Lake Cathie – A whiting angler’s gem by Mark Saxon

Lake Cathie (pronounced 'cat-eye'), a small town with a population of 2000 people, is located approximately 15 minutes south of Port Macquarie on the mid north coast of NSW. Lake Cathie is often thought of as being a relaxing, laid-back holiday destination, and that's true. However, the other thing Cathie has is one of the best whiting fisheries I have ever fished.

THE LAKE AND AREA

Lake Cathie is actually the second biggest saltwater marsh area in NSW. Also, Cathie is in a situation where it is open and then closed to the sea on a regularly changing basis, and when the lake is open this shallow waterway is pristine.

The town has great accommodation and a local supermarket centre, takeaway food stores, fuel plus a bowling club that boasts the biggest bowls ball in Australia.

FISHING OPTIONS

The Lake itself boasts a great whiting fishery and you can catch these fish throughout the system pretty easily at times. It also boasts a great prawn run, and is one of the few places around Port Macquarie you can actually go and scoop a feed of prawns. The anglers who use dragnets also can get amongst some good hauls but it is preferable if the lake mouth is closed for this style of prawning, as tidal flow can be hard to drag with or against.

Flathead can be found throughout Lake Cathie as well, and some great fish are landed each year while there are plenty of 36-45cm fish to keep you interested while you're waiting to hook a big girl.

In summer you may find it difficult to fish the eastern side of bridge as this area is a picnicker's delight and a great place for a BBQ and a swim on those warmer days. However, after dark when the crowd has diluted around the road bridge you can sometimes get mulloway, estuary cod (protected so please release), whiting and bream. The favourite bait here after dark is live prawns - if you scoop some and can then part with them! Beachworms and pink nippers are also favourites of the night time brigade.

Cathie Beach down to Middle Rock Beach are both worth a shot if you're keen on doing some beach fishing. The target list is bream, whiting and mulloway, and sometimes you can have some great sport on the salmon (that's mainly in the cooler months though).

For the offshore anglers, out the front of Cathie features some of the best snapper fishing you will ever see. There are many patches of reef from 10m to 40m, and a well worked plastic accounts for a lot of serious fish here each season. If you're heading offshore, Port Macquarie is a bit closer but Laurieton to the south is your other option. Just remember both entrances have bars and need to be monitored before heading out. Watch the weather, know the forecast and if in doubt, don't go out!

LAKE TACTICS AND LURES

Because Lake Cathie is mainly a shallow lake it's ideal for roof toppers, but for me kayaks in this water seriously rock. I run two Hobie kayaks through my charter operation and these were put together specifically for this system. Yes, I can get my boat in and when lake is closed I do. However, with many spots ankle-deep, kayaking makes better sense and is a much stealthier approach in these shallow waters.