when a vessel approaches, keep tackle off the seating and the gangway, and keep noise down after 10pm. Read the signs at the gangway before you set up, because wharf rules are posted on site and can change. The Gladesville Bridge deck is a road bridge and not a fishing platform; the wharf and the river banks are where the fishing is.

Huntleys Point Road ends at a small roundabout just above the wharf, with kerbside parking along it — read the signs. The wharf is on the Parramatta River ferry route, so the ferry is a legitimate way to arrive with a rod. The wharf was rebuilt and reopened in April 2013 with a floating pontoon, and the walk down from the end of the road is short. There are no shops at the water, so bring what you need.

This is sheltered upper-harbour river water, so ocean swell is irrelevant and the wharf fishes in most weather. A strong westerly blows straight down the river and makes bottom contact hard with light plastics, while a north-easter has the wharf in the lee of the point. Tide is everything — the change and the first of the run are the mulloway window, and the steadier flow through the middle of the tide is the time for bream. After heavy rain the river runs brown and fresh and the bite can shut down for several days.

Wharf decking is slippery when wet with rain or bait slime, and the floating pontoon moves with ferry wash — keep off the boarding area when a vessel is approaching. The water off the end is deep and the river current is strong on the run-out, so anyone going in at night is in real trouble; fish with a mate. Hunters Hill is not a declared rock-fishing lifejacket area, but one is strongly recommended on a wharf edge after dark. Keep casts clear of the channel, where ferries and private boats run close.

Huntleys Point is not on Transport for NSW's list of ferry wharves with a 24/7 fishing ban, and DPIRD's Parramatta and Lane Cove guide lists it as a land-based site with no time-of-day restriction marked. Ferries and passengers always have right of way, so clear your lines when a vessel approaches and read the signs at the gangway before you set up.

Yes — DPIRD names Huntleys Point as a mulloway hot spot in both its Sydney guides, and says soft plastics and vibes work especially well from Gladesville Bridge up to Ryde Bridge. Fish fresh squid or live yellowtail, or plastics and vibes, around a tide change at dawn, dusk or night. The NSW minimum is 70cm with a bag of one, but on this river every fish should be released.

No. NSW advice is that no fish or crustaceans caught west of the Sydney Harbour Bridge should be eaten because of dioxin contamination, and that includes the whole Parramatta River. Fishing is legal — release your catch.

No — Gladesville Bridge is a road bridge, and road bridge decks are not fishing platforms. Fish from Huntleys Point Wharf, about 500 m upstream on the north bank, or from the public foreshore, where the same mulloway water is reachable legally.