The Onk, as it is known to us locals holds some good size Bream, Redfin and Trout, if you know where to look and when to go.

The Onk, or Onkaparinga River, which is its proper name, runs through the southern suburbs of Adelaide to the sea at Port Noarlunga, not really a port, not anymore anyway.  It's a tidal river well up into the township of old Noarlunga, where a low concrete wall separates the fresh water from the salt, so here with this small river we have the best of both worlds ... salt and fresh.  Upstream the fresh water is held in large pools or ponds and in those pools can be found redfin and some nice size trout.  They have of course been fished a fair bit and those fish that haven't been caught yet are very hook shy, but a little planning can provide some great fishing.

Fresh Water
Redfin Perch (Redfin) bite well on small lures.  Small lures with a splash of red on them seem to work well and so do something with a bit of action.  My personal choice is a blade spinning lure with a red feather on it.  As for the trout, well I like to swoff a fly or two around - any small fly wet or dry seems to do the trick because of the bush that's so close to the river.  There are a lot of insects falling into the water all the time, but I guess it's a case, like anything, of matching the hatch and just seeing what's floating around at the time.

To get to the fresh water there is a car park behind the Old Noarlunga Hotel where you can leave the car but it's on foot after that.  There's a pretty good walking path part of the way, but it does get tough going once you enter the gorge where some of the bigger pools are.  Look out for snakes in the summer time and take plenty of water to drink, even though it's fresh upstream I wouldn't be in line to drink it! 

Salt Water
Now we come to the salt water section of the river, which winds its way to the sea through some very easy country to get to.  In the salt section of the river some nice bream can be found and school mulloway too.  Perry’s bend, a spot where the river gets a little deeper holds some nice fish from time to time and is a favourite spot for the locals to fish, very easy to find, as a big section of the river runs along River Road (of course), in fact anywhere you want to stop and toss in a line you'll most probably get a bite. 

If you're looking for some of the good size bream that hide in the river try the road bridge on Main South Road, a bit snaggy so look to losing the odd rig or two but it's not too bad, anywhere with a bit of structure or sub surface snags will hold good fish.

I like to fish light, around 4 kilo max and even a bit lighter if you can get away with it.  A nice flicky rod and small spinning reel would complete any outfit I'd use on this water, even in the fresh water sections because it's not a wide river and you don't need to cast far.

There are many good spots to fish for bream in this river like the back of the local football oval and another spot is near the playground at the park, but be careful here as the bank can be very slippery.  In this spot any small bream lure is worth a try and as for bait, shrimp is the go.  It seems to be the main bait fished in this river.  I've had most of my luck using shrimp bait when I’m not using a lure or fly.

A final word of warning, although I know people who do, I don't eat any of the fish I catch in this river.  This river runs through some farm country and a small village before it hits the sea, I'm not saying not to eat the fish but I don't take the chance, I just fish catch and release.  Just a word of warning....