Is the old stone jetty at Bradleys Head still open?

No. NSW National Parks closed the historic stone wharf on 23 July 2026 after engineering inspections found the sandstone blockwork moving and scour beneath parts of the structure. Emergency stabilisation work was carried out but did not return it to a condition fit for unrestricted public access, and no reopening date has been announced. The southern rocks a short scramble away are open, and they are the better fishing anyway, dropping into around 60ft of water.

When is the best time to fish Bradleys Head?

Early morning or late afternoon on a rising tide is the classic window — the current around the point concentrates bait and the low light brings the predators on. The dead of the tide is the slow patch, and pelagics are most likely from late spring through summer when bait is thick.

Can you fish Bradleys Head from the rocks safely?

It is sheltered harbour rock rather than open-coast platform, so swell is rarely the issue, but the sandstone is slippery and the southern rocks sit high over deep, cold water. The real hazard is vessel wash from the shipping channel, which surges in minutes after a ship passes — keep gear back from the low rock, wear grippy boots, fish with a mate and consider a lifejacket on the lower ledges.

Is there parking at Bradleys Head and what does it cost?

Yes — there is a car park off Bradleys Head Road in Mosman inside Sydney Harbour National Park, around $8 per vehicle per day paid by card or phone. NPWS publishes the park as open sunrise to sunset rather than to a fixed clock, so read the sign on the gate on the way in — it matters if you are planning a dusk session in winter. It is a short walk down to the foreshore, amphitheatre and headland, with picnic facilities on the way.

What are the size limits for kingfish and flathead here?

In NSW, yellowtail kingfish have a 65cm minimum and a bag limit of 5, and dusky flathead must fall within a 36–70cm slot with a bag of 5 and 10 in possession — anything over 70cm must be released. Bream are 25cm with a bag of 10 shared with tarwhine, luderick 27cm with a bag of 10, and tailor 30cm with a daily bag of 10 and 20 in possession. It is worth checking the current NSW DPIRD rules before you keep a fish, and a NSW Recreational Fishing Fee is required.

What fish can you catch at Bradleys Head?

Yellowfin bream, luderick, dusky flathead, tailor, Australian salmon and leatherjacket are the regulars, with yellowtail kingfish and bonito the prize pelagics from late spring into autumn, plus squid over the downstream kelp. A NSW Recreational Fishing Fee is required to fish anywhere in NSW, including here, and the dioxin advice for fish caught east of the Harbour Bridge is no more than about 150 grams a month.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Bradleys Head

Sat 19 Sep 2026 · Australia/Sydney

Save

←

19 Sep

tap to pick date

→

Today Tomorrow Sat 19 Sep

📍 Bradleys Head

first quarter · 48%

Weather: Sunny Wind: S 170° · 5 km/h Swell: 0.7 m @ 9 s S Water: 17.8 °C Pressure: 1023.5 hPa ↓ falling

★★★☆☆

Medium Fish Activity

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 6:00 pm

Solunar Major window

Time of day Dusk

Tide Moving

Wind E 4 km/h

Moon first quarter all day

Water temp 17.8 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 5:24 am Last light 6:13 pm

High 1:30 am Low 6:39 am High 1:39 pm Low 8:50 pm

Drag or use arrow keys to explore

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

5:00 pm → 7:30 pm

2h 30m

Good

5:00 am → 6:30 am

1h 30m

Good

10:30 am → 11:00 am

30m

First light

5:24 am

Last light

6:13 pm

Sunrise

5:49 am

Sunset

5:49 pm

Moonrise

10:31 am

Moonset

—

High tide

1:30 am

Low tide

6:39 am

High tide

1:39 pm

Low tide

8:50 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

☀️

12°

↖︎

300°

3 km/h

1am

☀️

12°

←︎

272°

4 km/h

2am

☀️

11°

←︎

272°

6 km/h

3am

☀️

11°

←︎

276°

8 km/h

4am

☀️

11°

←︎

278°

10 km/h

5am

☀️

11°

←︎

279°

11 km/h

6am

☀️

12°

←︎

279°

12 km/h

7am

☀️

13°

←︎

279°

12 km/h

8am

☀️

15°

←︎

279°

13 km/h

9am

☀️

18°

←︎

279°

13 km/h

10am

☀️

21°

←︎

275°

11 km/h

11am

☀️

23°

←︎

255°

6 km/h

12pm

☀️

24°

↓︎

170°

5 km/h

1pm

☀️

25°

↘︎

140°

9 km/h

2pm

☀️

25°

↘︎

133°

11 km/h

3pm

☀️

24°

↘︎

127°

10 km/h

4pm

☀️

23°

↘︎

121°

9 km/h

5pm

☀️

21°

→︎

108°

6 km/h

6pm

☀️

20°

→︎

75°

4 km/h

7pm

☀️

18°

↗︎

29°

4 km/h

8pm

☀️

17°

↑︎

352°

4 km/h

9pm

☀️

17°

↖︎

320°

5 km/h

10pm

☀️

16°

↖︎

305°

5 km/h

11pm

☀️

15°

↖︎

304°

4 km/h

Hourly Swell

Easing 0.9 → 0.5 m S

12am

0.9 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

1am

0.9 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

2am

0.9 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

3am

0.9 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

4am

0.8 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

5am

0.8 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

6am

0.8 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

7am

0.8 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

8am

0.7 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

9am

0.7 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

10am

0.7 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

11am

0.7 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

12pm

0.7 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

1pm

0.7 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

2pm

0.6 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

3pm

0.6 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

4pm

0.6 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

5pm

0.6 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

6pm

0.6 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

7pm

0.6 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

8pm

0.5 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

9pm

0.5 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

10pm

0.5 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

11pm

0.5 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

Water Temp (°C)

→ steady around 17.8°

Wed

16 Sep

17.8°

Thu

17 Sep

17.7°

Fri

18 Sep

17.8°

Sat

19 Sep

17.8°

Sun

20 Sep

18.0°

Mon

21 Sep

18.0°

Tue

22 Sep

18.0°

Wed

23 Sep

18.1°

Thu

24 Sep

—

Fri

25 Sep

—

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 5 km/h S (170°).

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

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

5:00 pm → 7:30 pm

2h 30m

Good

5:00 am → 6:30 am

1h 30m

Good

10:30 am → 11:00 am

30m

First light

5:24 am

Last light

6:13 pm

Sunrise

5:49 am

Sunset

5:49 pm

Moonrise

10:31 am

Moonset

—

High tide

1:30 am

Low tide

6:39 am

High tide

1:39 pm

Low tide

8:50 pm

Nearby spots

Species at this spot

Yellowfin Bream
Luderick
Dusky Flathead
Tailor
Australian Salmon
Yellowtail Kingfish
Bonito
Southern Calamari (Squid)