Huskisson Wharf (Currambene Creek)

Huskisson Wharf sits on the town side of the Currambene Creek mouth, where the dolphin-cruise and dive boats load up and the creek channel swings out into Jervis Bay past a sand spit. Currambene Creek is safe, easy fishing for garfish, flathead, whiting, bream and trevally, and the wharf is where most visitors try it. It is also the most legally fiddly spot in town. The wharf and creek mouth are the Huskisson Wharf Special Purpose Zone, where line fishing is allowed, but the Huskisson Sanctuary Zone starts at the point just east of the wharf and the Currambene Creek Mudflats Sanctuary Zone lies a few hundred metres upstream. Fish the channel in front of the wharf and you are fine; wander east with a rod and you are not.

Fish the creek channel straight off the wharf, on the run-in tide, with light gear. Garfish come to a small float and a No.10–12 hook with bread or a dough bait, berleyed with bread crumbs. Bream, whiting and trevally take peeled prawn, nipper or worm on a lightly weighted running rig cast to the edge of the channel and the sand spit. Flathead sit on the drop-off — hop a soft plastic back along the bottom on the run-out. Squid hunt the weed edges and the wharf lights after dark; a 2.0–2.5 size jig cast and slowly retrieved is enough.

Yellowfin bream are 25 cm minimum on a bag of 10 shared with tarwhine, sand whiting 27 cm on a bag of 20 shared across all whiting, and dusky flathead are kept inside a 36–70 cm slot with a bag of 5. Silver trevally are 30 cm on a bag of 10 shared across the trevallies, and luderick 27 cm with a bag of 10. Eastern sea garfish have no size limit and a bag of 20, squid a bag of 20, and leatherjackets a combined bag of 20. Cuttlefish aren't on the marine park's take list, so release any you jig. Taking octopus is prohibited anywhere in the Jervis Bay Marine Park.

Know the lines before you cast. The Huskisson Sanctuary Zone begins at the point by the ocean pool, about 115 m east of the wharf, and Shark Net Beach beyond it is also sanctuary — no fishing of any kind, including from the shore. Cast north or north-east into the creek mouth, never east or south-east towards the ocean-pool point or Shark Net Beach. If you eat your catch from Currambene Creek often, NSW has PFAS dietary advice for garfish, luderick, mulloway, silver trevally, sea mullet and estuary perch from the nearby naval air station — bream and whiting need no advice, and an occasional feed is fine. The Lady Denman Heritage Complex fish enclosure upstream is closed to all fishing.

The wharf is at the creek mouth in the middle of Huskisson, a block from the main street, with parking, toilets, cafés and the main street all within a couple of minutes' walk. The wharf and foreshore are flat and paved, which makes this an easy spot for families and anglers with limited mobility. Charter and cruise boats use the wharf through the day, so give them room at the berths and fish the quieter edges. Early morning and evening are far less crowded than the middle of a summer day.

The creek mouth is sheltered from ocean swell by the bay, so the wharf fishes in most weather. A fresh north-easter blows straight into the mouth and chops up the water; westerlies flatten it. The tide is the main driver — the run-in brings clean bay water and bait into the creek, and the change of light around high tide is the best window. After heavy rain the creek runs tannin-brown, which slows the garfish and squid but can switch on flathead.

The wharf is busy with commercial boats — watch for vessels coming alongside, and never cast across a berth or a mooring line. Its edges drop into a deep, fast-flowing channel, so keep small children close. The sanctuary zone boundary is the legal hazard: fishing from the point east of the wharf or from Shark Net Beach is illegal, even from shore. The creek mouth carries strong currents on the ebb, and the sand spit opposite is not a wading crossing.

Yes. The wharf and Currambene Creek mouth are the Huskisson Wharf Special Purpose Zone of the Jervis Bay Marine Park, where recreational line fishing is allowed. The Huskisson Sanctuary Zone starts at the point just east of the wharf and the Currambene Creek Mudflats Sanctuary Zone is upstream — no fishing at all in either.

Garfish, bream, whiting, flathead, silver trevally, luderick, leatherjacket and squid. Bream are 25 cm with a bag of 10 shared with tarwhine, and dusky flathead 36–70 cm with a bag of 5. Octopus may not be taken anywhere in the Jervis Bay Marine Park.

Bream and whiting need no dietary advice. NSW has precautionary PFAS advice for people who often eat garfish, luderick, mulloway, silver trevally, sea mullet or estuary perch from Currambene Creek, and says it does not affect infrequent consumers. No advice is needed for fish from Jervis Bay itself.

Yes. Squid hunt the weed edges and the wharf lights after dark, and a small 2.0–2.5 size jig worked slowly is enough. Squid have no size limit and a bag of 20; cuttlefish aren't on the marine park's take list, so release any you jig.