Illuka And Ballina

[No Fear]

Hi all,
Looking at the weather reports and looks like its not real pretty for next weekend in Bris-vegas.... but in saying that Northern NSW looks like the weather might be ok. I am keen to head down to either Ballina or Illuka and have a fish. Lucky enough I have access to a 5 metre centre console and a 25 foot half cab but I was wondering does anyone half some local knowledge (or fishing knowledge in general) as to getting offshore and what the bar crossings are like and if the weather is not so good, some estuary spots to catch a few fish. I'll be having friday off so I will have a long weekend to search around. If anyone can give me some pointers that would be great, save me driving 3 hours to catch 1 whiting and killing myself whilst crossing the Illuka or Ballina bar. Thanks in advance

[Pistol_P]

Hi Mate,

I have fished the breakwalls at Iluka and even in a 30knot southerly with swell the bar is sensational.....It is one of the best bars I have seen.Heaps of longtails there at this time of year along with mackeral,cobes etc.

[zigfreed]

No Fear

I would avoid the Iluka bar at all costs, it is very dangerous. Have even seen a pro boat go over there when i was livebaiting off the wall one day. Westpac chopper had to come and save the poor guy.

having said that there is a good ramp on the southern end of shark bay. You need to drive through the camping ground at woody head to access it. You will need a 4x4 to launch and retrieve here as it is a bit sandy/beachy sort of ramp.

When you are stainding on the ramp look to the north and you will see a line of black rock on the northern end of the bay, about 30-40 mins in good conditions. There is a lot of spanish and cobes caught couple of k's off these rocks and definatley worth a look. Alternatively head south and troll down towards the breakwall in front of the headlands to catch more of the same and a few longtail.

Land based spinning for jew and tailor off the front of woody head is the go and if it does blow up from the south head out to the wall and balloon some live baits for spanish and longtail. make sure you have an 18 foot gaff minimum if you want to land somewthing out there though. The wall really works well, have had up to 8 hookups in a day there sometimes.

Cheers

Zig

[frenzy]

Ballina bar is reasonable depending on the swell of course,it is a big river there so usually good on incoming.If it's no good outside the richmond also fishes well. Good luck

[mattooty]

I cross the yamba/iluka bar as much as possible, and to tell the truth, i have never found it hard. I learnt to cross the bar when i was 16 and took 2 tries and i could almost retgularly work out the patterns.
Between the walls it is roughly 10-15m on a low tide and maybe pushing 18 on a high.
No whitewater between the walls and once you get to the end just shoot off to one side and you're laughing. Alternatively you can head to either angourie (beach launching) or woody head(beach launching)
Good luck
Matt

[honda900]

No Fear,

Mate the bar at Iluka is very good, I was down there at christmas and didnt have any dramas at all, even on a day when we had a 2 mtr swell, was not a problem, outside wasnt much fun, stay to the starboard side as you go out.

regards
Honda

[Seahorse]

hey there no fear.
u r right. ballina looks good. just checked it out on seabreeze. 5-10knts all weekend and fine. might just be good trip to fish the beach. otherwise put boat on and fish the richmond. prob good idea to ring brett at ballina bait and tacke to see whats happening

greg

[Sean]

Ballina bar I think is great. I used to fish out off it for a few years and never really had any trouble. Mind you I am not one of these people that absolutely has to go offshore. If it was marginal I just stayed in the river. I ALWAYS stuck to the northern side though. I used to pull up at the bottom of the tower, put my lifejacket on and watch for a few mins.....you knew straight away if it was crossable, I never even hit whitewater.
If when you come home it is breaking it is quite a long bar so make sure you stay WELL wide and head in perpendicular (square) to the waves. and just ride the back of one right in. Just common sense really.
There is a FAD off Ballina which holds plenty of Dolphin fish, I used to catch them on poppers and 2kg line......'kokoda roger' lures (from Kmat). There is also a waverider bouy, But to get the position of this can be tough......they move it quite a bit.
If you are chasing mackeral, there is a reef about 2nm north of the bar about 1-2nm offshore called black head. Live bait (slimies) at the Northern end of this reef. If its a good day just follow the boats.
I will try to dig up some GPS spots for you.
If you are looking for a deckie I might be interested, I have never had a lot of luck offshore fishing, but if you know some techniques I have a basic knowledge of The area. And I WONT get sick!!
Sean 0421-243-003

[Sean]

CHANGES sorry this has no meaning

[Pistol_P]

No Fear

I would avoid the Iluka bar at all costs, it is very dangerous. Have even seen a pro boat go over there when i was livebaiting off the wall one day. Westpac chopper had to come and save the poor guy.

Cheers

Zig

Are you serious.....
Mate if you think the iluka bar is dangerous then you must be horrified of bars in general.....I am not being silly here mate but honestly the iluka bar is the safest I have ever seen.....Obviously we are not talking about going out in big swell but that goes with all bars and common sense comes into it.
I have fished off the walls there in big southerlys and a fair southerly swell and the bar misses it completely from the protection of the south wall.
Out of all the bars I have seen it is the best.

[zigfreed]

Pistol Pete

Gave my comment some thought last nite and yes you are correct i have seen iluka bar so good some days you would paddle a canoe accross it.

Most of my time spent on that wall is when the seas were huge and it was one of the last places fishable on the north coast.

I am not terrified of bars but very cautious, i would sooner launch and retrieve off the beach as i feel much safer, probably the surfer coming out in me. I cross bars all the time these days to get where i want to go and know what to do and how to handle the boat on them, then again i probably should after 15 years of owning boats.

In summary i suppose the day the chopper came out to rescue that guy, it has kinda stuck in my mind ever since and is definatley not a good memory to have.

Use the bars that is what they are there for but as the old saying goes.

If in doubt dont go out.............................

Cheers
Zig

[onerabbit]

Hi all,

cant really comment on Iluka bar, but I have spent the last 6-7 years crossing Ballina bar.
I cant stress enough not to take Ballina bar lightly, even on a good day.

As Sean has already said, the bar has a long impact zone, about 300yrds, so you may have to negotiate up to 7 swells to get out. Always watch out the back & count your sets before making any attempt to cross.

Begin by staying fairly close to the wall & slowly proceed to the dog-leg (where the big concrete blocks are ), if it's a bit rough you can sit there for a bit & watch & still be a bit protected from any incoming swells,
when you are ready, allow yourself to be drawn out a bit further towards the end of the wall, if you look across to South wall from there & mentally draw a line to about 200yrds in front of South wall, this is where the deep channel is, try & stay in the dark water.
Ideally, return journeys should follow the same path back in. Resist any temptation to go anywhere near the end of North wall as big swells can stand up & break out of nowhere.

It all sounds a bit complicated, but it's not that bad.

If anyone was coming to Ballina, I'd be happy to meet up for a chat.

Muzz

[No Fear]

Hey guys, thanks heaps for all your info.... this is the great thing about technology and chatrooms like Ausfish..... you can get so much local knowledge from your office... once again thanks heaps for the info. I will definately let you know how I go........
cheers

[Pistol_P]

Pistol Pete

Gave my comment some thought last nite and yes you are correct i have seen iluka bar so good some days you would paddle a canoe accross it.

Most of my time spent on that wall is when the seas were huge and it was one of the last places fishable on the north coast.

I am not terrified of bars but very cautious, i would sooner launch and retrieve off the beach as i feel much safer, probably the surfer coming out in me. I cross bars all the time these days to get where i want to go and know what to do and how to handle the boat on them, then again i probably should after 15 years of owning boats.

In summary i suppose the day the chopper came out to rescue that guy, it has kinda stuck in my mind ever since and is definatley not a good memory to have.

Use the bars that is what they are there for but as the old saying goes.

If in doubt dont go out.............................

Cheers
Zig

Agreed totally mate....If you are in doubt or looks dicey I would never take the risk myself.....Alls bars can be a problem.
The bar here at Noosa is one of the worst I have ever seen and has claimed MANY boats....However there have been days where I have paddled across it in my kayak it has been so flat.All about picking your days.
Cheers
Pete

[Squiggle]

How about Evans Head?