for the rock fisherman. It’s easy to 
fish along here, but you do have 
to persevere to capture kingfish. 
Kingfish tend to show up more often 
towards the bottom end of the tide, 
so, combined with a favourable 
moon phase, you can do okay.
For the adventurous who are 
willing to hike and climb, the ledges 
north-east of Port Jackson can be 
accessed by walking along the beach 
and up the hill. It’s a bit difficult to 
explain; however, you will probably 
see the track down to the ledge 
and the ropes once you’ve poked 
around a bit. Be careful when using 
the ropes and, if possible, don’t 
rely on them unless you must. 
More than once, an ageing rope 
has not held, and people have 
had to be airlifted out after taking 
a fall onto the rocks, so consider 
taking your own ropes and make 
sure they are at least 50m long.
The ledges below are good for 
snapper and the usual suspects 
but take a lot of berley and have a 
range of outfits rigged, with strayline 
gear, live-bait gear and stick bait 
combos to capitalise on whatever 
opportunities present themselves.
Another popular spot for land-
based game is the stretch of 
coast east of Fletcher’s Bay. A 
1.5-2.5km scramble and walk 
along the shoreline brings you to 
a couple of rocky outcrops that 
are best accessed at low tide.
The islands on the north-east 
side of Coromandel are places to 
target kingfish and marlin. One 
of these islands was the one and 
only location where our crew had a 
marlin attack a live bait. I landed a 
30kg kingfish here the day before, 
and as we unloaded on day two, 
schools of saury were showering 
across the surface as predators 
chased them. A striped marlin hit my 
mate’s live bait in the mid-afternoon. 
It somehow managed to steal the 
kahawai and not get hooked. More 
recently, a 300kg black marlin was 
hooked in very close proximity to 
this island, so this stretch of coast 
has the potential for very big fish.
One of the best strategies when 
fishing these iconic locations is 
perseverance. The more often you 
turn up, the more you increase 
your chances of tangling with 
the big boys. When you can line 
up good moon phases with good 
weather, your chances improve. 
Make sure your gear is up to the 
task, and your knots are well tied. 
When that fish of a lifetime starts 
peeling line, you’ll need every 
advantage to make it yours.
A chunky Doubtless Bay 
snapper caught while the 
live bait was waiting for 
a marlin to swim past.
Where ropes are in place 
to access ledges, try to use 
them only in emergencies, as 
they aren’t well maintained. 
Better still, bring your 
own ropes just in case.
 /FISHINGINGODZONE  27

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