Ben Buckler (North Bondi)

Ben Buckler is the rock platform under the northern headland of Bondi Beach, where the sandstone drops into deep, washy water that has been fished for tailor, salmon and luderick for as long as anyone can remember. The structure is classic eastern-suburbs ocean rock: a low platform with washes, gutters and white water working around the base of the cliff, with the headland's 'Big Rock' as the landmark. It draws fish because the swell stirs bait against the rock and the deeper water close in holds pelagics that will not come into the beach. It is a genuine ocean ledge, not a sheltered corner, so it fishes best — and only — when the swell behaves.

Most locals work the platform on the rising tide into dusk and dawn, casting metals and ganged pilchards into the wash for tailor and salmon and letting the white water do the berleying. Luderick anglers float weed or green cabbage under a stemmed float and trot it along the wash lines, while bait fishers down deeper for bream, trevally and blackfish lob cunje, prawn or cut bait into the gutters and hold bottom in the surge. A spun pilchard or live yellowtail off the front in summer is the kingfish play. Pick a ledge with a clean back-cast and an obvious high-ground retreat, and time the sets — fish the ledge between waves, not through them.

Tailor are the headline fish, best through the cooler half of the year from about April to August though the odd one turns up any month, taken on chrome metals and ganged pillies in the wash — 30 cm minimum, a daily bag of 10 and 20 in possession. Australian salmon push through over the same cold months and fight a good deal harder than they eat; NSW sets no minimum size on them and the bag is 5. Luderick are a year-round target on weed and cabbage along the wash lines at 27 cm and a bag of 10, joined by eastern rock blackfish, the black drummer, holding tight to the foam at 30 cm and a bag of 10. Silver trevally in the gutters are 30 cm with a bag of 10 shared across all the trevallies, and yellowfin bream are 25 cm on a bag of 10 shared with tarwhine. Through the warmer months, December to April, yellowtail kingfish patrol the front for anyone spinning metals or floating a livie — 65 cm and a bag of 5, which sorts out most of the rats. Eastern blue groper are resident around the rock, but they are no-take state-wide and line fishing for them is prohibited until 1 March 2028, so admire them and let them swim off.

Watch a couple of full wave sets before you commit to a ledge — the rogue that comes through every ten minutes is the one that catches people out, and the lower-looking rock is usually the one that gets wet. Fish here with at least one other person and tell someone your plan. Cleated boots or rock spikes earn their keep on the weed-slimed sandstone, and a long-handled gaff or drop net saves you leaning out over the edge. Early light is both the best bite and the safest light, because that is when you can still read the sets. Bring your bait with you rather than picking it off the rocks nearby: the Bondi Intertidal Protected Area runs from the rock baths at the southern end of Bondi Beach to the northern end of Tamarama, and inside it cunjevoi, crabs, worms, snails, shellfish and nippers may not be taken at all. Ben Buckler sits at the northern end of the beach, outside that closure, but the boundary is closer than most people assume.

Street parking along Ramsgate Avenue at the top of the headland is timed and limited, and it turns over fast, so weekend mornings fill early. From the car the platform is reached by a short walk and a scramble down the rocks, which is the catch — the descent is steep and uneven, so it suits able-footed anglers rather than anyone with limited mobility, and it is not a place to bring small children to the water's edge. There are no toilets on the headland itself; the nearest amenities are back along the Bondi promenade and at North Bondi. Bondi Junction is the closest train station, with buses running down to North Bondi.

This ledge wants a small, settled swell — under about 1 to 1.5 metres — and a light to moderate westerly or northwesterly that blows offshore and flattens the platform. It fishes best on a rising tide into low light. Anything over about 2 metres, or a building easterly or southerly sea, washes the ledges and turns the spot dangerous. Check the Sydney coastal swell and tide forecast the night before and again at the car — if the lower rocks are already taking water, the session is off.

This is a serious, swell-exposed ocean ledge, and the risks are the ordinary ones that kill people here: rogue sets washing the lower ledges, weed-slimed sandstone on the climb down, and a fast-building sea that can cut off the retreat below the cliff. This headland takes the same ocean swell as the declared ledges a few kilometres south in Randwick, where 24 rock-fishing deaths have been recorded since 2001 and which is described as the number one danger spot in the state. Wear an approved lifejacket here — AS 4758 level 50S or greater for adults, level 100 for under-12s — and make sure anyone helping you and any child in your care wears one too. Wear cleats or rock spikes, never fish alone, keep a clear escape route to high ground, and walk away if the swell is up. Bluebottles and sunburn round out the smaller hazards.

Yes. The rock platform under the northern headland of Bondi Beach is a long-established land-based rock-fishing spot for tailor, salmon, luderick and more. It is exposed to ocean swell, so it should only be fished on small, settled seas, never alone, and ideally in cleated boots with an approved lifejacket. A NSW Recreational Fishing Fee is required to fish anywhere in NSW unless you are exempt — $7 for three days, $14 for a month, $35 for a year or $85 for three years — and the receipt has to be on you while you fish.

Yes. Ben Buckler is swell-exposed ocean rock and every rock-fishing safety authority recommends an approved lifejacket — AS 4758 level 50S or greater for adults, level 100 for under-12s — for anyone fishing and anyone helping them. The Randwick coast immediately south has recorded 24 rock-fishing deaths since 2001 and the same swell runs past this headland. You also need to pay the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee.

Tailor and Australian salmon in the wash, luderick on weed, eastern rock blackfish (black drummer), silver trevally and yellowfin bream in the gutters, and yellowtail kingfish off the front in summer. The headline limits: tailor 30 cm and a bag of 10, salmon no minimum size and a bag of 5, luderick 27 cm and a bag of 10, blackfish 30 cm and a bag of 10, silver trevally 30 cm on a bag of 10 shared across the trevallies, bream 25 cm on a bag of 10 shared with tarwhine, and kingfish 65 cm with a bag of 5. Eastern blue groper are common around the rocks but are no-take everywhere in NSW, with line fishing for them prohibited until 1 March 2028 — look, do not target them.

Use the timed street parking along Ramsgate Avenue at the top of the headland; spaces are limited and fill quickly on weekends. From the car it is a short walk and then a steep, uneven scramble down to the platform, so it is not a mobility-friendly spot. There are no toilets on the headland — the nearest are along the Bondi promenade and at North Bondi.

Dawn and dusk on a rising tide, on a small swell under about 1.5 metres with a light westerly blowing offshore. Tailor and Australian salmon are best through the cooler months, roughly April to August, while kingfish are a summer fish, December to April. Avoid the ledge entirely on swells over roughly 2 metres or on any building easterly or southerly sea.