Bottle and Glass Point (Nielsen Park, Vaucluse)

Bottle and Glass Point is the rocky sandstone elbow at the eastern end of Nielsen Park, where Shark Beach gives way to the columns the harbour pilots named for their bottle-and-glass shapes. It is one of the few spots inside Sydney Harbour where you can stand on dry rock and cast straight into deep water — the ledges on the southern side drop away fast into the main harbour channel. That deep edge, the kelp running back toward Shark Beach, and the moorings off the point are why the same three fish keep coming up: kingfish that prowl the drop-off, blackfish and bream that hang in the wash, and squid all over the weed. It fishes best on a southerly, when the chop pushes bait against the rocks and the water out front stays workable.

Locals split the point by what they are chasing. For kingfish the play is live bait — squid or a yellowtail jigged off the kelp, fished under a float or on a lightly weighted line cast to the deep southern ledge, often with the marker buoy known as Old Yella offshore as the reference. Luderick anglers float-fish weed or green cabbage on the run-out, drifting baits along the wash line with a steady berley trail of soaked bread and weed. Bream come on the change of light to peeled prawn, half pilchard or chicken gut fished tight to the rock and around the moorings, and the squid fall to size 2.5–3.5 jigs worked slowly over the kelp at dusk. Most of the better fishing happens early morning and late afternoon on the top and bottom of the tide, and with the park closing at sunset the late session runs to last light rather than past it.

Yellowtail kingfish are the headline act from late spring through autumn, holding off the southern ledge and around Old Yella, with the odd school fish through winter on a warm current. Yellowfin bream are the reliable year-rounder, thickest around the moorings on dawn and dusk and best after a bit of fresh in the harbour. Luderick stack up in the wash through the cooler months from about April to September. Southern calamari are available all year over the kelp and peak when the weed is thick. Mulloway are a genuine but harder chance on the bigger tides of the warmer months, though the sunset closing means the practical window is the last of the light rather than a night session — Old Yella has given up jewfish around November and December — and you will pick up silver trevally, tailor on the run-out, and a flathead off the sand between the kelp patches.

Fish the low-light edges and the tide changes rather than the middle of a flat day — this is a small platform and the fish move through on the current. A steady berley trail of bread and chopped weed does more for the blackfish and bream here than any rig change. Jig a couple of squid first thing and you have both bait and a feed sorted, plus the best live offering for a kingfish that swims past. The point gets busy with picnickers and swimmers in summer, so the dawn and dusk sessions are quieter and the fishing is better anyway. Note that collecting cunjevoi, worms, shellfish and other invertebrates is prohibited along this intertidal stretch — bring your bait rather than gathering it off the rocks. Anything you do keep comes from east of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, where the health advice is to eat no more than about 150 grams a month, though higher amounts of some species may be eaten.

Park on Greycliffe Avenue, Vaucluse, which has standard and accessible bays but fills early on warm weekends — spaces cannot be booked. From the car park it is a short, mostly level walk to the point, and the Bottle and Glass loop track has easy wheelchair access from the street, though the grassy off-track sections need a hand. Flush toilets and drinking water are about five minutes back toward Shark Beach in the main Nielsen Park area, where there is also a netted swimming enclosure and picnic tables. It sits inside Sydney Harbour National Park, entry is free, NPWS lists the park as open sunrise to sunset, and dogs are not permitted. The grass and protected swim net make it genuinely kid-friendly, but the fishing ledges themselves are rock and should be supervised closely with children.

This is a harbour rock point, so it is far more forgiving than the open-ocean ledges — but it still has moods. It fishes best on a southerly, when wind and chop push bait against the southern rocks and the deeper water stays fishable. A strong northeasterly summer sea breeze blows straight onto the point and makes float work and bait presentation awkward, and a big ocean southerly swell wrapping into the harbour will wash the lower ledges and is a sign to move up onto higher rock or fish elsewhere. The tide changes — top and bottom — concentrate the fish, and the run-out is prime for luderick and bream.

It is calmer than the eastern-suburbs ocean platforms, but it is still rock beside deep water. The sandstone gets greasy with weed and algae low on the tide, so wear cleated boots and watch your footing near the edge. A large ocean southerly swell does wrap into the harbour and can surge over the lower southern ledges without much warning — fish higher rock when there is swell about, and never turn your back on the water. A lifejacket is strongly recommended on any swell-washed rock here — adults to Australian Standard AS 4758 level 50S or greater, under-12s level 100 or greater — and it is genuine safety gear rather than paperwork on rock beside water this deep. In summer expect bluebottles after a northeasterly, oyster-cut hazards on the lower rocks, strong sun with little shade on the point, and plenty of swimmers and snorkellers in the water below — keep casts and rigs well clear of them.

Yes. The rocks on the southern side drop into deep water and are one of the better land-based kingfish spots inside Sydney Harbour, especially from late spring through autumn. The proven method is a live squid or yellowtail fished under a float or balloon toward the deep ledge and around the offshore marker locals call Old Yella. Use heavy gear — 30–50lb braid and 40–60lb leader — because kings will bury you in the kelp. Yellowtail kingfish must be at least 65cm in NSW with a bag limit of 5, and you need a NSW Recreational Fishing Fee to fish here.

There is no separate licence, but a NSW Recreational Fishing Fee is required to fish anywhere in New South Wales, including Bottle and Glass Point and the rest of Nielsen Park. It runs $7 for three days, $14 for a month, $35 for a year or $85 for three years, and you must carry the receipt while fishing. Entry to Nielsen Park itself is free and NPWS lists it as open sunrise to sunset.

Park on Greycliffe Avenue, Vaucluse, which has standard and accessible bays, then take the short, mostly level walk out to the point. The car park fills early on warm weekends and spaces cannot be reserved, so arrive at first light for both a park and the best fishing. Flush toilets and drinking water are about five minutes back toward Shark Beach.

The regulars are yellowtail kingfish, yellowfin bream, luderick, southern calamari, and a chance at mulloway on dusk, plus tailor, silver trevally and the odd flathead. The NSW limits that matter here are kingfish 65cm and a bag of 5; mulloway 70cm and a bag of one per person, with a boat limit of two per boat when two or more are aboard; bream 25cm and a bag of 10 shared with tarwhine; luderick 27cm and a bag of 10; tailor 30cm and a bag of 10; dusky flathead a 36–70cm slot with a bag of 5; and squid no minimum size with a bag of 20 across all squid and cuttlefish. If you hook an eastern blue groper it goes straight back — it is a no-take species everywhere in NSW and line fishing for it is prohibited until 1 March 2028. Fish caught east of the Harbour Bridge also carry the dioxin advice of no more than about 150 grams a month.

It is one of the more forgiving harbour rock spots, but it is still rock beside deep water. The sandstone gets slippery with weed low on the tide, and a large ocean southerly swell can wrap into the harbour and surge over the lower southern ledges, so wear cleated boots, fish higher rock when there is swell, and never turn your back on the water. Wear a lifejacket whenever you fish the lower ledges — adults need Australian Standard AS 4758 level 50S or greater and under-12s level 100 or greater — and supervise children closely.