Fishing Merimbula & Pambula
General fishing in Merimbula & Pambula benefits from massive tidal flushes that move enormous quantities of baitfish through the river mouths twice daily. The local bar conditions at the entrance of Merimbula Lake are highly dynamic, requiring caution, while Pambula Lake offers a slightly more sheltered option. Optimal ocean temperatures during summer trigger active migrations of kingfish and tuna close to the headlands.
Land-based anglers have an incredible range of options, from the famous Merimbula Aquarium Wharf to the shallow sand flats of the Top Lake. Wading the clean sandbars for dusky flathead and yellowfin whiting is a highly visual and rewarding challenge that requires significant stealth. Surf fishers can also target deep beach gutters along the main coast for salmon and tailor.
Offshore and boat fishing is supported by excellent infrastructure, including the modern, dual-lane Merimbula Boat Ramp. Vessel crews can quickly access productive inshore reef systems like Haycock Reef and Hunter Rock for snapper, morwong, and kingfish. During the peak summer seasons, game boats venture past the bays to fish the wide continental shelf for marlin and tuna.
Top 10 Species
Landbased
- Merimbula Aquarium Wharf: This deep-water structure is brilliant for chasing silver trevally, squid, and luderick right in the heart of the township. A long-handled landing net is highly recommended as the main fishing deck sits roughly 3 metres above the water line. You can reliably catch fresh squid at night under the wharf lights using standard jigs actively worked in the current.
- Merimbula Main Beach: This expansive stretch of sand yields fantastic catches of salmon, tailor, and whiting throughout the entire year. Fish the deeper gutters early in the morning or late in the afternoon with pilchards or live beach worms. A medium-heavy surf rod is absolutely required to cast your baits firmly beyond the aggressive shore break.
- Pambula River Mouth: This is an excellent spot for flathead and tailor, particularly fishing around the turbulent tide changes. Try actively working paddle-tail soft plastics along the sandy drop-offs exactly as the tide begins to run out. Bream will also aggressively take lightly weighted baits like nippers or prawns when naturally drifted through the main channel.
- Mitchies Jetty: This is an incredibly safe and productive spot to fish with kids on a light tackle setup for bream and flathead. Cast towards the deeper channel on a fast-incoming tide using fresh natural baits or small diving hardbody lures. The sandy flats directly surrounding the jetty are perfect for wading and flicking small surface lures for aggressive whiting.
- Pambula Lake Broadwater: Anglers should focus their efforts on the sandy banks and tea-tree lined edges for quality bream and flathead. Cast shallow diving lures or completely unweighted baits tight towards the mangrove roots during the peak of the high tide. Wade out onto the shallow sandbars when the tide drops to aggressively target cruising whiting with surface poppers.
Offshore
- Haycock Reef: Situated just south of Pambula, this excellent reef system holds fantastic numbers of snapper and morwong in 30 to 40 metres of water. Anchoring up and deploying a consistent berley trail will effectively bring the feeding fish higher up into the water column. Drifting over the broken ground with heavily weighted soft plastics on a 5-8kg outfit also works incredibly well for targeting larger solitary snapper.
- Hunter Rock: Located roughly one kilometre north of Haycock Point, this is a prime offshore location for targeting pelagic species like kingfish and salmon. Trolling deep-diving minnows or casting large metal slices around the wash zones during the early morning yields the absolute best results. It is also a highly renowned spot for vertically jigging the deeper ledges for resident kingfish during the peak summer months.
- Merimbula Bay Artificial Reef: Sitting directly in the middle of Merimbula Bay, this man-made structure attracts an incredible variety of baitfish and larger predators. It is an excellent spot to target silver trevally and snapper on light 3-6kg tackle by drifting lightly weighted baits into the structure. Slow trolling live yakkas around the outer edges of the reef can also yield solid kingfish and mulloway on favorable tides.
- Tathra Wide Canyon: This deep water drop-off is relentlessly targeted by game fishing crews chasing yellowfin tuna and marlin wide of the Merimbula coastline. Trolling a spread of skirted lures during the summer months is highly productive when the warm East Australian Current pushes down the coast. Cubing with pilchards on heavy 24kg game tackle is another highly effective tactic for large tuna when the water temperatures stabilise.
- Long Point Gutters: This highly productive broken reef ground is located north of Merimbula and holds excellent numbers of snapper, nannygai, and leatherjackets. Drift fishing with standard paternoster rigs baited with fresh squid or pilchards is the most effective approach for securing table fish. Anglers must keep a close eye on their sounder to locate the small pinnacles and bait schools that successfully concentrate the feeding fish.
Hot Spots
- Short Point: This legendary rock fishing spot consistently yields huge drummer and tailor directly in the sudsy wash.
- Severs Beach: This beautifully remote estuarine beach in Pambula is absolutely perfect for light tackle flathead spinning on foot.
- Back Lagoon: This pristine shallow lagoon in Merimbula is perfectly suited for quietly stalking yellowfin bream on the fly.
- Pambula River Bridge: The deep water pylons hold excellent numbers of bream, luderick, and the occasional jewfish after dark.
- Merimbula Top Lake: The shallow weed beds inside the lake are premium territory for trophy dusky flathead on soft plastics.
Local Bait Tips
- Beach Worms: Pulling fresh beach worms from the intertidal sands of Merimbula Main Beach is a highly rewarding way to secure bait. You should use a worming bait to draw them to the surface and carefully pinch them behind the head before they retreat.
- Lake Nippers: You can manually pump for live nippers on the exposed sandflats of Pambula Lake or Merimbula Lake during the bottom of the tide. Keep in mind that while cast nets are completely prohibited in NSW, and enclosed traps are subject to strict regulations (though specifically approved gear like poddy mullet traps are legal), you will need to rely on hand-pumping or standard scoop nets for your bait collection.
- Live Slimy Mackerel: Catching slimy mackerel can be achieved around the edges of the Merimbula Bay reefs using a small bait jig. These should be kept in a well-aerated live bait tank to ensure they remain active when deployed.
Boat Ramps
- Merimbula Boat Ramp:
Merimbula Boat Ramp: Located off Arthur Kaine Drive (near 8 Arthur Kaine Drive) on the southern shore of Merimbula Lake, this major facility is managed by Bega Valley Shire Council and provides access to the lake and ocean. It features a grooved reinforced concrete three-lane ramp with a concrete launching pad serviced by an FRP boarding pontoon. Boaters face complex navigation through the shallow, tide-dependent channels of Merimbula Lake (prone to shifting sand shoals) and must cross the hazardous Merimbula ocean bar. Onsite facilities include an extensive sealed and grassed trailer parking area next to the airport boundary fence, public toilets, waste bins, and a separate fish cleaning pontoon located in the lake.
- Merimbula Top Lake Boat Ramp:
Merimbula Top Lake Boat Ramp: Positioned off Lakewood Drive (68 Lakewood Drive) within the Top Lake foreshore area in Merimbula, this facility is managed by Bega Valley Shire Council and is restricted exclusively to launching non-motorized craft like kayaks and canoes. It features a small concrete ramp with no staging pontoons, floating walkways, or boarding wharves. The shoreline is extremely shallow and susceptible to shoaling, and there is zero trailer parking permitted on-site (car parking only, utilizing a portion of the carpark for launching). Amenities include public toilets located opposite the parking area and rubbish bins.
- Pambula Lake Boat Ramp:
Pambula Lake Boat Ramp: Positioned at the end of Landing Road in Broadwater/South Pambula, this major facility is managed by Bega Valley Shire Council and provides access to the lake and open ocean. It features a grooved reinforced concrete dual-lane ramp with concrete pavement launching serviced by a modern concrete floating pontoon. Boaters must navigate the shallow, tide-affected estuarine channels of Pambula Lake and the sandbars at the river mouth. Onsite infrastructure is extensive, featuring a sealed, terraced trailer parking area above the ramp, public toilets in the parking area, a fish cleaning table adjacent to the ramp, and rubbish bins.
Bait and Tackle
- Boss Outdoor Merimbula: 3 Market St, Merimbula NSW 2548 | Phone: (02) 6495 3985
- Tackle World Merimbula: 45 Market St, Merimbula NSW 2548 | Phone: (02) 6495 1681
- Pambula Mitre 10: 10 Toallo St, Pambula NSW 2549 | Phone: (02) 6495 8000
- United Petroleum Pambula (After-Hours): 1 Arthur Kaine Dr, Merimbula NSW 2548 | Phone: (02) 6495 2222
Basecamp & Accom
- Discovery Parks - Pambula Beach: 1 Pambula Beach Rd, Pambula Beach NSW 2549 | Phone: (02) 6495 6363
- NRMA Merimbula Beach Holiday Resort: 2 Short Point Rd, Merimbula NSW 2548 | Phone: (02) 6495 1216
- Merimbula Beach Cabins: 1 Short Point Rd, Merimbula NSW 2548 | Phone: (02) 6495 1216
Emergency & Safety
- Emergency: 000 | Marine Rescue Merimbula, Merimbula Lake Entrance, Merimbula NSW 2548 | Phone: (02) 6495 1502 | VHF: Channel 16
