Situated in the Upper reaches of the Nepean river near Menangle, Douglas Park is well known to most Kayak angler's who love to chase Australian Bass. Tucked away at the bottom of a steep gorge, this pristine location has for many years been a well kept secret among the "without petrol power" club. Of late there have been many reports in local papers of the effects of underground mining on the river and suggestions that gases are leaking up from the mines into the river. We visited Douglas Park recently and found that many of the fish that were present earlier in the season have either moved on or been scared off by the increase in the number of Angler's who have visited one of the most popular locations for Kayak fishing this summer.

From past experience I can say that the surface bite here is fantastic both morning and night, with Eastcoast's Pop'n'Bugs and Sic-Cada's the first choice when fishing this area. We've also landed some big fish on spinnerbaits and plastics, with 3" Curl Tail or Hawg patterns being our preferred style of plastic here.
Although the biggest I've caught here was only 34cm, I've been here with others who've caught fish in excess of 40cm.

The limited parking and sandy beach entry make this a Kayak only location which normally means bigger fish, less timid fish and more of them.

By
Adam 'Fordy' Ford.