Coorooman Creek Boat Ramp (Zilzie)

Coorooman Creek winds through mangroves and salt flats south of Emu Park and meets Keppel Bay just north of Keppel Sands. The Coorooman Creek boat ramp at Zilzie, with its pontoon reaching out over a deep bend, is the easiest way for a land-based angler to reach the creek's barramundi, threadfin, grunter and jacks. It is a big, muddy, tidal system — part of the Cawarral Creek Fish Habitat Area — and it fishes the way central Queensland estuaries do: hard on the tide changes, quiet in between. The barra, for their part, have never minded being fished from a pontoon. Wildlife officers removed a crocodile that had learned to hang around this ramp in 2024, and others use the creek, so fish from the pontoon or well back from the edge.

Fish from the pontoon or well back from the edge on the ramp foreshore, and give way to boats launching and retrieving — the pontoon is there for boaties first. Live prawns, poddy mullet or herring fished near the bottom around the tide change are the best chance of a barra, threadfin or jack; soft plastics and vibes worked along the drop-off do the same job. For bream, grunter and whiting, use a lightly weighted prawn or yabby on a small hook on the run-in tide. With crocodiles using this creek, leave the mangrove edges alone and set crab pots from a boat.

Grunter, bream, whiting and flathead are the regular catch; barramundi, king threadfin and mangrove jack are the prize fish. Barramundi are a 58–120 cm slot with a possession limit of 5, closed from 1 November to 31 January. King threadfin are 65 cm minimum, limit 5. Grunter (barred javelin) are 40 cm, limit 10; mangrove jack 35 cm, limit 5. Yellowfin bream (25 cm) and sand whiting (23 cm) are each in a combined limit of 30, and dusky flathead are a 40–75 cm slot, limit 5. Mud crabs are males only, 15 cm across the shell, 7 per person. Blue threadfin are 40 cm, limit 10, and estuary cod a 38–120 cm slot in a combined limit of 5 with other cods and groupers.

This ramp has had a documented crocodile problem: in a March 2024 warning, wildlife officers reported a crocodile of about 1.8 m living near the ramp and people wading to launch boats, standing waist-deep to throw cast nets, leaving bait and scraps on the pontoon and letting a dog swim. Don't do any of that. Keep bait buckets off the pontoon edge, put every scrap in a bin or take it home, and report any crocodile you see to the department on 1300 130 372 or through the QWildlife app. Coorooman Creek is inside a Fish Habitat Area, so the only digging tool allowed for bait is a hand-held yabby pump. Crab pots and dillies are limited to four per person and must be tagged with your surname and address.

The ramp is at the end of Svendson Road in Zilzie, south of Emu Park, with a sealed car park beside the ramp and pontoon. Public toilets are on the Emu Park foreshore, a short drive north. The pontoon is level and the easiest place to fish, but it is shared with boat traffic. This is not a spot to bring small children down to the water's edge.

The creek is sheltered from the trade winds by the surrounding mangroves, so it fishes when the open beaches are blown out. Big spring tides run hard and dirty and make bottom baits difficult; the neaps and the hour either side of a tide change are easier. The bottom of a big low exposes wide mud banks. After heavy rain the creek runs brown and the fish push down toward the mouth.

Coorooman Creek is crocodile habitat, and a crocodile that had learned to treat this ramp as a feeding spot was removed in 2024. Stay at least 5 m back from the water's edge where you can, never stand in the water to cast, launch or retrieve, don't stand on logs or branches over the water, and only throw a cast net from a boat or jetty. Reel fish in quickly and step back, and cut the line if a crocodile takes interest in your catch. Keep pets on a lead and away from the water. Marine stingers, including box jellyfish and Irukandji, occur in these waters, typically November to May. The pontoon and ramp are slippery with mud and weed.

Yes. Wildlife officers recorded a crocodile of about 1.8 m living near the ramp in 2024 and warned that people were wading, cast-netting from the water and leaving scraps on the pontoon. That animal was captured and removed in May 2024, but crocodiles still use the creek. Stay out of the water, keep scraps in a bin and report sightings on 1300 130 372.

Barramundi, king threadfin, grunter, mangrove jack, bream, whiting and flathead, plus mud crabs. Barramundi are closed from 1 November to 31 January.

Legally yes (hand pump only — Fish Habitat Area), but this is croc water and crocodiles have used this ramp; bring bait rather than working the mud at the water's edge.