Bass & Flinders Point / Salmon Haul (Cronulla)

Bass & Flinders Point is the southern tip of the Cronulla peninsula, a sandstone platform that drops straight into the Port Hacking entrance with the run of the river pushing past it on every tide. The monument up top remembers Bass and Flinders sailing through in the Tom Thumb — the fishing remembers the bait that the current sweeps around the point. Salmon Haul Bay sits tucked in behind to the north, named for the netting hauls of old, and Oak Park rounds the corner to the south, so a single car park puts you on exposed ledge, sheltered bay and ocean wash within a few hundred metres. It's a genuine all-rounder: schooling pelagics off the front in the warmer months, blackfish and bream off the ledges in the cool, and the deep entrance water giving up the odd kingfish to anyone willing to swim a live bait.

Locals read the point by which way the wind and swell are pointing and pick their ledge accordingly. Off the front into the entrance, the move is a live yellowtail or slimy mackerel fished under a balloon or float for kingfish, or metals and stickbaits chased through working salmon and tailor schools on a moving tide. The lower, washier ledges fish best for luderick and rock blackfish — green cabbage under a float, a steady berley trail of bread and weed, and you work the white water on the rising tide. Tucked into Salmon Haul and the back corners, lighter bait gear on bream, trevally and flathead does the damage, especially the first and last light of a run-in tide. Dawn and dusk on a tide change are when the whole point switches on.

Australian salmon school past the point through the cooler months, roughly April to September, and tailor run much the same cold-water shape, both coming on fast in a working surface bust-up — salmon carry no minimum size at all on a bag of 5, and tailor are 30 cm on a bag of 10 with 20 in possession. Yellowtail kingfish prowl the entrance in the warm half of the year, November to April, taking live baits floated off the front, at 65 cm and a bag of 5. Luderick are the winter staple off the wash ledges from about May to September, fished on green weed or cabbage under a float at 27 cm and a bag of 10, with rock blackfish, the black drummer, holding in the same white water year-round at 30 cm and a bag of 10. Yellowfin bream and silver trevally are a reliable year-round catch off the ledges and around into Salmon Haul, bream at 25 cm on a bag of 10 shared with tarwhine and trevally at 30 cm on a bag of 10 across the trevallies. Dusky flathead lie on the sand in the bay through the warmer months, October to April, inside a 36 to 70 cm keeper window on a bag of 5. Squid, garfish and yellowtail show up around the point and double as bait, squid and garfish each on a bag of 20.

Fresh cabbage stays on the hook far better than weed that has been sitting in a bucket, so bring it in fresh on the day. Taking octopus off an ocean rock platform is prohibited state-wide, and pliers and other prising tools are not permitted on a rock platform at all. The point gets shoulder-to-shoulder on a clean autumn weekend when the salmon are running, so claim a ledge early and do not crowd someone already berleying a blackfish patch. A live yellowtail bridled and floated off the front is worth a rod even when nothing is showing, because kingfish here are a low-percentage, high-reward proposition. Keep an eye behind you between casts, since the sets that catch people out arrive while they are focused on the float. If you spearfish, the closures stack up around here: everything west of a line from Glaisher Point to Port Hacking Point is closed to spearfishing, and spearfishing is banned on every NSW ocean beach bar a 20 m strip at each end. And if the front is washy, the back of Salmon Haul will usually still give you a bend in the rod.

By car, the closest parking is at Salmon Haul Reserve and Oak Park off the Cronulla Esplanade, with the point a short walk between the two; paid parking applies at times and it fills fast in summer, so arrive early. By train it is Cronulla station and a 15 to 20 minute walk south along the Esplanade walking track. There are public toilets and grassed picnic areas at the reserves, which is handy on a long session. The sealed Esplanade path makes the reserves and lookouts pram- and wheelchair-friendly, but the actual fishing ledges are unfenced rock and a clamber down — fine for older kids who will listen, not a spot to take toddlers near the edge.

The point faces roughly south to south-east into the Port Hacking entrance, so it cops ocean swell square-on and washes out fast once the swell pushes much past 1.5m — the lower ledges become no-go water well before that. A northerly or north-westerly blows offshore here and flattens the front, which is when the point fishes its best. Salmon Haul Bay tucks in behind a high rock ledge that gives shelter from northerlies, so it's the fallback when the wind swings. Tide matters as much as wind: the run-in pulls clean ocean water and bait around the point, and the hour either side of the change is the window. After heavy rain the river runs dirty out the entrance and the bite goes quiet.

This is a swell-exposed ocean point with a serious local drowning record, and Sutherland Shire is a declared area under the Rock Fishing Safety Act 2016. A lifejacket is therefore compulsory when you fish with rod, line or handline from naturally occurring rock exposed to ocean swell here, and the duty covers anyone helping you and any child under 12 in your care. Adults need AS 4758 level 50S or greater and under-12s level 100, and a $100 on-the-spot fine applies. The platform faces open ocean swell and the lower ledges get washed without warning, so watch the sets for several minutes before committing, never fish a low ledge in rising swell, and never fish alone. The rock is slick with weed and spray, so wear cleats or rock plates rather than runners. Bluebottles blow in on summer north-easterlies, the sun is brutal with no shade on the platform, and the oyster-covered lower rocks will open a hand fast on a slip.

Yes. Anyone fishing anywhere in NSW, including off the rocks at Cronulla, must pay the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee and carry the receipt while fishing. It is $7 for three days, $14 for a month, $35 for a year or $85 for three years, and the money goes back into fishing facilities and stocking. People under 18, pensioner concession card holders and Aboriginal people are among those exempt.

Yes. The Sutherland Shire local government area is a declared rock-fishing area under the Rock Fishing Safety Act 2016, so a lifejacket is compulsory when you fish with rod, line or handline from naturally occurring rock exposed to ocean swell here, and the duty covers anyone helping you and any child under 12 in your care. Adults need AS 4758 level 50S or greater and under-12s level 100, and a $100 on-the-spot fine applies. Given how quickly the lower ledges wash here, it is worth wearing for a good deal more than the fine.

Australian salmon and tailor school past the point, luderick and rock blackfish hold off the wash ledges, and yellowtail kingfish prowl the Port Hacking entrance on live baits in the warmer months. Around in Salmon Haul Bay you'll find yellowfin bream, silver trevally, dusky flathead, squid and garfish on lighter gear.

Dawn or dusk on a run-in tide is the prime window, with a northerly or north-west wind blowing the front flat. The cool months, roughly April to September, are best for Australian salmon, tailor and luderick, while the warmer months from November to April bring the kingfish. Avoid it on any decent ocean swell, when the lower ledges become unsafe.

Yes. In NSW dusky flathead must sit within a 36 to 70 cm slot — anything under 36 cm or over 70 cm goes back — with a daily bag of 5 and 10 in possession. The big breeding females over 70 cm are the ones to handle and release quickly. Other headline numbers off this point are luderick 27 cm on a bag of 10, rock blackfish 30 cm on a bag of 10, tailor 30 cm on a bag of 10 and yellowtail kingfish 65 cm on a bag of 5.