The Hunter is a New South Wales river you can fish all the way down to salt, and the reason to drive to it is Australian bass in its fresh reaches.
Think of it in three parts. At the top are the headwater creeks. Below them is the long run of fresh water where bass and freshwater catfish live. At the bottom the river meets the sea, and the fish list turns salty: sea mullet, bull sharks and mulloway.
Start with bass in the fresh reaches. In our experience the warm months are the time, with a popper or gurgler cast tight to timber at first and last light and a small baitfish fly once the sun is up. No rule specific to the Hunter was found for bass, so check the current NSW freshwater guide for the limits and any seasonal protection before you keep one.
The second trip is the deep lower river for mulloway, and it is one for the patient. Young hatchery-reared mulloway tracked in the Hunter preferred deep water to the wetland creeks, so a heavy fly on a fast-sinking line along the deepest holes is the plan. The public boat ramps on the access card are the way in, and the NSW saltwater guide is where to check for any limits.
Do not drive to the top of the river expecting trout: they are not among the fish recorded in the river. Go up there to explore, with a bass rod as a backup, and check the current NSW guide for any trout rules before you fish it.
Open the access card, pick a site in the fresh reaches, and take a box of surface flies.
Water and habitat
The Hunter changes character from top to bottom. Through the fresh reaches it is bass water. In our experience bass hold on fallen timber, undercut banks, rock bars and the mouths of side creeks, and the shaded side of a snag is the place to look through the middle of the day. The flow chart shows how often the river runs high or low, which is a better guide to a normal day than any single reading.
In the lower river the water turns tidal and the fish follow the depth. Young mulloway tracked in the Hunter preferred deep water to the wetland creeks along its edges, and in our experience that holds for most bigger fish in a tidal river: the holes and steep edges matter more than the shallows.
Fish and forage
The freshwater fish that matter to a fly angler are Australian bass and freshwater catfish. Longfin and shortfin eels are recorded too, along with European carp, which will take a small nymph or a drab wet fly in slow water if you are patient.
The small fish recorded in the river tell you what bass eat: Australian smelt, gudgeons of several kinds, freshwater herring, Port Jackson glassfish, gobies and galaxias. That points to small, pale or olive baitfish a few centimetres long, and a size 4 to 8 Clouser-style fly in olive, grey or white covers most of it.
In the lower river, sea mullet, goldspot mullet and diamondscale mullet are recorded alongside the mulloway, and bull sharks have been recorded as well. For mulloway, scale the baitfish idea up to a large, heavy fly with a big profile and plenty of movement.
When to fish it
In our experience bass fish best from late spring through summer into early autumn. Surface flies work at dawn and dusk on warm days, and a hot, still evening is a good bet. Once the water cools the fish go deeper and slower, so fish a weighted fly close to the bottom along the snags.
Mulloway are more about the water than the calendar. In our experience they feed best around the slack water at a tide change, so plan a lower-river session around the tide rather than the clock.
How to fish it
For bass, a six or seven weight with a floating line and a short, stout leader does most of the work. Cast tight to structure, because a fly that lands a metre off the snag is a fly the fish did not see. Work a surface fly with long pauses in low light, then switch to a small weighted baitfish fly on an intermediate line through the day and strip it past the timber with short, uneven pulls.
For mulloway, step up to an eight or nine weight and a fast-sinking line, and treat depth control as the whole game. Count the fly down until it touches bottom, then retrieve slowly with pauses along the edge of a hole. Expect long stretches of nothing and tie the fly on a strong hook.
Handle every fish with wet hands and keep it in the water for the photo. Freshwater catfish and mullet are not usual fly targets, and in our experience a catfish taken on a bass fly is best released quickly and carefully.
Access and safety
The access card shows the angler access sites along the river and the public boat ramps. Use it to choose a starting point for the part of the river you plan to fish; the card describes where the sites are, and signs at each one are the word on what is allowed.
As on any river that runs down to the sea, wear a life jacket in a kayak or small boat, carry a way to call for help, and keep an eye on the tide if you fish the lower river. As in any estuary on this coast, stay out of murky tidal water when you wade, especially around dawn and dusk.
Regulations
No water-specific bag, size or season rule for bass or mulloway was found for the Hunter. Check the current NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development freshwater and saltwater fishing guides for each species you are after before you fish.
For the upper river's trout water, check the current NSW guide's trout-water and closed-water lists too. Read the current NSW fishing rules and regulations for the dates and limits, and confirm the recreational fishing fee before you go.
