Take a trip to the Tomaga River CANBERRA
Toby Grundy
A few years back, I was staying at a mate’s coast house near Broulee. The house was positioned right on a river that I had never fished before that looked promising, so we decided to give it a crack. We ducked down to the main bridge over the river one afternoon and cast from the bank out to the pylons. My friend picked up three big bream within the first few casts, but I didn’t catch much. I was too busy staring up the river at the maze of snags and flats thinking about giant flathead. I have since kayaked the Tomaga River a few times and found it offers outstanding flathead fishing. It is also one of the most unique fisheries on the South Coast, because its upper reaches are kayak-only and the occasional giraffe can be seen on the bank as the river passes by Mogo Zoo. FACILITIES The Tomaga River winds it’s way around the town of Tomakin on the South Coast of NSW and up to the town of Mogo. You can pick up food and tackle supplies in Batemans Bay, and there is also a petrol station and
right along the river and therefore you don’t need a beacon, but I would recommend a life jacket as it can get windy and the current can be strong. SPECIES The Tomaga River has good populations of silver trevally, blackfish, bream,
Wriggler 80mm in gary glitter or the Ecogear grass minnow with a 1/8oz jighead. Twitch the plastic along the bottom. Short, quick lifts a re key along with long pauses. This type of retrieve best mimics the baitfish, which school in huge numbers at the back of the system. I also recommend
Pedal kayaks are best for the 18km round trip. some massive flathead. If you’re fishing these areas, I recommend upsizing your leader. If the fish aren’t hanging around the racks, head up further towards the zoo. Here you’ll find plenty of structure both above and below the surface. There are half-submerged gum trees which are always worth a crack along with some
Aquayak r recommends ifvoer Tomago R
TACKLE I use a Daiwa Harrier 1-3kg light stick matched to a Daiwa 1000 Certate spooled with 6lb braid and 6lb leader. I also always bring a spare spool with me of 4lb fluorocarbon in case the fish are really shut down. I do lose fish using this outfit, but I catch more than I drop. You’ll get more bites the lighter you go.
The author with a good-sized flathead from the Tomaga. flounder and flathead. Most of these fish are found closer to the river mouth, which is accessible by boat. The better flathead and bream fishing is up the back of the river, which is only accessible by kayak at high tide.
natural colours, as the water is clear and shallow. Small shallow divers like the Ecogear SX48 also work well. Cast your diver parallel to a likely bank and slow roll the lure back to your position inserting the occasional pause
Tomaga is a beautiful river. supermarket near a good launch spot next to George Bass Drive. There is phone reception
doing a lot of casting, so you’ll need your hands free most of the time. Also, it’s an 18km round trip if you intend to fish the pristine waters at the top of the system and that’s a long way to paddle. I took my Native Slayer 13 and though its turning circle is not the best, it does
The river was affected by commercial netting in the late nineties but has made a remarkable comeback. The fish are big and well fed. TECHNIQUES If the fish are shut down, I recommend using soft plastics like the Squidgy
in the retrieve. I have caught some great flatties using this method. Often the flathead will hit the lure once you’ve started winding again after a short pause. THE KAYAK I would recommend a peddle kayak. You will be
have reverse, which made manoeuvring large flathead out of the snags a breeze. The larger kayak also helped me remain stable when standing and casting. THE SOUNDER If the river is sitting below 20°C, there really isn’t much point in fishing it. I have tried and been unsuccessful. However, once it tops 20, it starts fishing well. The temperature changes as you travel up the river and it’s important to have a sounder with you that can read temperature so that you can find the patches that are worth fishing. On my last trip I fished a bank that was sitting on 21°C, while the pools either side were cooler. I pulled over 30 flathead from that bank and nothing in either of the other pools. I use a Lowrance Series 7 Ti (an outstanding bit of kit), but any sounder that can give you a good temperature read out will do. LOCATION If you push up past the sandflats (where the boats can’t venture), you’ll find row upon row of oyster racks. Start here. There are plenty of bream hanging around the area, but there are also
Find the patches of water sitting on or above 20°C. significant weed beds that provide good ambush points for hungry flathead. TIMING The Tomaga River fishes well from early spring through to early December. Once the crowds roll in during school holidays it does go quiet and fires up again from February through to April. In winter it’s very quiet.
CONCLUSION The Tomaga River is a great little fishery and most of it is only accessible by kayak. It’s visually spectacular and the flathead are big and fight well. Now is the time to visit before the crowds and you never know, maybe you’ll see a few giraffes while battling a big lizard on the flats!
SNAPPER PRO SUGGESTED ACCESSORY:
245
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Specifications: Length: 2.7 metres; Weight: 17kg; Capacity: 120kg
PRICE WITH FISHING KIT
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Ph: (03) 9357 9992 – www.aquayak.com NOVEMBER 2017
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