Target Species

DUSKY FLATHEAD (Birpai: darawang) | year round

Dusky flathead are the most consistent species caught onboard Castaway Estuary Fishing Charters. There is a very healthy population of dusky flathead in the Hastings River with catches of 'croc-sized' (70cm to 90cm+) flathead common. Flathead can be caught on a wide spectrum of lures in the estuaries. Castaway also specialises in targeting big flathead on soft plastics, swimbaits, glidebaits and even surface lures.

MULLOWAY / JEWFISH (djarrawarra) | year round

Mulloway can be found in the Hastings River (and the other Mid North Coast rivers) year round, with most fish encountered measuring between 40cm to about a metre. On Castaway Estuary Fishing Charters, we'll usually target these fish using a range of different lures over the course of a trip. 

YELLOWFIN BREAM (gupirr) | year round

Over the warmer months, we target bream on a variety of surface and hardbody lures along the edges and shallow sections of the Hastings River. During the cooler months, we concentrate on catching bream in the deeper sections of the river using soft plastics, soft vibes and blades.

TAILOR | year round

At times, tailor can be prolific in the estuaries. During summer, there are plenty of small, 'chopper' sized tailor spread throughout the system. As the seasons change, bigger 'greenback' tailor can be caught around schools of whitebait – these bigger fish fight hard on light tackle and can be a lot of fun on surface lures!

WHITING | October - April

Whiting are best targeted from October through to March in the various Mid North Coast estuaries. Surface lures are very effective for tempting whiting on the sandflats, but using a specialised retrieve with small metal blades can also work well at times.

TREVALLY | October - April

Over summer and autumn, various trevally species can be caught in the estuaries. Most often, juvenile big eye, giant and brassy trevally are caught as bycatch while targeting other species. Though, occasionally we will chase down frenzied fish moving through bait schools on the surface. These fish fight hard for their size and often keep us guessing!

LUDERICK / BLACKFISH (garabiyn) | year round

Luderick or blackfish are most commonly caught as bycatch while targeting bream and flathead. That said, we often catch luderick using certain lures around weedbeds and rockbars over the cooler months.

AUSTRALIAN BASS (makurr) | September - May

Australian bass are an iconic, native freshwater fish that we target from September to May in the Hastings, Maria and Macleay rivers. We use a variety of different lures and techniques and all bass fishing is catch and release only on Castaway.