Emu Park (Fishermans Beach & the Point)

Emu Park's headland, crowned by the Singing Ship memorial, separates Fishermans Beach to the north from the smaller beaches running south toward Rocky Point. In front of Fishermans Beach a rock reef runs out from the point and holds bream, pike and the odd trevally, while the beach gives whiting and flathead on the flooding tide. Further south, the rocks around Rocky Point turn up the occasional big bream in clear water. On a breezy day the Singing Ship's pipes provide the soundtrack while you wait for a bite.

Cast small plastics or lightly weighted baits over the rock patches from the dry rock or the sand, well back from the edge, on the last of the run-in and the top of the tide — in clear water a light leader and a slow, natural presentation get the bites. Pike and small trevally hit small metal slices and plastics worked fast. For whiting, fish yabbies or worms from the beach as the tide floods, from well up the sand, or drag a small plastic across the sand for flathead. Queenfish and bigger trevally come through when bait schools are in close; keep a popper handy.

Bream, pike, whiting and flathead are the mainstays, with golden and giant trevally and queenfish when the bait is around. Yellowfin bream are 25 cm minimum and sand whiting 23 cm, each in a combined possession limit of 30. Dusky flathead are a 40–75 cm slot with a limit of 5. Giant queenfish are 50 cm, limit 5, and trevally share a combined limit of 20 with no minimum size.

The incoming tide covers the rock ground in front of the ramp quickly, so never walk out onto it at low tide. Keep clear of boats using the ramp. Clear water calls for light leaders — 6–8 lb fluorocarbon makes a difference. Bin your scraps rather than leaving them on the rocks.

Emu Park is about 20 km south of Yeppoon on the Scenic Highway. Park at the Fishermans Beach boat ramp or along the foreshore below the Singing Ship; wheelchair-accessible public toilets are on the foreshore nearby, along with cafés in town. The beach is a flat walk and good for kids; the rock reef is uneven, weedy and exposed by the tide, so it is not suitable for wheelchairs or small children.

The point faces east into Keppel Bay and takes the south-easterly trade wind side-on; Fishermans Beach, on the north side of the headland, is the more sheltered water in a south-easterly. A north-easterly blows straight onto the beach and makes the rocks wet and dangerous. Clear, calm mornings are the time for lure fishing; after rain the water discolours and bait does better.

Emu Park is in crocodile habitat; crocodiles also swim along the coast. Stay at least 5 m back from the water's edge where you can, never stand in the water to cast, 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. The incoming tide covers the rock reef quickly — never walk out onto it at low tide. The rocks are slippery and uneven; wear sturdy shoes, and a lifejacket is strongly recommended on exposed rock (Level 50S or higher, AS 4758, for adults). Shark control equipment operates off Emu Park, Fishermans Beach and Tanby Point — stay more than 20 m from nets or drumlines; it's an offence to be inside the 20 m zone. Marine stingers, including box jellyfish and Irukandji, occur here, typically November to May; carry vinegar.

The rock reef in front of the Fishermans Beach boat ramp, below the Singing Ship, is fished around the top of the tide from dry rock or the sand, and Fishermans Beach itself fishes for whiting and flathead as the tide floods. Rocky Point, to the south, also holds bream.

Around the top of the tide, from dry rock or the sand, well back from the water's edge.

Yes. Shark control equipment operates off Emu Park, Fishermans Beach and Tanby Point. Stay more than 20 m from nets and drumlines; being inside the 20 m zone is an offence.