Excited young members of Anna Bay Fishing Club gather at their monthly meeting.
Excited young members of Anna Bay Fishing Club gather at their monthly meeting. Girls champ Hanna Gentile. Boys champ Tyson Andrew. WHAT I enjoy most about this mad game that we call “fishing” is to see the increasing numbers of kids that are becoming involved. In an age where a crowbar is required to lever […]
Early promotion of Port Stephens’ tourism opportunities. Paddle wheeler SS Newcastle at the Nelson Bay wharf with holiday excursionists from Newcastle. I FIND it very interesting to trace the path of the local tourist industry from its very beginnings. It was inevitable that the wider audience would discover the incredible beauty of Port Stephens and […]
AROUND about this time of the year, big mud crabs start to crawl out of their underground burrows and lumber off in search of a feed. It is not well known that muddies bury into the mud and form a “hole” similar to that of a rabbit or wombat. Generally, among the extensive mangrove forests […]
The program includes four free workshops across Port Stephens.
YOUNG people under 18 are being encouraged to cast a line and learn new skills during the spring school holidays with free fishing workshops and a competition. Mayor Leah Anderson said the program is all about giving young people the chance to enjoy the outdoors while learning practical skills and sustainable fishing practices. “Fishing is […]
ORIGINALLY from a fishing family in Tweed Heads, I was amazed when I first arrived in Fingal Bay in 1974, at the fishing and seafood gathering opportunities offered around my new home in Port Stephens. Never had I gathered abalone, which at the time could be found in every underwater crack and crevice from Fingal […]
Luderick are great fun to catch and are underrated in the kitchen.
Luderick are great fun to catch and are underrated in the kitchen. Squid have disappeared. Where have they gone? THIS is the time of year when luderick move northwards along the coastline swimming into the river systems along the way before taking up residence along breakwalls, around bridges and jetties. Huge schools of fish graze […]
Travis Tarrant carries on the fishing tradition.
AS the weather settles down attention returns to the number one targeted species – snapper. Swimming over all the reefs from Seal Rocks south to Birubi cracker snapper are cruising through the deep water and under the white water in less than 10 metres depth. The westerly winds that have persisted over the past few […]
When conditions permitted supplies for the lighthouse were delivered to the island by off loading on the beach.
When conditions permitted supplies for the lighthouse were delivered to the island by off loading on the beach. The Gantry remains a safe place in wild seas. THE Gantry or Government Hole is a small natural cove on Fingal Island protected from the southerly wind and boiling sea. Facing north the waters inside the Gantry […]
The Maslen family on Marsh Road.
THIS is a recollection of growing up on Marsh Road in the 1950s, as told by Patricia Hawkins (nee Maslin). AFTER five years of waiting for building supplies, caused by shortages after World War Two, my father Eric Maslen and mother Doris abandoned their plan of building their house on my grandfather Herbert’s property. They […]
Look closely and you will see ‘Stinkpot’ riding the tide in a protected rock pool. Photo: Rodd Owen.
ON arrival in Fingal Bay I was keen to explore all the fishing options available. Little did I consider that some 50 years later I am still learning all the opportunities that Fingal has to offer. The beach was the most obvious target on an incoming tide about halfway between the Surf Club and the […]
