How do you get to Box Head for fishing?

Park at the Hawke Head Drive car park at Killcare — Bouddi National Park charges $8 per vehicle per day, payable by card at the machine or via the Park'nPay app — and take the Box Head track. It is about 3.1km return and takes 45 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes on a rocky Grade 3 trail. There are no toilets or taps at the headland, so carry water and a head torch if you're fishing into the dark. A NSW Recreational Fishing Fee is required to fish anywhere in NSW, and the receipt has to be on you while you fish.

Do you have to wear a lifejacket rock fishing at Box Head?

Yes. Box Head sits in the Central Coast local government area, which is declared under the Rock Fishing Safety Act 2016, so wearing an appropriate lifejacket is a legal requirement at the high-risk rock-fishing locations the council has declared — and a swell-exposed ocean platform like this one is squarely what the law is aimed at. It covers everyone fishing and anyone helping. Adults need AS 4758 level 50S or greater and children under 12 need level 100, correctly sized and in good condition. Going without can attract a $100 on-the-spot fine, and given the exposed swell here it is sensible regardless of the law.

What's the best time to catch jewfish at Box Head?

Night sessions around the tide change are the go, and the standout window is the run-out tide in the days after heavy Hawkesbury rain when flood water flushes bait past the entrance. Soak a live yellowtail, fresh squid or a whole dead bait on the deeper edges. Mulloway in NSW must be at least 70cm and the recreational bag limit is one fish per person.

Can you spin for tailor and pelagics off Box Head?

Yes — flood-time spinning is what the spot is known for. Throw 40–65g metals and stickbaits into the wash for tailor, salmon, bonito and the odd summer kingfish, best at dawn and dusk on a moving tide. Tailor have a 30cm minimum and a daily bag limit of 10, with 20 in possession. Australian salmon have no minimum size in NSW and a bag of 5.

Is Box Head safe for kids and families?

Not really — the 3.1km round walk, unfenced cliffs and exposed rock make it a poor fit for small children. Families are much better off at Putty Beach near the Killcare car park, where there is sand, sheltered water and a patrolled beach at the Killcare end. Keep the headland for capable adults in suitable conditions.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Box Head

Thu 17 Sep 2026 · Australia/Sydney

Save

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17 Sep

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Today Tomorrow Sat 19 Sep

📍 Box Head

waxing crescent · 28%

Weather: Sunny Wind: S 174° · 21 km/h Swell: 1.4 m @ 7 s SE Water: 18.1 °C Pressure: 1030.9 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 SE 9 km/h

Moon waxing crescent all day

Water temp 18.1 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 5:27 am Last light 6:11 pm

Low 4:50 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

5:27 am

Last light

6:11 pm

Sunrise

5:51 am

Sunset

5:47 pm

Moonrise

8:57 am

Moonset

11:59 pm

Low tide

4:50 am

High tide

11:30 am

Low tide

6:30 pm

High tide

11:50 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

☀️

13°

↓︎

190°

27 km/h

1am

☁️

13°

↓︎

200°

24 km/h

2am

☁️

12°

↙︎

212°

23 km/h

3am

☁️

11°

↙︎

221°

19 km/h

4am

☁️

11°

↙︎

220°

20 km/h

5am

☀️

11°

↙︎

230°

18 km/h

6am

☀️

10°

↙︎

244°

16 km/h

7am

☀️

10°

←︎

249°

15 km/h

8am

☀️

12°

↙︎

237°

16 km/h

9am

☀️

14°

↙︎

213°

17 km/h

10am

☀️

15°

↓︎

198°

21 km/h

11am

☀️

16°

↓︎

187°

21 km/h

12pm

☀️

16°

↓︎

174°

21 km/h

1pm

☀️

16°

↓︎

166°

20 km/h

2pm

☀️

16°

↓︎

159°

19 km/h

3pm

☀️

16°

↘︎

152°

17 km/h

4pm

☀️

15°

↘︎

153°

15 km/h

5pm

☀️

15°

↘︎

151°

13 km/h

6pm

☀️

14°

↘︎

151°

9 km/h

7pm

☀️

13°

↘︎

154°

6 km/h

8pm

☀️

13°

↓︎

165°

4 km/h

9pm

☀️

12°

↙︎

204°

4 km/h

10pm

☀️

12°

←︎

250°

5 km/h

11pm

☀️

11°

←︎

262°

7 km/h

Hourly Swell

Easing 1.4 → 1.0 m S

12am

1.4 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

1am

1.4 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

2am

1.4 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

3am

1.5 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

4am

1.5 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

5am

1.4 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

6am

1.3 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

7am

1.2 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

8am

1.3 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

9am

1.3 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

10am

1.4 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

11am

1.4 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

12pm

1.4 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

1pm

1.4 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

2pm

1.3 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

3pm

1.3 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

4pm

1.2 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

5pm

1.1 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

6pm

1.1 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

7pm

1.0 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

8pm

1.0 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

9pm

1.0 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

10pm

1.0 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

11pm

1.0 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

Water Temp (°C)

→ steady around 18.1°

Mon

14 Sep

18.4°

Tue

15 Sep

18.5°

Wed

16 Sep

18.4°

Thu

17 Sep

18.1°

Fri

18 Sep

18.2°

Sat

19 Sep

18.4°

Sun

20 Sep

18.5°

Mon

21 Sep

18.7°

Tue

22 Sep

18.8°

Wed

23 Sep

18.9°

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 21 km/h S (174°).

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

5:27 am

Last light

6:11 pm

Sunrise

5:51 am

Sunset

5:47 pm

Moonrise

8:57 am

Moonset

11:59 pm

Low tide

4:50 am

High tide

11:30 am

Low tide

6:30 pm

High tide

11:50 pm

Nearby spots

Species at this spot

Mulloway (Jewfish)
Yellowfin Bream
Tailor
Australian Salmon
Yellowtail Kingfish
Bonito
Luderick
Silver Trevally