City Beach Groyne

City Beach Groyne has been a Perth fishing institution for generations. The groyne creates a defined break in the surf that concentrates bait and creates ambush points for tailor and herring. The reef system running offshore adds structure that most flat beaches lack, and the Floreat Drain nearby washes nutrients into the surf zone.

Fish the seam where turbulent water from the groyne meets cleaner water — that transition zone is where fish sit in ambush. Cast metals or pilchards along the groyne edge and work them through the wash. Tailor patrol the groyne edges aggressively after dark — and 7pm to 5am (6am on the Floreat groyne) is the only window the local law allows on the groyne anyway. The Floreat Drain outflow attracts bait when it's running after rain.

Tailor (the groyne's bread and butter, autumn after dark), herring (year-round), KGW and sand whiting (clean sand patches), tarwhine, snook on jigs in the last of the light after 7pm in summer, and mulloway at night in the deeper sections.

Town of Cambridge local law bans fishing on the City Beach groyne (and 50m south of it) from 5am to 7pm, on the Floreat groyne (and 50m north of it) from 6am to 7pm, and on the swimming beach between them at any time — this is a night-only groyne, and a pre-dawn start has to wrap up by 5am (6am on the Floreat groyne). Keep casts controlled around other anglers and swimmers. Don't leave bait on the rocks.

Sealed car park at City Beach Reserve immediately behind the groyne, with overflow on Challenger Parade. Sealed paths from car park to the upper beach and groyne base — partial mobility access onto the upper limestone steps; the productive lower rocks are not accessible. Public toilets, beach showers, cafes and a kiosk in season at the main reserve. No formal lighting on the groyne; head torch needed for the night sessions the local law allows. Parking fills on summer weekends.

West-facing groyne fully exposed to incoming SW swell. Fishes well in swell up to about 1.5–2m; above that the lower rocks wash and the spot becomes unsafe. Land breeze keeps it fishable until the seabreeze swings round; afternoon Fremantle Doctor blows directly onshore. Salmon runs in autumn coincide with cleaner-water easterly mornings. Water clarity around the outflow can be turbid; further along the beach it's typically clear outside winter storms.

Wet limestone is slippery — watch your footing on the groyne, especially at night. Big swell sets can wash the lower rocks; never commit to a low ledge without watching the swell first. Boat traffic and surf craft pass close to the wash; keep long casts clear. Bluebottles drift in during summer northerlies. Sharks transit the area but have not historically affected fishing safety. Patrolled swimming hours apply in summer; don't fish swim zones.

Yes. Under Town of Cambridge local law, fishing is banned on the City Beach groyne and within 50m south of it from 5am to 7pm, on the Floreat groyne and within 50m north of it from 6am to 7pm, and at any time on the swimming beach between the two groynes. That leaves the groynes legal only between 7pm and 5am (6am on the Floreat groyne). Check the council's fishing area map and the signage before setting up.

March through June, with the strongest interception sessions in April–May. Salmon hug the coast and the groynes are known interception points, but both groynes are closed to fishing from early morning until 7pm, so daylight sessions have to come off the open beach beyond the 50m zones — south of the City Beach groyne or north of the Floreat groyne, never the swimming beach between them. Run-and-gun with 30–40g metals on a fast retrieve across the seam where wash meets clean water.

Yes in manageable swell (under about 1.5m) with grippy footwear and time spent watching sets before committing to a low rock. In bigger swell it gets risky — choose a sheltered alternative. The groyne is only legal to fish from 7pm to 5am (6am on the Floreat groyne), so walk it in daylight first to learn the footing before fishing it in the dark.

Ganged-hook mulies on a running sinker rig fished close to the groyne edge, or 30–40g metals worked across the seam. Fishing on the groyne is legal only from 7pm to 5am (6am on the Floreat groyne) under Town of Cambridge local law, so the first hours of darkness on a moving tide are the window.