GETTING THERE: Windsor is about 1 hour from the GPO.

BEST TIME TO FISH: Year round.

BEST TIME TO TRAVEL: Year round.

MAJOR ANGLING SPECIES: Bass, Estuary Perch.

The Hawkesbury River system is one of the largest and most important coastal catchments on the entire eastern seaboard of Australia. It has played a vital role in the history of this region particularly in the development of the city of Sydney since European settlement at the end of the 18th century.

The Hawkesbury system's numerous and extensive tributaries drain a significant portion of coastal New South Wales. Some rise high in the Blue Mountains, far to the west of Sydney. Others flow down from the Wollemi Valley and Wollemi Plateau to the north and still more from the Southern Tablelands and Wollondilly Valley to the south west.

One arm of the main southern artery of this river system is held back by Warragamba Dam near Wallacia to form Lake Burragorang, which provides much of Sydney's water needs. From here, the Nepean River runs generally north, effectively defining the western limits of Sydney as it flows past Penrith before becoming the Hawkesbury River proper and swinging east around Richmond and Windsor towards the distant sea.

The Hawkesbury River can be divided into two distinct sections. The first of these if the Lower Hawkesbury and the second section is the Upper Hawkesbury from Spencer upstream to at least Windsor or Yarramundi and the junction of the Grose River. Above this, the river is more correctly referred to as the Nepean.

TIDAL INFLUENCES / FRESHWATER

Below Richmond and Windsor, the Hawkesbury is subject to significant tidal influences. By the time it picks up the Colo and MacDonald Rivers and reaches Wisemans Ferry, it is a true estuary, ultimately going on past Spencer and joining with Berowra and Cowan Creeks to form the vast natural harbour known as Broken Bay.

The tidal influence finally begins to wane beyond Windsor until it disappears completely above Richmond. The Tributaries that meet the Hawkesbury offer fantastic Bass Fishing and have remained relatively untouched because of the inaccessibility of the motorboat. It's the experience of just being on the water in areas rarely seen other than on nature documentaries that turn a few hours fishing into a life long memory.

The Hawkesbury River, on the northwestern outskirts of Sydney, has a reputation as the most beautiful river in Australia. Its winding 480 kilometres of waterways have carved out stunning waterscapes.This is an ideal area for exploring by boat or canoe, as the Hawkesbury offers safe anchorages and sheltered coves where walls of wooded hills rise steeply above little bays dotted with boats.