What fish can you catch land-based at Belmont Foreshore on Lake Macquarie?

Bream and dusky flathead are the mainstays year-round, with sand whiting and chopper tailor through the warmer months, luderick and silver trevally in winter, and a genuine shot at snapper and mulloway in the deeper water at night. Prawns, squid, tarwhine and flounder turn up seasonally too. Mulloway are 70cm minimum with a bag of 1 per person, and bait-collection restrictions apply lake-wide — a nipper pump is fine, a spade or fork is not, so read the DPIRD Lake Macquarie closure before you collect your own. You'll need a NSW Recreational Fishing Fee to fish anywhere in NSW, fresh or salt.

Do you need a fishing licence to fish at Belmont on Lake Macquarie?

Yes — a NSW Recreational Fishing Fee is required to fish anywhere in New South Wales, including Lake Macquarie, with only limited exemptions. You can buy it online or from local tackle shops for periods from three days up to three years, and you must carry proof while fishing.

What is the size limit for dusky flathead in Lake Macquarie?

Dusky flathead in NSW have a slot limit — they must be at least 36cm and any fish over 70cm must be released, with a bag limit of 5. The big fish over 70cm are the breeding females, so letting them go keeps the lake fishing well. Always check the current NSW DPIRD rules before keeping a fish.

Is Belmont Foreshore good for fishing with kids?

It is one of the better family spots on the lake — flat sealed paths suitable for prams and wheelchairs, calm shallow margins, and toilets, picnic shelters and barbecues along the reserve. Small whiting and bream keep young anglers busy, and nippers or peeled prawn are the easiest baits to start with. Keep an eye on little ones near the rock edge, where the water drops away quickly.

When is the best time to fish Belmont Bay?

Early morning and the last of the light are the prime windows, fished on the run of tide either side of the change. It's sheltered calm water so it fishes when the coast is blown out, but a westerly chops up the eastern shore — pick a light easterly or a still morning. For snapper and mulloway, fish the deeper water after dark.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Belmont Foreshore & Wharf

Sat 12 Sep 2026 · Australia/Sydney

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12 Sep

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Today Tomorrow Sat 19 Sep

📍 Belmont Foreshore & Wharf

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Weather: Sunny Wind: N 22° · 11 km/h Swell: 1.2 m @ 10 s S Water: 19.2 °C Pressure: 1028.6 hPa ↓ falling

★★★☆☆

Medium Fish Activity

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 6:00 pm

Solunar Between windows

Time of day Dusk

Tide Strong flow

Wind NE 15 km/h

Moon new all day

Water temp 19.2 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 5:32 am Last light 6:07 pm

Low 2:05 am High 8:16 am Low 2:12 pm High 8:23 pm

Drag or use arrow keys to explore

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

5:30 pm → 9:00 pm

3h 30m

Good

11:30 am → 3:00 pm

3h 30m

Good

5:30 am → 7:00 am

1h 30m

Good

8:00 am → 9:00 am

First light

5:32 am

Last light

6:07 pm

Sunrise

5:57 am

Sunset

5:43 pm

Moonrise

6:16 am

Moonset

6:52 pm

Low tide

2:05 am

High tide

8:16 am

Low tide

2:12 pm

High tide

8:23 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

☀️

14°

↓︎

180°

1 km/h

1am

☀️

14°

↙︎

234°

2 km/h

2am

☀️

13°

↙︎

241°

5 km/h

3am

☀️

13°

↙︎

237°

6 km/h

4am

☀️

13°

↙︎

241°

5 km/h

5am

☀️

13°

↙︎

234°

4 km/h

6am

☁️

13°

↙︎

230°

4 km/h

7am

☀️

13°

↙︎

228°

8 km/h

8am

☀️

15°

↙︎

209°

6 km/h

9am

☀️

17°

↓︎

178°

5 km/h

10am

☁️

18°

→︎

92°

5 km/h

11am

☁️

18°

↘︎

121°

8 km/h

12pm

☀️

18°

↘︎

124°

10 km/h

1pm

🌧️

18°

→︎

112°

12 km/h

2pm

🌧️

18°

→︎

97°

14 km/h

3pm

☀️

18°

→︎

85°

16 km/h

4pm

☀️

18°

→︎

79°

16 km/h

5pm

☀️

18°

→︎

73°

16 km/h

6pm

☀️

17°

↗︎

63°

15 km/h

7pm

☀️

17°

↗︎

51°

15 km/h

8pm

☀️

16°

↗︎

39°

15 km/h

9pm

☀️

15°

↗︎

28°

13 km/h

10pm

☀️

15°

↑︎

22°

11 km/h

11pm

☀️

14°

↗︎

23°

9 km/h

Hourly Swell

Steady ~1.1 m S

12am

1.3 m

@ 9 s

↘︎

Moderate

1am

1.2 m

@ 9 s

↘︎

Moderate

2am

1.2 m

@ 9 s

↘︎

Moderate

3am

1.2 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Moderate

4am

1.2 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Moderate

5am

1.1 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Moderate

6am

1.1 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Moderate

7am

1.1 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Moderate

8am

1.1 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Moderate

9am

1.1 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Moderate

10am

1.2 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Moderate

11am

1.2 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Moderate

12pm

1.2 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Moderate

1pm

1.2 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Moderate

2pm

1.2 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Moderate

3pm

1.3 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Moderate

4pm

1.3 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Moderate

5pm

1.3 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Moderate

6pm

1.3 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Moderate

7pm

1.2 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Moderate

8pm

1.2 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Moderate

9pm

1.2 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Moderate

10pm

1.2 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Moderate

11pm

1.1 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Moderate

ground

Water Temp (°C)

→ steady around 19.2°

Wed

9 Sep

19.1°

Thu

10 Sep

19.0°

Fri

11 Sep

19.1°

Sat

12 Sep

19.2°

Sun

13 Sep

19.2°

Mon

14 Sep

19.4°

Tue

15 Sep

19.4°

Wed

16 Sep

19.2°

Thu

17 Sep

18.9°

Fri

18 Sep

18.9°

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 11 km/h N (22°).

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

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

5:30 pm → 9:00 pm

3h 30m

Good

11:30 am → 3:00 pm

3h 30m

Good

5:30 am → 7:00 am

1h 30m

Good

8:00 am → 9:00 am

First light

5:32 am

Last light

6:07 pm

Sunrise

5:57 am

Sunset

5:43 pm

Moonrise

6:16 am

Moonset

6:52 pm

Low tide

2:05 am

High tide

8:16 am

Low tide

2:12 pm

High tide

8:23 pm

Nearby spots

Species at this spot

Yellowfin Bream
Dusky Flathead
Sand Whiting
Luderick
Tailor
Silver Trevally
Snapper
Mulloway (Jewfish)