Hi, put this question on another forum on ausfish with no replies so hope I do better here.
Although I have lived in the northern rivers for 4 years I have no knowledge of the tweed river area boating wise so would appreciate any advise given regarding navigating the tweed river system and realized it is tidal but are the channels marked for all tide access - which ramps are not tidal and can be accessed at all times or ramps that you need to rely on the tides also any other obstacles that I should be aware off apart from the obvious sand bars
I have been without a boat from when I moved here and I am thinking of buying a tinny but do not want to wing it as far as getting around but would prefer advise from people who know the area.
Sorry I could not express this better but any advise would be appreciated.
Troy
Can't help personally Troy as I have only ever fished the system from the shore for luderick a loooong time ago but I think Brad Smith's charter operation runs trips on the Tweed now. From all reports he's a good operator so you would not only get a feel for the area but a bit of a head start on the techniques and type of locations that produce.
Thanks Mate will give it a go.
Hi Troy , I live on the Tweed and fish it from a small tinny regularly. The Tweed is a magnificent waterway with many excellent boat ramps and the system is safe and well marked as far as navigation goes. You can fish down near the entrance along the breakwalls or fish the Terrannora inlet ( this is another large system that links up with the main river just upstream from the main entrance.) If you wish you can head upstream and fish all the way to Murwillumbah with hundreds of spots to try. You will mainly catch small Bream in the river but there are some good sized ones with them . There are good Flathead on the edges of weed banks at low tide and you may be rewarded with the odd Jewfish from time to time. Fish such as Trevally and chopper Tailor can be found in season usually April/May. There are many excellent boat ramps with the best being the big ramp at Fingal (which is about a kilometre from the entrance in the main river) there is a big parking area here and you can launch your boat into a calm inlet just off the main river. Other good ones are Dry Dock rd and Kennedy Drive ramps. These ramps can get extremely busy at weekends and holiday times but there is a few small ramps that can be used to escape the crowd if you have a smaller boat. Like every river the fishing may be ordinary until you find a few spot x's but the Tweed is a beautiful river with much to offer with fish and magnificent scenery especially upriver with lovely rainforest foreshores which hide some big Mangrove Jack that will smash a well placed lure or livebait.
Hi Bugsytwoshoes, thanks and have to agree it is a beautiful area and is the reason that I want to get back into boating that I have really missed.
Just needed some advise on navigating the area without hitting something or running high and dry on a sand bar on my first trip.
Thanks for taking the time and providing me with a lot of information as you have done.
Troy
See if you can splash out and get a decent GPS/Chart Plotter/fish finder combo installed in whatever you decide to buy, that way it will tell you where you are, what is in front of you, structures under water and a whole heap of other info to help you from hitting something as well as helping you to locate potential fish holding areas not to mention actually seeing the fish if there are there.
Thanks and how are the boat ramps around the area as far as accessing them at different tide heights.
Plan to get a GPS/Chart Plotter/ fish Finder Combo any suggestions on which one.
Troy
Bloody hell, could not ask for a more informative or helpful response.Originally Posted by bugsytwoshoes
Shawn
Agree and was very much appreciated.
Troy
Here he is back for a second rant. The main ramps I mentioned ( Fingal, Kennedy Drive, Drydock Rd) are all good all tide ramps and you will have no problems on any tide and they will take two boat/trailers at a time the pick of these is Fingal as it has a large parking area and you are launching into a calm non- tidal run inlet. The drawback to these ramps are that they are very busy at the weekend and holiday time. The smaller ramps are a bit harder to find and they would be subject to tide heights. There are no real "objects/navigational hazards" in the Tweed apart from sandbanks and shallow water areas that are well marked. EdBerg suggested a good GPS/depthsounder for your new tinny and that would be a good idea. I have found the Garmin range excellent value and easy to use but it depends on how much you want to spend. On my last boat I had a 7'' side view Garmin Stryker unit which was very good and on my current tinny I have a little Garmin 4'' unit which is great and inexpensive.
They are good rants and very helpful and one reason I asked about the ramps is as I was at what I thought was the Fingal Boat Ramp and this boatie told me not to try and use this ramp at half tide as it was all mud and would not be able to get a boat back on. So either he was putting me on a bum steer or I was at the wrong ramp unless there is another one.
Will probably go for the Garmin and will need to get my tinny first and have it down to either Quintrex or Stessco but do not think there is a Stessco Dealer in the Tweed.
Troy
Hi Troy, there are two ramps in Fingal one is the big all tide ramp and there is another opposite the fish and chip shop and that is the one your mate would have been talking about and it would be difficult on a low tide. I have a Stacer 4.2 Rampage same as Quintrex Busta and I find it is a fantastic boat for the rivers and dams.
Bugsy , what outboard do you have on it and is there a Stacer Dealership nearby or is the closest Brisbane.
I have a Suzuki 30hp 4stroke power tilt/trim and it pushes the boat along fine with three adults, a 40hp would be good but the 30hp suits my needs. I bought the package from Lismore Outboards ( they are a Stacer dealer) in February brand new for $12000. The boat hull is the same as the Quintrex Busta but I liked the price and I like Suzuki's.
Found the main ramp at fingal head this morning and it was full with no parking spots and luckily I did not have a boat as yet so it is a bit of a hard one to work out when it is right to use like today was but it is a good ramp as you said and even the kennedy drive one was full yet I bought some prawns off the trawler who said the weather was not good and he was the only trawler out there but he made a killing as had at least 50 plus people lined up to buy from him and had plenty of prawns and bugs to supply and good luck to him as not an easy life.
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