The Hunter River winds through the heart of New South Wales' Hunter Valley, flowing from its headwaters in the Great Dividing Range down through the Maitland region before emptying into the sea near Newcastle. This is a dynamic river system that transitions from freshwater environments in its upper reaches to tidal and estuarine conditions closer to the coast, creating a diverse range of habitats that support a surprisingly varied mix of fish species. The river's connectivity to Port Stephens and coastal waters means that saltwater species regularly push well upstream into the tidal reaches, making the lower Hunter a genuinely mixed fishery where freshwater and marine species can be encountered in the same session.