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

Sun 20 Sep 2026 · Australia/Sydney

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20 Sep

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Today Tomorrow Sat 19 Sep

📍 Bennetts Beach

first quarter · 59%

Weather: Sunny Wind: NW 303° · 14 km/h Swell: 0.6 m @ 9 s S Water: 19.1 °C Pressure: 1019.9 hPa ↓ falling

★★★☆☆

Medium Fish Activity

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 6:30 pm

Solunar Major window

Time of day Dusk

Tide Moving

Wind NW 14 km/h

Moon first quarter all day

Water temp 19.1 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 5:20 am Last light 6:10 pm

High 2:45 am Low 7:50 am High 2:53 pm Low 9:56 pm

Drag or use arrow keys to explore

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

5:30 pm → 8:30 pm

Good

4:30 am → 6:30 am

Good

11:00 am → 12:30 pm

1h 30m

First light

5:20 am

Last light

6:10 pm

Sunrise

5:44 am

Sunset

5:46 pm

Moonrise

11:26 am

Moonset

1:37 am

High tide

2:45 am

Low tide

7:50 am

High tide

2:53 pm

Low tide

9:56 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

☀️

11°

←︎

284°

7 km/h

1am

☀️

11°

←︎

270°

10 km/h

2am

☀️

11°

←︎

268°

11 km/h

3am

☀️

11°

←︎

269°

12 km/h

4am

☀️

11°

←︎

271°

12 km/h

5am

☀️

14°

←︎

279°

13 km/h

6am

☀️

16°

←︎

283°

13 km/h

7am

☀️

19°

←︎

290°

13 km/h

8am

☀️

21°

↖︎

296°

13 km/h

9am

☀️

24°

↖︎

302°

13 km/h

10am

☀️

25°

↖︎

305°

13 km/h

11am

☀️

27°

↖︎

305°

13 km/h

12pm

☀️

28°

↖︎

303°

14 km/h

1pm

☀️

29°

↖︎

300°

14 km/h

2pm

☀️

30°

↖︎

298°

15 km/h

3pm

☀️

30°

↖︎

296°

15 km/h

4pm

☀️

30°

↖︎

296°

15 km/h

5pm

☀️

28°

↖︎

298°

15 km/h

6pm

☀️

26°

↖︎

302°

14 km/h

7pm

☀️

24°

↖︎

307°

13 km/h

8pm

☀️

21°

↖︎

313°

13 km/h

9pm

☀️

19°

↖︎

316°

12 km/h

10pm

☀️

18°

↖︎

316°

12 km/h

11pm

☀️

17°

↖︎

310°

12 km/h

Hourly Swell

Easing 0.8 → 0.4 m S

12am

0.8 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

1am

0.8 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

2am

0.8 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

3am

0.8 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

4am

0.8 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

5am

0.7 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

6am

0.7 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

7am

0.7 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

8am

0.7 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

9am

0.6 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

10am

0.6 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

11am

0.6 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

12pm

0.6 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

1pm

0.6 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

2pm

0.6 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

3pm

0.5 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

4pm

0.5 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

5pm

0.5 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

6pm

0.5 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

7pm

0.5 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Calm

8pm

0.5 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Calm

9pm

0.4 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Calm

10pm

0.4 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Calm

11pm

0.4 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Calm

Water Temp (°C)

↗ warming — up 0.5° over the last 3 days

Thu

17 Sep

18.6°

Fri

18 Sep

18.6°

Sat

19 Sep

18.8°

Sun

20 Sep

19.1°

Mon

21 Sep

19.4°

Tue

22 Sep

19.7°

Wed

23 Sep

20.0°

Thu

24 Sep

—

Fri

25 Sep

—

Sat

26 Sep

—

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 14 km/h NW (303°).

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 → 8:30 pm

Good

4:30 am → 6:30 am

Good

11:00 am → 12:30 pm

1h 30m

First light

5:20 am

Last light

6:10 pm

Sunrise

5:44 am

Sunset

5:46 pm

Moonrise

11:26 am

Moonset

1:37 am

High tide

2:45 am

Low tide

7:50 am

High tide

2:53 pm

Low tide

9:56 pm

Nearby spots

Species at this spot

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