Beginner’s Guide: Ulladulla to Burrill Lake by Gary Brown

Ulladulla makes a great base for exploring local natural attractions such as Morton National Park, Lake Conjola to the north and Lake Burrill to the south. Nearby Meroo National Park has a beautiful coastline with access 5km from Ulladulla. An easy, 2km walking track passes through native flora in the South Pacific Heathland Reserve and onward, providing access to great views from Warden Head Lighthouse.

You can learn to surf here, go fishing, swimming and hiking. Local dive operators will show you the best of the underwater world in the crystal clear waters off the coast. Deep sea charters are also available, as well as whale-watching tours during the annual migration season. Eating fish and chips fresh from the Fishermen's Co-op on the wharf at Ulladulla Harbour is a popular pastime for locals and visitors alike.

Mollymook Beach to the north is a fabulous 2km stretch of golden sand between Bannister Point and the southern headland where Mollymook Golf Club is located.

The scenically beautiful township of Burrill Lake is located 5km south of Ulladulla, situated between the beach and the lake. Surrounded by natural bushland, its unspoilt beauty provides excellent fishing spots and safe boating, sailing and windsurfing. Boats, canoes, skis and kayaks are available for hire. Most of its shores retain their natural bushland and forest cover, and views west across the lake to Pigeon House Mountain create a beautiful natural setting.

The Princes Highway crosses the eastern arm of the lake only meters from the sea, but the lake's main expanse reaches inland almost to the town of Milton, and cannot be seen from the highway.

1. Mollymook Beach

Mollymook Beach is located a few minutes north of Ulladulla and produces whiting and bream during the warmer months of the year, with the best baits being live beach worms and pipis. Autumn will see the salmon and tailor start to come in during those low light periods of early morning and late in the afternoon. The best baits are whole pilchards and garfish.

If you find that you are getting bites and the pilchards are getting chewed up, try changing from a set of ganged hooks to a single 1/0 and half a pilchard and you will be in with a chance of either a bream or trevally.

For the boat angler you could try trolling parallel to the surf and around the front of the north and south headland for kingfish, bonito, salmon and tailor. Sand flathead are also an option from the 25-40m depth.

2. The Golf Course

This is another headland that's worth trolling parallel with for kingfish, bonito, salmon and tailor. Sand flathead are also an option from the 25-40m depth. Out wider on the broken shell and reef are you are in with a good chance of picking up a morwong, snapper, leatherjackets or pigfish on a paternoster rig.

3. Ulladulla Head

If you drive out to the lookout at Warden Head you will be able to park the car and walk down to the rock shelf below. Care does need to be taken when doing so. Once down here you can target bream, trevally, salmon, tailor, leatherjackets, drummer and luderick.