Mooney Mooney to Bar Point: Hawkesbury boat fishing
This reach rewards a change of presentation as you move upriver. Mooney Mooney Creek has shallow-bank drifts and rising-water bream edges. The road bridges put structure in strong flow. The Vines has a deep channel close to the bank, while the water around Milson Island and Bar Point gives flathead and mulloway their own fishing plans.
This guide covers Mooney Mooney Creek's entrance, the main-river road bridges and water upriver to Bar Point. The railway bridge belongs to the separate Brooklyn and Dangar guide.
Choose the water before setting the rig
Use the tide prediction to plan the session, then watch the current where you intend to fish. An eddy beside a pylon or bank can turn differently from the main flow. Floating debris, the boat's drift and the angle of the line tell you which way the bait is actually travelling; a published high or low water time does not fix the turn at every bank.
Compare all areas and methods
| Ground | Water and tide to look for | Starting presentation |
|---|---|---|
| Mooney Mooney Creek | Falling water at the entrance; rising water beside lease edges | Worm or nipper drift over clean bottom; stronger trace near structure |
| Cow Rock | Deep water beside the Sydney bank above the bridges | Smaller-tide rock-edge fishing; keep the wider sand separate |
| Road bridges | Pylon faces and down-tide eddies | A bait carried towards structure, or a separately controlled eddy presentation |
| The Vines | Deep channel against a long shore; quieter parts of the tide | Fresh bream baits or a controlled lure pass; weed deeper for luderick |
| Parramatta wreck | Shoreline landmark beside wider channel water | Quiet bream presentation clear of the protected hull; separate channel drift |
| Milson Island and Prickly Point | Western passage, point water and deeper holes | Flathead drift or a controlled live bait where traffic and current permit |
| Bar Point | Channel edge and early run-out | Small-bait or lure drift; a separate mulloway outfit |
Prepare for light fishing and deeper water
Prepare the light running rig, a plastic outfit and the deeper bait rig separately. These starting setups draw on the official Hawkesbury guide and our technique guides. The line and leader guide explains the connection and abrasion checks.
Bream and creek-mouth sand baits
Start with a 2–5 kg, roughly 6–7 ft estuary rod, a 2500–3000 reel and 3 kg braid or mono. The running rig is a small ball sinker above a rolling swivel, then 30–50 cm of 3–6 kg leader and a size 2 non-offset circle for a nipper or small prawn. Carry size 1–1/0 for larger bream baits. In gentle shallow water, try unweighted or a 00 ball. Choose the stronger trace beside Mooney's abrasive lease edges, without casting into the leases. At the Vines' deeper bank, add only enough lead to get the bait down and keep it travelling along the edge. Wind into a circle-hook bite.
Bottom-working flathead plastics
Use a 2–5 kg rod, 2500–3000 reel and 6–12 lb braid, with about a rod length of 5–8 kg abrasion-resistant leader. Tie the jighead directly to that leader. A straight 3–4 inch plastic on a strong 2/0 hook is a starting choice; match the hook's length and gape to the particular body. Carry 3.5–7 g for the creek's gentler shallows and 7–21 g choices for deeper channel edges. Test whether you can feel each descent and bottom touch. A persistent belly in the line calls for a shorter controlled pass or another weight, rather than paying out more line. Our braid range includes a 12 lb option for this outfit. See the flathead guide for rigging and retrieve.
Whole squid or live bait for mulloway
A roughly 2.1 m, 8–15 kg rod and a 4000–8000 reel with 15 kg braid are a starting bait outfit. Run a sinker above a rolling swivel, followed by 60–90 cm of 25 kg fluorocarbon leader and a 5/0–8/0 non-offset circle. Size the hook to the whole squid or legal live bait, keeping its gape clear. Use the smallest sinker that holds the intended depth. A quieter part of the run needs less than open main-channel flow. If a heavier sinker only pins the rig into rough structure, change the position or wait for more manageable water. Let the circle load under steady winding.
For a deliberate mulloway lure session, the official guide instead starts with a 2.1 m, 3–6 kg rod, 3000–4000 reel, 5–10 kg braid and 8–15 kg leader. A 100–150 mm plastic belongs on that outfit, with a hook matched to its body and enough jighead weight to work the chosen depth. Keep it separate from the small flathead-plastic setup above.
A weed float beside the Vines bank
An 8 ft light rod, 3000 reel and 3 kg braid give a manageable float outfit. Rig a stopper and sliding float above small sinkers or shot, then a micro swivel, about 70 cm of 3 kg fluorocarbon and a size 8 ringed Sneck hook. Add lawful weed and balance the float to show its tip. The historical Vines account starts the weed around 4–5 m down; adjust to the measured depth and feeding response, keeping it clear of rock. Boat movement and line belly can pull the weed up or away even when the stopper has not moved. The Blackfish Combo with floats and rigs is a suitable shop option for that separate float job.
Check leaders after contact with rock or oysters and carry replacements. A float drifting freely beside the bank and a bottom bait carrying more lead are different presentations, even when they target the same stretch.
Fresh nippers, worms and prawns cover much of the small-bait fishing. Fish strips add a useful bream option, while a fresh whole squid or legal live bait suits the larger outfit. Keep bait cool and prepare leaders before the useful part of the tide. The berley guide explains how to get a modest trail through the same water as the bait.
Lures earn their place as well. Dean's January 2018 Hawkesbury report included bream on a cicada imitation. Keep a few small lures available for a lighter edge session, as well as the bottom-working plastics for deeper water.
Mooney Mooney and the road bridges
Mooney Mooney Creek: falling-water drifts and rising-water bream
The entrance gives you a summer drift for flathead, flounder and whiting. Falling water, an early start and worm or nipper baits are the traditional combination. Make a short trial drift over the clean edge and adjust the sinker so you can feel the bottom. Reposition when the line starts trailing too far behind the boat.
Farther into the creek, the edges of shallow mud and sandbanks give bream their own feeding lane. The deeper holes are a separate mulloway possibility. Work the depth and bottom you have found, keeping the boat's draft and the falling tide in mind before extending the trip into shallower water.
The lease country near the entrance calls for a different bream approach. Rising water and autumn fish feature in its history, with crab, nipper or worm baits and a stronger trace around abrasive structure. Keep vessel, wash and tackle clear of the leases; they are working structures, not something to tie to or cast through.
If collecting bait, note the Mooney Mooney Creek net closure upstream of the Pacific Highway bridge over the creek. All nets except landing nets are prohibited there from 6 pm Friday to 6 pm Sunday, extended to 6 pm Monday when Monday is a public holiday. Line fishing remains available under its normal rules. The boundary is at the creek's Pacific Highway bridge.
Cow Rock and the upstream Sydney bank
Cow Rock is the historical name for a distinctive rock on the Sydney bank just upstream of the road bridges. A later local map uses Crow Rock, with a different distance from the bridge, so use the broad bank reference rather than a precise rock mark. The useful fishing distinction is deep water beside rock, with a separate wider-water option for whiting and other sand-edge fish. Smaller tides and the quieter periods of flow make the close edge easier to work.
Bream baits can be drifted along that edge, or fished with a berley trail from a lawful stationary position. Luderick need a closer, controlled weed drift on the run-out. Adjust the float for the actual depth and retrieve before it pulls into the rock. Take the luderick outfit if that is the intended session.
The nearby bridge and cable areas govern where the boat can be held or anchored. Check the chart and signs before settling in. If the current carries the small bait away from the edge too quickly, choose quieter water instead of sending a heavier rig into the same snag.
The road bridges: two different bait paths
These are the M1 Hawkesbury River road bridge and Peats Ferry Bridge, not the railway bridge farther downstream. Their structure and strong tidal flow explain the long mulloway history, but there are two different ways to use that structure.
From a lawful position up-current and clear of traffic, a bait can be carried back towards a pylon face. The other approach uses the quieter eddy on the down-tide side. Those are different positions. The down-tide face changes with the flow, so watch the water at the individual pylon before deciding where the bait will travel.
Fish near the slower part of the tide if that is what lets you keep control. A whole squid or suitable fish bait on the heavier outfit is the mulloway approach. A compact nipper or prawn bait on a separate rig gives bream a better presentation. Abrasion resistance matters, but it does not make a line across the navigation channel acceptable.
The narrow water between the bridges has a history of close bream fishing around northern-side structure. Treat today's cable areas, signs, traffic and working room as the starting conditions. If those leave no workable position, move to a clear bank edge rather than forcing a bridge session.
The Vines and the Parramatta shoreline
The Vines: a long bank beside deep water
The Vines is the shoreline upriver from Peat Island, opposite Milson Island. It is a stretch of water, with the main channel close against the bank. Find a clean presentation along that edge rather than treating the name as one fixed hole.
The quieter top of the run-in and last of the run-out make the strong flow more manageable. Bream have a long February-to-July history here, by day and night. Fresh worms, nippers, prawns or a compact fish bait can be drifted beside the bank. From a lawful anchored position, keep the berley and bait travelling through the same lane.
Watch the sounder and line together. If the bait moves from the bank into much deeper water, reset the drift or adjust the weight before it trails behind unnoticed. A controlled soft-plastic pass is another way to search the edge. The aim is a bait or lure working through the useful depth, not a long cast followed by guesswork.
Luderick need a different rig. Start the weed presentation about 4–5 m down where the actual depth permits, then adjust the float to the fish and keep the bait clear of the bottom. A small bait drifting over sand farther out is doing another job.
Parramatta: fish beside the protected wreck
The visible hulk in Cascade Gully is the former HMAS Parramatta (I), wrecked here in 1934. It is on the northern riverbank near Milson Island. This is a shoreline wreck and adjacent channel-water session, not a submerged offshore wreck dive.
The bream approach is quiet and lightly weighted, with fresh nipper, worm or small fish offerings near the adjoining edge on rising water. Give the bait time to settle while keeping it clear of the hull. Late afternoon into evening has a strong place in the local fishing history.
The wreck is protected. Keep anchors, hooks and retrieval gear clear of its fabric; do not climb on it or remove anything.
Farther out is a separate channel drift for flathead, flounder and other estuary fish. Sound the bottom, establish a short controllable pass and keep the boat and lines out of the navigation lane. The lighter bottom-fishing outfit is useful here even when the larger bait has produced nothing.
Milson Island, Prickly Point and Bar Point
Milson Island: the western point and channel
The western steps and their run-in eddy have a history of bream and luderick fishing from the island shore. That account does not establish the same presentation from a boat. Landing needs arrangements with the centre, so the steps are not a casual public fishing stop.
For a boat session, the deeper water outside the western end is the separate flathead option. Around two hours after the run-out begins is the historical window to test. Use it to plan a look, then judge the local current, depth and bottom before choosing the drift.
There is also a broader run-in drift between the Milson and Bar Island reaches for flathead, flounder and occasional whiting. This is a different tide and a wider channel session from the early run-out flathead water outside the western end. Start with a short pass through the depth you can fish, then repeat useful water without drifting onto a shallow bank or through moorings.
Arrange island access with the centre before planning to go ashore. That landing arrangement is separate from fishing the surrounding water by boat.
Prickly Point: a deeper passage option
Prickly Point is on the mainland shore beside Milsons Passage, west of Milson Island. The historical fishing account describes a deeper-hole option for mulloway and flathead here. Find any fishable depression with the sounder; the point's name does not locate the hole. The run-in through the passage is the favoured historical movement, with dawn or dusk useful for a substantial bait.
Use a fresh whole squid, legal live bait or well-presented fish bait on the heavier outfit where the current and working room allow. Keep the bait in the intended depth without allowing the boat to block the passage. A worm or nipper bait on the lighter rod offers flathead, flounder and whiting in more manageable water beside the deeper flow.
Bar Point: a channel edge and a change to drifting
The Bar Point corner and deep channel edge have a summer history of bream, flathead and mulloway. The Caves is an older name used for this reach. Early morning or late afternoon usually leaves more room to fish than the middle of a busy boating day. Position outside the navigation channel and keep the bait on the chosen edge.
When stationary fishing becomes awkward, the early run-out offers a drift from the Bar Point reach towards Prickly. Assess it with the chart and sounder, then start with a short pass using worms, nippers, fresh prawns or a small fish bait. A soft plastic gives you another bottom-working option. Adjust the weight or reset when the line angle stops telling you what the lure is doing.
Steve's March 2018 report put Alex onto a mulloway with a soft plastic at Bar Point. The photograph is a useful reminder to leave room for a lure outfit alongside the bait gear.
Two sessions to suit the water
A summer morning with falling water at Mooney Mooney Creek: start with a short entrance drift for flathead, flounder and whiting, using a worm or nipper on the light bottom rig. Keep enough weight to feel the clean bottom. If wind and tide make the line trail well behind the boat, reset and adjust the weight before repeating. The rising-water bream fishing beside the lease edges is another session; it is not a reason to drag the falling-water drift through the leases.
Quieter water along The Vines: use the top of the run-in or last of the run-out to fish a compact fresh bream bait beside the deep bank. From a lawful stationary position, feed a modest berley trail and place the bait in the same lane. Watch for the bait being swept out into deeper water as the flow strengthens. Reset its depth or position while you still have control; change grounds when that presentation stops working. A luderick session here needs its own weed float set for the deeper presentation, rather than a weed bait added to the bottom rig.
Launching and a practical boat note
Deerubbun Reserve, off Peats Ferry Road at Mooney Mooney, has a public ramp, parking, toilets and picnic facilities. Read current signs and assess the ramp and water depth for your boat. If hiring, check the operator's permitted area and methods before planning to enter a creek or work bridge water.
Rvee and friends made their first hired-tinny outing at Mooney Mooney in February 2018 and reported bream and a flathead. They also learnt how easily an anchor can become entangled with a marker. Keep the boat's handling and anchoring arrangements as deliberate as the fishing rig.
A practical boat note: keep the navigation channel, working wharves and mooring access clear. Under the current anchoring rules, do not anchor within 200 m of underwater cables. Carry the boating chart, watch the wash of other craft and leave enough room to stop or retrieve a rig without drifting into trouble. Wear a lifejacket and carry the safety equipment required for the boat and water; small-powerboat wearing rules include night or solo use on enclosed waters and all use on open waters for boats up to 4.8 m.
Bring lawfully sourced bait and keep the boat, wash and tackle clear of oyster leases. Permitted methods and current limits apply to bait as well as retained fish. Mulloway have a 70 cm minimum and a daily bag of one per person, with a two-fish boat limit when two or more fishers are aboard. Pay the NSW fishing fee unless exempt and carry proof.
For the railway bridge and island water downstream, use Brooklyn and Dangar Island. For the entrance reef, points and eddies, use Flint and Steel to Juno. The Lower Hawkesbury shore guide covers fishing after arriving ashore.