Can you catch squid at the Clifton Gardens wharf?

Yes — the Clifton Gardens Reserve wharf at the end of Morella Road is one of the more consistent squid spots in Sydney Harbour, working year-round with an autumn peak. Fish 2.5–3.0 egi jigs along the wharf pylons and over the downstream kelp bed, natural colours by day and brighter ones at first and last light, with no minimum size and a bag of 20 across all squid and cuttlefish. Note the separate Chowder Bay wharf in Headland Park, a few hundred metres south, is signed no-fishing. A NSW Recreational Fishing Fee is required to fish anywhere in NSW, including from the wharf.

Do you need a fishing licence to fish at Clifton Gardens, Mosman?

You do not need a separate licence, but adults must pay the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee and carry the receipt while fishing, whether from the wharf, the rocks or a boat. Under-18s, Aboriginal people and Pensioner Concession Card holders are exempt — a Seniors Card or Health Care Card is not. It is $7 for 3 days, $14 for a month, $35 for a year or $85 for three years.

Are the fish at Clifton Gardens safe to eat?

Clifton Gardens sits east of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, where NSW Health advises eating no more than about 150g of harbour-caught fish per month, though higher amounts of some species may be eaten. Many anglers fish it as catch-and-release for that reason. Fish caught west of the bridge should not be eaten at all.

Is Clifton Gardens good for fishing with kids?

It is one of the better family fishing spots on the harbour. The flat, sealed walk from the car park, the shark-netted swimming enclosure, shaded playground, BBQs and toilets mean kids can swim and play while a line soaks off the wharf. Mind the drop from the wharf edge and bring a net for lifting fish up.

When is the best time to catch kingfish at Clifton Gardens?

Late spring through summer — roughly November to April — around the change of light on a moving tide. Jig up live yellowtail off the deep pylons and send them back down; most kings are rats, but better fish patrol the deep water at the end of the wharf at dawn and dusk.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Clifton Gardens (Chowder Bay)

Thu 22 Oct 2026 · Australia/Sydney

Forecast updated Thu 22 Oct, 11:19pm AEDT

Bite Alert

←

22 Oct

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Today Tomorrow Sat 31 Oct

📍 Clifton Gardens (Chowder Bay)

waxing gibbous · 82%

Weather: Rainy Wind: NE 45° · 17 km/h Swell: 1.1 m @ 6 s E Water: 19.9 °C Pressure: 1023.5 hPa → steady Sheltered water: wind direction matters less here

★★★☆☆

Medium Fish Activity

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▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 6:00 am

Solunar Between windows

Time of day Dawn

Tide Turning

Wind E 10 km/h

Moon waxing gibbous all day

Water temp 19.9 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day Timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 5:40 am Last light 7:39 pm

High 6:16 am Low 11:54 am High 6:00 pm

Drag or use arrow keys to explore

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

3:30 am → 7:30 am

Good

6:30 pm → 11:00 pm

4h 30m

Good

9:00 am → 11:00 am

First light

5:40 am

Last light

7:39 pm

Sunrise

6:05 am

Sunset

7:13 pm

Moonrise

3:11 pm

Moonset

3:36 am

High tide

6:16 am

Low tide

11:54 am

High tide

6:00 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

🌧️

17°

↗︎

55°

7 km/h

1am

🌧️

17°

↗︎

51°

3 km/h

2am

🌧️

17°

↗︎

40°

5 km/h

3am

🌧️

17°

↗︎

62°

12 km/h

4am

🌧️

17°

↗︎

56°

6 km/h

5am

🌧️

18°

→︎

68°

10 km/h

6am

🌧️

18°

→︎

79°

10 km/h

7am

🌧️

18°

→︎

76°

13 km/h

8am

☁️

19°

→︎

77°

16 km/h

9am

🌧️

20°

→︎

74°

17 km/h

10am

🌧️

21°

→︎

69°

20 km/h

11am

🌧️

20°

↗︎

61°

18 km/h

12pm

🌧️

21°

↗︎

61°

21 km/h

1pm

🌧️

21°

↗︎

63°

23 km/h

2pm

🌧️

20°

↗︎

51°

22 km/h

3pm

☁️

21°

↗︎

53°

22 km/h

4pm

☁️

21°

↗︎

55°

24 km/h

5pm

☁️

20°

↗︎

50°

24 km/h

6pm

🌧️

20°

↗︎

48°

23 km/h

7pm

☁️

20°

↗︎

49°

20 km/h

8pm

☁️

20°

↗︎

49°

20 km/h

9pm

☁️

19°

↗︎

49°

19 km/h

10pm

☁️

19°

↗︎

47°

18 km/h

11pm

☁️

19°

↗︎

45°

17 km/h

Hourly Swell

Steady ~1.1 m E

12am

0.9 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Slight

chop

1am

0.9 m

@ 5 s

→︎

Slight

chop

2am

0.8 m

@ 5 s

→︎

Slight

chop

3am

0.9 m

@ 5 s

→︎

Slight

chop

4am

0.9 m

@ 5 s

→︎

Slight

chop

5am

1.0 m

@ 5 s

→︎

Moderate

chop

6am

1.0 m

@ 5 s

→︎

Moderate

chop

7am

1.0 m

@ 5 s

→︎

Moderate

chop

8am

1.0 m

@ 5 s

→︎

Moderate

chop

9am

1.0 m

@ 5 s

→︎

Moderate

chop

10am

1.0 m

@ 5 s

→︎

Moderate

chop

11am

1.1 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Moderate

chop

12pm

1.0 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Moderate

chop

1pm

1.0 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Slight

chop

2pm

0.9 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Slight

chop

3pm

1.0 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Slight

chop

4pm

1.0 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Moderate

chop

5pm

1.1 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Moderate

chop

6pm

1.1 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Moderate

chop

7pm

1.1 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Moderate

chop

8pm

1.2 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Moderate

chop

9pm

1.1 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Moderate

chop

10pm

1.1 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Moderate

chop

11pm

1.1 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Moderate

chop

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 17 km/h NE (45°).

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

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

3:30 am → 7:30 am

Good

6:30 pm → 11:00 pm

4h 30m

Good

9:00 am → 11:00 am

First light

5:40 am

Last light

7:39 pm

Sunrise

6:05 am

Sunset

7:13 pm

Moonrise

3:11 pm

Moonset

3:36 am

High tide

6:16 am

Low tide

11:54 am

High tide

6:00 pm

Nearby Spots

Species at This Spot

Keep Tabs on Clifton Gardens (Chowder Bay)

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