Bermagui Harbour Breakwall (Bermagui River mouth)

Two rock walls train the Bermagui River into the sea at the northern end of town, and the eastern one — the wall on the town side, running out from the harbour car park beside Bermagui Point — is the one you can walk out on from the main street in five minutes. Everything the river moves passes between the two walls twice a day, along with whatever the ocean pushes in on a rising tide. Bermagui Harbour and Bermagui Point are known for tailor, mullet and luderick, and the river behind them is a hot spot for bream, whiting and flathead. Bermagui sits south of Batemans Marine Park, so there are no marine park zones to navigate, just the standard NSW rules.

The channel side of the wall gets most of the rods: luderick anglers trot green weed or cabbage under a float along the rocks on the run-in, while bait fishers drop peeled prawn, pilchard pieces or nippers into the deeper water for bream, trevally and the odd flathead on the sand edges. Tailor and salmon are a metal-lure job — 20–40 g slices thrown towards the mouth at first and last light, or a ganged pilchard drifted out on the run-out. Mulloway are a night-and-tide-change proposition with a live bait or whole squid sent down the channel. The inside of the wall faces the Bruce Steer Pool swimming enclosure, so keep every cast on the river side.

Tailor and Australian salmon are the cooler-month mainstays off the outer half of the wall — tailor are 30 cm with a bag of 10, salmon have no minimum size and a bag of 5. Luderick come up the walls from autumn through winter at 27 cm and a bag of 10, and yellowfin bream sit along the rocks all year at 25 cm on a bag of 10 shared with tarwhine. Dusky flathead work the sand edges of the channel through the warmer months, and only fish between 36 cm and 70 cm may be kept, with a bag of 5. Silver trevally (30 cm, bag of 10 across the trevallies) are a regular by-catch, and mulloway turn up for the patient at 70 cm minimum and a bag of one. Summer brings the chance of a kingfish chasing bait into the mouth — 65 cm and a bag of 5.

Tide timing matters more than anything here: the run-out drags bait from the river past the wall, while the run-in brings cleaner ocean water for luderick and salmon. Berley lightly with bread and chopped weed for luderick and let the current carry it along the rocks rather than dumping it at your feet. Keep the inside of the wall for walking, not casting — swimmers use the enclosed pool there in summer. Commercial and charter boats use the river mouth, so wait for them to pass before casting across the channel. A long-handled net or a drop net saves a lot of fish that would otherwise be lost lifting them up the rocks.

Park at the harbour car park at the end of the Bermagui Fishermans Wharf precinct, beside the boat ramp, and walk north onto the wall — the root is next to the car park and the rest is a walk along rock armour. The road continues past the wall to the Bermagui Point picnic area, with grass, tables and toilets nearby in the harbour precinct. The top of the wall is uneven boulder, so it is not wheelchair or pram friendly beyond the first few metres. The cafes and fish and chips of the harbour are a short stroll away.

The river mouth faces north-east, so the wall is sheltered from a southerly but takes a north-east swell and wind straight in. A moderate swell with a clean run-in tide suits salmon and tailor on the outer half; the inner section stays fishable in most weather. After heavy rain in the Bermagui River catchment the water dirties for a few days, which slows the luderick but can fire the flathead and mulloway. Wind against tide stands the mouth up quickly, which is a warning for anyone fishing low on the outer rocks.

The wall is uneven rock armour that is slippery when wet and covered in weed low down, so wear grippy shoes and stay off the lowest rocks. North-east swell can wash over the outer end, and the channel between the walls runs hard on the tide — a fall from the wall puts you in fast, deep water. Check the swell forecast, watch the sets for ten minutes before walking out, and never turn your back on the sea. Boats use the channel at all hours, so never cast across a moving vessel. Bega Valley is not one of the ten declared areas under the NSW rock fishing lifejacket law, and a lifejacket is strongly recommended on the outer wall, with light clothing you can swim in. Don't fish the outer end alone; if you go in, swim clear of the wall, float, signal and have your mate call 000, and know your retreat along the wall. Kids need close watching on the rocks.

Yes. The eastern breakwall at the Bermagui River mouth, walked out from the harbour car park beside the boat ramp, is open to land-based fishing for tailor, salmon, luderick, bream, flathead and trevally. Fish the river side of the wall — the inside faces the Bruce Steer Pool swimming enclosure. Standard NSW bag and size limits apply, and a NSW Recreational Fishing Fee is required.

No. Batemans Marine Park ends at the southern side of the Wallaga Lake entrance, north of Bermagui, so the Bermagui breakwall, river and harbour sit outside any marine park zone. Standard NSW fishing rules and closures still apply.

The run-out tide drags bait from the river past the walls and is the classic time for bream, flathead and tailor, while the run-in brings clean ocean water for luderick and salmon. The NSW tide tables put Bermagui Bridge about 45 minutes behind Fort Denison.

Bega Valley is not one of the ten declared areas under the NSW Rock Fishing Safety Act. A lifejacket is strongly recommended on the outer section of the wall all the same, where swell can wash the rocks and the channel runs fast.