Can you fish at Bass Point Shellharbour?

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.

What fish can you catch off the rocks at Bass Point?

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.

Do you need a lifejacket to rock fish at Bass Point?

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.

Is there a boat ramp and parking at Bass Point?

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.

When is the best time to catch kingfish at Bass Point?

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.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Bass Point

Wed 21 Oct 2026 · Australia/Sydney

Forecast updated Wed 21 Oct, 11:08pm AEDT

Bite Alert

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21 Oct

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Today Tomorrow Sat 31 Oct

📍 Bass Point

waxing gibbous · 73%

Weather: Cloudy Wind: W 292° · 2 km/h Swell: 0.8 m @ 5 s E Water: 20.0 °C Pressure: 1023.9 hPa ↓ falling Faces north-east · Offshore: S, SW, W · Onshore: N, NE, E · Forecast wind: offshore

★★★☆☆

Medium Fish Activity

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▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 6:00 am

Solunar Between windows

Time of day Dawn

Tide Turning

Wind W 6 km/h

Moon waxing gibbous all day

Water temp 20.0 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day Timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 5:41 am Last light 7:41 pm

High 5:33 am Low 11:00 am High 5:15 pm

Drag or use arrow keys to explore

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

5:00 am → 7:30 am

2h 30m

Good

5:30 pm → 10:00 pm

4h 30m

Good

8:30 am → 10:00 am

1h 30m

Good

3:00 am → 4:00 am

First light

5:41 am

Last light

7:41 pm

Sunrise

6:07 am

Sunset

7:15 pm

Moonrise

2:11 pm

Moonset

3:11 am

High tide

5:33 am

Low tide

11:00 am

High tide

5:15 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

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15°

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292°

7 km/h

1am

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15°

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287°

7 km/h

2am

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14°

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286°

6 km/h

3am

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14°

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286°

6 km/h

4am

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13°

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283°

6 km/h

5am

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13°

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276°

5 km/h

6am

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12°

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272°

6 km/h

7am

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13°

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268°

6 km/h

8am

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16°

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270°

5 km/h

9am

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20°

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18°

2 km/h

10am

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22°

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56°

8 km/h

11am

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23°

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55°

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12pm

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61°

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49°

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50°

14 km/h

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47°

13 km/h

6pm

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40°

13 km/h

7pm

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19°

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33°

9 km/h

8pm

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24°

6 km/h

9pm

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18°

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356°

5 km/h

10pm

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17°

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338°

5 km/h

11pm

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17°

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292°

2 km/h

Hourly Swell

Steady ~0.8 m E

12am

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chop

1am

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5am

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6am

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11am

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12pm

0.8 m

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1pm

0.7 m

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3pm

0.7 m

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0.7 m

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5pm

0.7 m

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6pm

0.7 m

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7pm

0.7 m

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8pm

0.8 m

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Slight

chop

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 2 km/h W (292°).

Wind map data: ECMWF HRES (operational), updated every 6 hours. Not for navigation.

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

5:00 am → 7:30 am

2h 30m

Good

5:30 pm → 10:00 pm

4h 30m

Good

8:30 am → 10:00 am

1h 30m

Good

3:00 am → 4:00 am

First light

5:41 am

Last light

7:41 pm

Sunrise

6:07 am

Sunset

7:15 pm

Moonrise

2:11 pm

Moonset

3:11 am

High tide

5:33 am

Low tide

11:00 am

High tide

5:15 pm

Nearby Spots

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