What fish can you catch at Bombo Beach?

Off the open sand you get sand whiting, dart, yellowfin bream and dusky flathead, best from spring through autumn. The rock points at either end hold bream, silver trevally, Australian salmon and tailor — salmon and tailor school through in the cooler months from autumn into winter. The deeper basalt ledges off the northern Cathedral Rocks headland push you into snapper and morwong territory. You need a paid NSW Recreational Fishing Fee to fish anywhere in NSW, including Bombo.

Do you need a lifejacket to fish the rocks at Bombo?

Yes. Cathedral Rocks and the Bombo headland are one of the seven high-risk rock fishing locations Kiama Council has declared, and Kiama is a declared area under the Rock Fishing Safety Act 2016, so a lifejacket is required by law on that rock. Adults need AS 4758 level 50S or greater and under-12s level 100 or greater, the rule covers children and anyone helping you fish, and the fine is $100 on the spot. The basalt is slippery and the ledges drop into deep water, so wear one on any of the rock here rather than working out where the mapped line runs.

When is the best time to fish Bombo Beach?

First light on a run-in tide is the standout, with early morning sessions consistently out-fishing the afternoon. A light offshore breeze and clean swell under about 1.5m gives the best conditions; over 2m the rock points become unsafe and the sand churns up. The beach also empties of anglers by mid-morning when the surfers move onto the northern break.

Is there a size limit on flathead at Bombo Beach?

Yes. Dusky flathead in NSW have a 36–70cm slot limit with a bag of 5, which means you must release any fish under 36cm and any fish over 70cm — the big breeders go back. Check the current NSW DPIRD rules before you keep any fish, and remember a paid NSW Recreational Fishing Fee is required.

How do you get to Bombo Beach and is there parking?

There is an on-site car park at the northern end, and Bombo railway station sits just metres from the sand, so you can get there from Wollongong or Sydney without a car. Public toilets, showers and a picnic area are at the northern end, which is patrolled only over the summer school holidays and summer weekends. The soft sand makes the walk to the southern point a fair hike, so it is not an easy-access spot once you leave the car park.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Bombo Beach

Thu 17 Sep 2026 · Australia/Sydney

Save

←

17 Sep

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Today Tomorrow Sat 19 Sep

📍 Bombo Beach

waxing crescent · 28%

Weather: Sunny Wind: S 190° · 14 km/h Swell: 1.5 m @ 7 s SE Water: 17.6 °C Pressure: 1032.1 hPa ↓ falling

★★★☆☆

Medium Fish Activity

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 6:00 pm

Solunar Between windows

Time of day Dusk

Tide Turning

Wind S 6 km/h

Moon waxing crescent all day

Water temp 17.6 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 5:29 am Last light 6:13 pm

Low 4:57 am High 11:30 am Low 6:30 pm

Drag or use arrow keys to explore

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

4:00 pm → 7:30 pm

3h 30m

Good

5:00 am → 6:30 am

1h 30m

First light

5:29 am

Last light

6:13 pm

Sunrise

5:53 am

Sunset

5:49 pm

Moonrise

8:56 am

Moonset

12:04 am

Low tide

4:57 am

High tide

11:30 am

Low tide

6:30 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

☀️

10°

↙︎

229°

20 km/h

1am

☀️

9°

↙︎

233°

20 km/h

2am

☀️

9°

↙︎

233°

20 km/h

3am

☀️

9°

↙︎

230°

20 km/h

4am

☀️

9°

↙︎

228°

19 km/h

5am

☀️

10°

↙︎

228°

19 km/h

6am

☁️

10°

↙︎

229°

19 km/h

7am

☁️

11°

↙︎

229°

19 km/h

8am

☁️

12°

↙︎

228°

18 km/h

9am

☀️

13°

↙︎

227°

17 km/h

10am

☀️

14°

↙︎

222°

16 km/h

11am

☀️

15°

↙︎

209°

15 km/h

12pm

☀️

16°

↓︎

190°

14 km/h

1pm

☁️

16°

↓︎

177°

15 km/h

2pm

☀️

16°

↓︎

169°

15 km/h

3pm

☀️

16°

↓︎

164°

15 km/h

4pm

☀️

15°

↓︎

162°

13 km/h

5pm

☀️

14°

↓︎

166°

10 km/h

6pm

☀️

12°

↓︎

185°

6 km/h

7pm

☀️

11°

↙︎

225°

4 km/h

8pm

☀️

10°

←︎

255°

5 km/h

9pm

☀️

9°

←︎

268°

6 km/h

10pm

☀️

8°

←︎

275°

6 km/h

11pm

☀️

7°

←︎

277°

6 km/h

Hourly Swell

Easing 1.6 → 1.1 m SE

12am

1.6 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

1am

1.7 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

2am

1.7 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

3am

1.7 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

4am

1.7 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

5am

1.7 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

6am

1.6 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

7am

1.6 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

8am

1.6 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

9am

1.6 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

10am

1.6 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

11am

1.5 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

12pm

1.5 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

1pm

1.5 m

@ 8 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

2pm

1.5 m

@ 8 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

3pm

1.4 m

@ 8 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

4pm

1.4 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

5pm

1.5 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

6pm

1.5 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

7pm

1.5 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

8pm

1.4 m

@ 6 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

9pm

1.3 m

@ 6 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

10pm

1.1 m

@ 6 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

11pm

1.1 m

@ 6 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

Water Temp (°C)

→ steady around 17.6°

Mon

14 Sep

17.9°

Tue

15 Sep

17.9°

Wed

16 Sep

17.8°

Thu

17 Sep

17.6°

Fri

18 Sep

17.7°

Sat

19 Sep

17.8°

Sun

20 Sep

17.9°

Mon

21 Sep

18.0°

Tue

22 Sep

18.0°

Wed

23 Sep

18.0°

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 14 km/h S (190°).

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

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

4:00 pm → 7:30 pm

3h 30m

Good

5:00 am → 6:30 am

1h 30m

First light

5:29 am

Last light

6:13 pm

Sunrise

5:53 am

Sunset

5:49 pm

Moonrise

8:56 am

Moonset

12:04 am

Low tide

4:57 am

High tide

11:30 am

Low tide

6:30 pm

Nearby spots

Species at this spot

Sand Whiting
Dart
Yellowfin Bream
Dusky Flathead
Australian Salmon
Tailor
Silver Trevally
Snapper