Oatley Point Reserve (Georges River)

Oatley Point is the sandstone tip of a small bushland reserve at the mouth of Oatley Bay, on the northern bank of the Georges River just downstream of the Como bridges. The reserve protects some of the best remnant coastal forest left in the area, and the walk in through it does a good job of thinning the crowd. At the end of the track is a broad, rocky point that, as Fishing Monthly puts it, fishes on both the run-in and the run-out, with the prime ground only about a 20 m cast away. Bream, dusky flathead, whiting and mulloway are the reasons people make the walk.

Fish off the river face of the point, where a modest cast puts a bait onto the drop-off and the current line that sweeps past the bay mouth. Because it fishes both tides, the point suits a session timed around the light rather than the tide — dawn, dusk and the first hours of dark are when the bream and mulloway come on. A lightly weighted peeled prawn, a strip of mullet or a half-pilchard on a running sinker covers bream, flathead and whiting, while soft plastics worked slowly down the drop find the flathead. You can fish back into Oatley Bay from the point, but there is a boat ramp at the head of the bay, so keep an eye on traffic before you cast across the channel.

Yellowfin bream are here year-round at 25 cm on a bag of 10 shared with tarwhine, and they are the most reliable fish off the point. Dusky flathead lie along the sand edges from spring into autumn — keep only fish between 36 cm and 70 cm, bag 5 — and sand whiting fill the warmer months at 27 cm on a bag of 20 shared across the whiting. Luderick and silver trevally both use this reach, at 27 cm and 30 cm respectively on bags of 10. Mulloway are the fish locals talk about, and the rule is 70 cm and one per person.

This stretch sits between the Princes Highway (Tom Uglys) Bridge and Rabaul Road boat ramp, the reach covered by the tighter of the two Georges River PFAS dietary-advice tables. Adults are advised to cap dusky flathead and estuary perch at two serves a week, mulloway at one and silver trevally at three; children aged two to six are capped at one serve a week of any one of those, not one of each, because the limits assume a single species is eaten that week, so a serve of flathead plus a serve of anything else on the list puts a child over. Luderick need no PFAS advice for adults, but children aged two to six are capped at four serves a week of them, again assuming no other listed species that week. Yellowfin bream and sand whiting were tested and need no PFAS advice, so they are the sensible fish to keep. Oysters may not be taken anywhere in the Georges River, so bring your bait with you rather than knocking it off the rocks.

Park in the small car park at the end of Phipps Street in Oatley, beside the reserve playground and a drinking fountain, then follow the dirt bush track a few hundred metres through the reserve to the rocky tip; the track also connects through to the Herbert Street end. The walk is short but the dirt track is uneven underfoot, so it is not pram- or wheelchair-friendly and a headtorch is essential for a night session. Public toilets are not something to count on at the point.

Oatley Point sits well up the estuary, so swell never reaches it and it fishes in almost any weather. Wind is the bigger factor: a southerly or south-westerly blows straight across the river face and makes light-line bait work hard, while a north-westerly off the land is comfortable. Because the point fishes both tides, the light and the moving water matter more than the direction of flow. After heavy rain the river runs brown for a few days, which can quieten the bream but brings flathead and mulloway on as bait is flushed down.

The point is bare sandstone that is slippery when wet and drops into deep water, with no rails and a slow, awkward climb back out if you go in. Oyster-encrusted rock at the waterline will open a hand or shin. The bush track is uneven and unlit, so pack a headtorch and leave before dark if you are unsure of the way. Boat traffic using the Oatley Bay ramp passes close to the point, so watch your casts. The Georges River Council area is not a declared rock-fishing lifejacket area and this is not ocean rock, but a lifejacket on a child at the edge is still a good idea.

Yes — it is one of the better-known land-based spots on the middle Georges River. The rocky tip of Oatley Point Reserve fishes on both the run-in and run-out tides, and the prime ground is only about a 20 m cast away. Bream, dusky flathead, sand whiting and mulloway are the main targets, with luderick and silver trevally also using the reach. A NSW Recreational Fishing Fee is required.

There is a small car park at the end of Phipps Street in Oatley, next to the reserve playground. From there a dirt bush track runs a few hundred metres through the reserve to the rocky point. It is uneven underfoot and not suitable for prams or wheelchairs.

The old Como railway bridge is now a shared walking and cycling path, and there is no published permission to fish from it, so fish the banks instead. Oatley Point, a short way downstream on the northern bank, is the established land-based spot on this reach of the river.

Yes, within limits. Oatley is in the reach between Tom Uglys Bridge and Rabaul Road boat ramp, where NSW precautionary PFAS advice caps adults at two serves a week of dusky flathead or estuary perch, one of mulloway and three of silver trevally, and children aged two to six at one serve a week of any one of those, not one of each, because the limits assume a single species is eaten that week. Luderick need no PFAS advice for adults but are capped at four serves a week for children aged two to six. Yellowfin bream and sand whiting were tested and need no PFAS advice. Normal bag and size limits still apply, such as bream at 25 cm and mulloway at 70 cm with a bag of one.