Do you need a permit to drive on Bennetts Beach Hawks Nest?

Yes. 4WD access runs north from the surf club to the Myall Lakes National Park boundary, and a MidCoast Council beach vehicle permit is required — check the council's current permit options before you drive on. Drop your tyre pressures, stick to the marked access tracks and stay off the dunes, as the council actively patrols vehicle use here. Mungo Beach, inside Myall Lakes National Park further north, has been closed to 4WD since May 2026 after beach erosion. You also need a NSW Recreational Fishing Fee to fish anywhere in NSW, including off this beach.

What fish can you catch off Bennetts Beach at Hawks Nest?

The beach produces mulloway (jewfish) from the deep gutters, tailor and Australian salmon through the cooler months, and a strong run of winter bream and tailor that the spot is known for. Sand whiting and dart work the shallow gutters in the warmer months on fresh beach worm and pipi, and dusky flathead turn up over summer. The Yacaaba Headland rocks at the southern end add snapper to the tailor and jew. Remember NSW bag and size limits — for example dusky flathead must be within a 36–70cm slot — and check current NSW DPIRD rules before you keep anything.

When is the best time to fish Bennetts Beach?

Low light on a rising tide into the change is the prime window — dawn and dusk do most of the damage. Late autumn through winter, roughly May to August, is the headline season for bream, tailor and salmon, while mulloway run best from spring into early winter on the night tides. A moderate swell around 1–1.5m that carves defined gutters fishes far better than a flat, featureless beach, so it is worth walking the sand at low tide to find the holes before you cast.

Do you need a lifejacket to fish the rocks at Yacaaba Headland?

Wear one. Yacaaba is a serious rock-fishing platform where swell washes the lower ledges without warning and the rock stays slick long after a sea drops, so a lifejacket is strongly recommended on any swell-washed rock or wall here — adults AS 4758 level 50S or greater, under-12s level 100. Cleated boots, a mate on the rock and never turning your back on the sea belong with it.

Where can you get bait near Bennetts Beach?

Tackle and bait outlets in Hawks Nest and across at Tea Gardens cover the frozen and fresh staples. The best local bait, though, you collect yourself — the beach carries pipis at the shoreline and beach worms in the wet sand on a falling tide, and fresh worm or pipi will outfish anything frozen for whiting, bream and dart. Keep it within the rules: pipis are bait-only, must not be taken beyond 50 m from the high-tide mark and are limited to 50 per person, while beach worms are capped at 20.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Bennetts Beach

Wed 09 Sep 2026 · Australia/Sydney

Save

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9 Sep

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Today Tomorrow Sat 19 Sep

📍 Bennetts Beach

waning crescent · 8%

Weather: Sunny Wind: SW 237° · 10 km/h Swell: 1.0 m @ 7 s SE Water: 19.2 °C Pressure: 1020.8 hPa ↓ falling

★★★☆☆

Medium Fish Activity

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 6:00 pm

Solunar Between windows

Time of day Dusk

Tide Moving

Wind S 27 km/h

Moon waning crescent all day

Water temp 19.2 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 5:34 am Last light 6:03 pm

Low 12:12 am High 6:06 am Low 11:46 am High 6:17 pm

Drag or use arrow keys to explore

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

5:30 pm → 7:00 pm

1h 30m

Good

4:30 am → 7:00 am

2h 30m

Good

9:30 am → 11:30 am

Good

10:00 pm → 10:30 pm

30m

First light

5:34 am

Last light

6:03 pm

Sunrise

5:58 am

Sunset

5:39 pm

Moonrise

4:41 am

Moonset

3:34 pm

Low tide

12:12 am

High tide

6:06 am

Low tide

11:46 am

High tide

6:17 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

☀️

7°

↖︎

321°

8 km/h

1am

☀️

7°

↖︎

319°

9 km/h

2am

☀️

7°

↖︎

319°

9 km/h

3am

☀️

7°

↖︎

316°

8 km/h

4am

☀️

6°

↖︎

321°

6 km/h

5am

☀️

6°

↖︎

294°

8 km/h

6am

☁️

6°

↖︎

299°

9 km/h

7am

☀️

8°

↖︎

306°

9 km/h

8am

☀️

13°

↖︎

316°

6 km/h

9am

☀️

16°

↖︎

296°

7 km/h

10am

☀️

19°

←︎

281°

7 km/h

11am

☁️

21°

←︎

252°

8 km/h

12pm

☀️

22°

↙︎

237°

10 km/h

1pm

☁️

22°

↙︎

205°

13 km/h

2pm

☁️

19°

↓︎

190°

25 km/h

3pm

🌧️

19°

↓︎

194°

25 km/h

4pm

🌧️

17°

↓︎

180°

28 km/h

5pm

☁️

17°

↓︎

178°

27 km/h

6pm

☁️

16°

↓︎

178°

27 km/h

7pm

☁️

16°

↓︎

176°

26 km/h

8pm

☁️

16°

↓︎

175°

26 km/h

9pm

☁️

16°

↓︎

177°

27 km/h

10pm

🌧️

16°

↓︎

179°

26 km/h

11pm

☀️

15°

↓︎

180°

27 km/h

Hourly Swell

Building 1.4 → 1.9 m S

12am

1.4 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

1am

1.4 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

2am

1.4 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

3am

1.4 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

4am

1.4 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

5am

1.4 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

6am

1.3 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

7am

1.3 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

8am

1.3 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

9am

1.2 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

10am

1.2 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

11am

1.1 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

12pm

1.0 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Slight

chop

1pm

0.9 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Slight

chop

2pm

0.8 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Slight

chop

3pm

0.7 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Slight

chop

4pm

0.5 m

@ 7 s

→︎

Slight

chop

5pm

0.6 m

@ 7 s

→︎

Slight

chop

6pm

0.7 m

@ 7 s

→︎

Slight

chop

7pm

0.7 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Slight

chop

8pm

1.0 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

9pm

1.3 m

@ 8 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

10pm

1.6 m

@ 9 s

↘︎

Moderate

11pm

1.9 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Moderate

Water Temp (°C)

→ steady around 19.2°

Sun

6 Sep

19.3°

Mon

7 Sep

19.4°

Tue

8 Sep

19.3°

Wed

9 Sep

19.2°

Thu

10 Sep

19.0°

Fri

11 Sep

19.0°

Sat

12 Sep

19.2°

Sun

13 Sep

19.2°

Mon

14 Sep

19.3°

Tue

15 Sep

19.4°

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 10 km/h SW (237°).

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 → 7:00 pm

1h 30m

Good

4:30 am → 7:00 am

2h 30m

Good

9:30 am → 11:30 am

Good

10:00 pm → 10:30 pm

30m

First light

5:34 am

Last light

6:03 pm

Sunrise

5:58 am

Sunset

5:39 pm

Moonrise

4:41 am

Moonset

3:34 pm

Low tide

12:12 am

High tide

6:06 am

Low tide

11:46 am

High tide

6:17 pm

Nearby spots

Species at this spot

Mulloway (Jewfish)
Tailor
Australian Salmon
Yellowfin Bream
Sand Whiting
Dart
Dusky Flathead