Bass Point

Bass Point is a 4km basalt promontory jutting off Shell Cove, just south of Shellharbour Village and about 25km south of Wollongong, and it is the headland the Illawarra reaches for when the kingfish are on. Deep ledges drop straight into blue water within a rod-length, with kelp edges, washes and reefy gutters holding bait the whole length of the point. It earns its reputation on pelagics — kings, bonito and salmon push tight to the rocks here — but the reef also gives up snapper close inshore and black drummer in the white water, and eastern blue groper nose out of the cunjevoi as protected bystanders rather than targets. The one hard rule: the eastern point at Bushrangers Bay is a no-take aquatic reserve where fishing by any method is banned, so the marks worth fishing are the open ledges either side of it, not the bay. The angel rings bolted along the walking route are the other thing worth clocking on the way in.

Live bait is the local religion for kingfish — anglers jig or bait-catch yakkas and slimies off the lower ledges, then float-line or balloon them out over the wash on the rising tide and into the change. Spin tackle covers the rest: metal slugs and stickbaits worked through the foam for salmon, tailor and bonito at first light, and soft plastics or lightly-weighted baits drifted down the gutters for snapper close to the rocks. Drummer and luderick come off the suds on cunjevoi, peeled prawn or green weed under a float, fished tight to the foam line. Dawn, dusk and the top of the tide do the heavy lifting; the middle of a flat, sunny day rarely fires.

Kingfish are the headline from late spring into autumn — plenty of undersized rat kings with the odd legal fish in the mix, taken on live yakkas drifted over the wash, and the NSW minimum is 65cm with a bag of 5. Snapper are a genuine year-round prospect close inshore at 30cm and a bag of 10, with better fish through the cooler months on plastics and fresh baits. Australian salmon school off the rocks from autumn into spring and carry no minimum size at all in NSW, just a bag of 5, while tailor are about most of the year and chop hardest from autumn into winter at 30cm and a bag of 10. Bonito turn up in the warmer months, fight well above their size, and have no size limit and a bag of 10. Black drummer and luderick work the suds year-round with a winter-into-spring peak on weed — drummer at 30cm and a bag of 10, luderick at 27cm and a bag of 10. The occasional eastern blue groper noses out of the cunjevoi, and it goes straight back: groper are no-take state-wide and line fishing for them is prohibited until 1 March 2028.

The point fishes shoulder-to-shoulder when the kings are running, so set up off an established ledge rather than crowding a productive one, and keep a livie swimming even while you spin. Berley with chopped pilchard and bread down the wash to draw bait and pelagics up the water column. Tide and light beat tackle every time here — a moving tide on dawn or dusk outproduces a flat midday by a mile. Carry your catch out; the reserve restrictions and heritage listing mean this is a watch-your-footprint headland, and cleaning fish on the rocks just feeds the gulls.

Drive in via Bass Point Tourist Road off Shellharbour Village to the reserve, where there is sealed parking, picnic tables and a public toilet near the two-lane concrete boat ramp. The gate is typically open 6am to 8pm and the reserve closes on total fire ban days, so plan dawn sessions around the opening time. A working quarry takes up part of the headland and its ground is fenced and off-limits, so stay on the public reserve tracks. From the car parks it is a short walk to the closest ledges, but the productive marks involve scrambling over uneven basalt with no formal path — not a stroller-friendly or mobility-friendly proposition. The flat grassed picnic areas and the boat-ramp surrounds suit kids and a picnic, but the fishing ledges themselves are no place for small children.

The point faces a broad arc of open ocean, so south and east swell wraps onto the ledges and the lower marks wash out fast once the swell pushes past about 1.5m. A light westerly or a calm dawn before the nor'easter fills in is the prime window — offshore wind flattens the wash and lets you cast metals and float livies cleanly. The rising tide into the top of the change concentrates bait against the rocks and is when the kingfish and snapper switch on. After a big southerly blow or heavy rain the water colours up and the bite drops away until it clears.

This is a serious open ocean headland and people have drowned on Illawarra rock platforms — the lower ledges take unexpected sets, the basalt is slick with weed and spray, and a wave that washes you in leaves few easy exits. Watch the swell for several full minutes before committing to any low mark, never turn your back on the water, and never fish it alone or in a rising sea. Wear a lifejacket here — an adult jacket to AS 4758 level 50S or greater, level 100 for under-12s — and treat it as the piece of kit that decides whether a wash-off is a swim or a rescue. Wollongong to the north and Kiama to the south are both declared rock-fishing areas under the Rock Fishing Safety Act 2016, and the swell that runs onto this point is the same swell. Angel rings are installed at Pioneer Quarry and Beaky Bay, and at the two ledges known as The Peg and The Chair on the north and south sides of Bushrangers Bay — work out which one is nearest before you climb down. The reserve covers the whole of Bushrangers Bay and its seaward boundary is not published, so from either of those ledges keep your casts out into the open water rather than back into the bay. Wear cleated boots or rock spikes, carry a rope, and remember that Bushrangers Bay itself is a no-take reserve where fishing and collecting are banned by any method.

Yes — the open ledges and the boat ramp area are productive land-based marks for kingfish, snapper, salmon and drummer. The one exception is Bushrangers Bay at the eastern point, a no-take aquatic reserve where fishing by any method is banned. Anyone fishing in NSW also needs a paid NSW Recreational Fishing Fee and has to carry the receipt.

Yellowtail kingfish are the prize from late spring into autumn, usually on live yakkas, alongside snapper close inshore year-round, salmon and tailor in the cooler months, bonito in summer, plus black drummer and luderick in the wash. Eastern blue groper turn up too, but they are no-take in NSW, line fishing for them is prohibited until 1 March 2028, and they must go back alive.

A lifejacket is strongly recommended on any swell-washed rock here — adults AS 4758 level 50S or greater, under-12s level 100. Bass Point is exposed ocean rock on a coast where anglers have drowned, and a jacket to that standard is the single thing that keeps a wash-off survivable. Wollongong to the north and Kiama to the south are both declared rock-fishing areas under the Rock Fishing Safety Act 2016, and this point takes the same swell they do. The platform is just as exposed as either of them and people have drowned on Illawarra ledges, so wear one, along with cleated boots, and watch the swell before you commit.

Yes — there is a two-lane concrete ocean boat ramp managed by Shellharbour Council, with sealed parking, picnic tables and a public toilet nearby. Access is via Bass Point Tourist Road; the reserve gate is generally open 6am to 8pm and closes on total fire ban days. Part of the headland is a working quarry and fenced off, so stick to the public reserve.

Kingfish run from November through to about May, peaking over summer. Fish a rising tide into the top of the change at dawn or dusk with live yakkas or slimies drifted over the wash, and expect plenty of undersized rat kings with the occasional legal fish — the NSW minimum is 65cm and the bag limit is 5.