Wally's Wharf (Dolans Bay)

Wally's Wharf is a council floating pontoon and double boat ramp tucked into a quiet residential arm of Burraneer Bay, on the north shore of the Port Hacking estuary. The bay is ringed by waterfront homes, boatsheds and rows of moored boats, and that moored ground is the whole point — bream and silver trevally hold tight around the chains and pylons, while the sand-and-weed edges hold whiting and flathead. It is sheltered, shallow and slow-moving, the sort of spot locals use on a weekday rather than the sort that draws crowds. Yakkas school right off the wharf, so it doubles as a place to bait up before working the surrounding flats. One thing to know before you wander: Shiprock Aquatic Reserve starts about 300 m south along the same road, and it is a no-take reserve where no fishing of any kind is allowed.

Locals fish the run-out tide here, when the falling water pulls bait off the flats and past the wharf and moorings. Light bait — peeled prawn, nipper or a strip of mullet on a small running sinker or unweighted on a long shank — drifted back into the mooring field accounts for most of the bream and trevally. Whiting come on a slow-dragged nipper or bloodworm over the sand on the run-out, and flathead get picked up working a 2–3in soft plastic along the drop-off edges of the channel. Through winter the luderick crowd works float-and-weed rigs along the wharf and the shoreline weed. Early morning and the last of the light are the windows; the middle of a bright still day is for catching yakkas, not much else.

Yellowfin bream are the year-round mainstay, holding around the moorings and the wharf pylons and firing hardest on the cooler months and the run-out tide, at 25 cm and a bag of 10 shared with tarwhine. Sand whiting run the warmer half of the year, October through April, over the clean sand on the flats, at 27 cm on a bag of 20 shared across the whiting. Dusky flathead spread across the sand and drop-offs from spring into autumn and are the best lure target — keep one in the 36 to 70 cm slot, the daily bag is 5, and anything bigger slides back. Luderick stack up along the weedy edges and the wharf through the colder months, May to August, at 27 cm and a bag of 10. Silver trevally turn up around the moorings on bait year-round at 30 cm on a bag of 10 shared across the trevallies, and tailor push through the wider estuary on the cooler water at 30 cm and a bag of 10, with the odd one grabbing a bait at dusk.

This is a working boat ramp first and a fishing spot second, so keep the pontoon and ramp clear when a trailer is launching or retrieving, and do not set up a fish-cleaning station on the floating pontoon. The bream wise up in a bay this quiet, so a long fluorocarbon leader, the lightest sinker that holds and a quiet approach matter more than they do on open rock. Pump your own nippers and jig your own yakkas on a bait jig before the session and the bream and whiting respond far better than to shop bait — the Gunnamatta Bay worm and nipper closure stops at the Burraneer Point to Hungry Point line and does not reach Dolans Bay, but the state-wide ban on digging in seagrass, mangrove and saltmarsh does, so stick to clean sand. Do not walk south along the shore with a rod in hand expecting more of the same, because Shiprock Aquatic Reserve is about 300 m away at the end of Shiprock Road, and it is a no-take reserve where there is no fishing by any method and nothing may be collected, dead or alive. Weekends bring a steady stream of trailers and the moored boats mean lines snag easily, so weekday mornings on a run-out tide are the pick.

Park along Port Hacking Road South near the ramp, where parking is limited, the walk down from the street is steep, and it fills fast on weekends when the ramp is busy. The road in is sealed and the pontoon gives flat, step-on access right at the water, with toilets on site, though the steep approach from the parking and the floating pontoon together make it less than fully mobility-friendly. The sheltered, shallow feel of the bay and the easy pontoon make it a genuinely kid-friendly spot for a relaxed bait session, with yakkas and small bream keeping young anglers busy. Bear in mind that the shoreline about 300 m south is Shiprock Aquatic Reserve, so the pleasant walk along the water stops being a fishing option a good deal sooner than you would expect.

Dolans Bay sits in a protected arm of Burraneer Bay and is naturally sheltered from southerly winds, which makes it a reliable fallback when a southerly buster shuts down the open coast and the river entrance. A westerly or north-westerly will ripple the bay but rarely makes it unfishable. The run-out tide is the prime window — it pulls bait past the wharf and moorings and concentrates the bream and whiting — while a dead-low slack in this shallow bay can switch the bite off entirely. Heavy rain dirties the upper estuary and pushes the bream bite down for a day or two afterward, so give it time to clear.

This is a calm estuary pontoon, so the risks are the small ones rather than the dramatic. The floating pontoon and ramp surfaces get slimy and slick when wet, particularly at first light, so non-slip footwear earns its keep. Oyster growth on the pylons, mooring chains and rock edges will open a hand or shin, so watch where you reach and step, and leave them where they are rather than treating them as a feed. The bay is a live boat-launching area with trailers and moored vessels moving through, so keep lines, gear and kids clear of the ramp and the channel. Bluebottles blow into the estuary on summer north-easterlies, and a few hours over open water still warrants a hat, sunscreen and water, because there is little shade on the pontoon. If you dive, note that Port Hacking is closed to spearfishing west of the Glaisher Point to Port Hacking Point line, which takes in the whole of Dolans Bay. Sutherland Shire is a declared rock-fishing area under the Rock Fishing Safety Act 2016, so a lifejacket is compulsory when you fish with rod, line or handline from naturally occurring rock exposed to ocean swell here, and the duty covers anyone helping you and any child under 12 in your care.

Yellowfin bream are the year-round mainstay around the moorings and pylons, with sand whiting over the flats in the warmer months, roughly October to April, dusky flathead from spring into autumn, luderick along the weed and wharf in winter, and silver trevally around the moorings. Yakkas school right off the wharf and make good live bait. Note that Shiprock Aquatic Reserve starts about 300 m south at the end of Shiprock Road, and it is a no-take reserve where no fishing by any method is allowed. A NSW Recreational Fishing Fee is required to fish anywhere in NSW, including from this wharf.

Yes. There are toilets on site and street parking along Port Hacking Road South, but parking is limited and fills quickly on weekends when the boat ramp is busy, with a steep walk down to the water. Weekday mornings are the easier and quieter time to get a spot.

The run-out tide is the standout. As the water falls it pulls bait off the shallow flats and past the wharf and moorings, switching on the bream, whiting and luderick. The dead-low slack in this shallow bay can shut the bite off, so fish the moving water and target early morning or late afternoon.

Dusky flathead in NSW have a 36 to 70 cm slot limit — fish must be at least 36 cm and any over 70 cm must be released, because those big females are the key breeders. The daily bag is 5 and the possession limit is 10. Yellowfin bream are 25 cm on a bag of 10 shared with tarwhine, sand whiting 27 cm on a bag of 20 shared across the whiting, luderick 27 cm on a bag of 10 and silver trevally 30 cm on a bag of 10. A NSW Recreational Fishing Fee is required to fish in NSW.

It is one of the more family-friendly options on Port Hacking. The bay is sheltered and shallow, the floating pontoon gives flat step-on access at the water, there are toilets on site, and yakkas and small bream keep young anglers busy. Just keep lines and kids clear of the live boat ramp and watch for oyster growth on the pylons and chains.