Can you fish off the rocks at Clovelly and Gordons Bay?

Yes. Line fishing is permitted throughout the Bronte-Coogee Aquatic Reserve, and North Clovelly Point and the Gordons Bay ledges are popular for luderick, bream, trevally, drummer and the odd kingfish. What is closed here is spearfishing, which is banned in Clovelly Bay, Gordons Bay and the surrounding waters, and bait collection — no cunjevoi, crabs, worms or shellfish may be taken, and among the plants only sea lettuce and bait weed. Eastern blue groper cannot be taken by any method. A NSW Recreational Fishing Fee is required to fish anywhere in NSW.

Do you need a lifejacket to rock fish at Clovelly?

Yes. Clovelly sits in the Randwick City local government area, which is a declared area under the NSW Rock Fishing Safety Act 2016, so a lifejacket is compulsory when you fish with rod, line or handline from naturally occurring rock exposed to ocean swell here, and the duty covers anyone helping you and any child under 12 in your care. Adults need an AS 4758 level 50S jacket or better and under-12s need level 100, and going without risks a $100 on-the-spot fine. It is a state law rather than a council rule, and it applies to rocks exposed to ocean swell.

Can you catch kingfish from the rocks at Clovelly?

Yes, kingfish are hooked close in off the diver-entry rocks near the Clovelly car park, mostly through the warmer months from around November to April. Chrome metals like a 20g Halco Twisty, stickbaits, or a live yellowtail all work, but the fish bolt straight into the kelp, so bring heavy gear and expect to lose a few.

Is the blue groper at Clovelly protected?

Yes. The eastern blue groper is the NSW state fish emblem and a no-take species across all NSW waters — it cannot be kept, taken by any method, and the line fishing prohibition on it runs until 1 March 2028. That covers the famous tame groper at Clovelly and Gordons Bay the same as anywhere else in the state, so there is no lawful way to take one here. If one picks up your bait, release it carefully and get on with the session.

When is the best time to fish North Clovelly Point?

Sunrise, sunset and overcast days are the standout windows, and the surface bite is best then. For luderick and bait fishing, work the run-out and the last of the run-in tide; on clear, calm days concentrate on the two hours either side of high water. Light winds and a swell under about 1.5m are what you want.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Clovelly / Gordons Bay

Thu 17 Sep 2026 · Australia/Sydney

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17 Sep

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Today Tomorrow Sat 19 Sep

📍 Clovelly / Gordons Bay

waxing crescent · 28%

Weather: Sunny Wind: S 188° · 22 km/h Swell: 1.7 m @ 8 s S Water: 17.7 °C Pressure: 1031.6 hPa → steady

★★★☆☆

Medium Fish Activity

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 5:30 am

Solunar Between windows

Time of day Dawn

Tide Moving

Wind SW 17 km/h

Moon waxing crescent all day

Water temp 17.7 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 5:27 am Last light 6:12 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

5:00 am → 6:30 am

1h 30m

Good

4:00 pm → 7:30 pm

3h 30m

First light

5:27 am

Last light

6:12 pm

Sunrise

5:52 am

Sunset

5:47 pm

Moonrise

8:56 am

Moonset

12:00 am

Low tide

4:50 am

High tide

11:30 am

Low tide

6:30 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

☀️

13°

↓︎

199°

23 km/h

1am

☁️

12°

↙︎

203°

22 km/h

2am

☀️

11°

↙︎

208°

21 km/h

3am

☀️

11°

↙︎

215°

19 km/h

4am

☀️

11°

↙︎

220°

17 km/h

5am

☀️

11°

↙︎

223°

17 km/h

6am

☀️

11°

↙︎

223°

16 km/h

7am

☀️

11°

↙︎

220°

16 km/h

8am

☀️

12°

↙︎

211°

18 km/h

9am

☀️

13°

↓︎

202°

20 km/h

10am

☀️

15°

↓︎

196°

22 km/h

11am

☀️

15°

↓︎

192°

23 km/h

12pm

☀️

16°

↓︎

188°

22 km/h

1pm

☀️

16°

↓︎

185°

22 km/h

2pm

☀️

16°

↓︎

183°

21 km/h

3pm

☀️

16°

↓︎

183°

20 km/h

4pm

☀️

15°

↓︎

181°

18 km/h

5pm

☀️

15°

↓︎

177°

16 km/h

6pm

☀️

15°

↓︎

172°

14 km/h

7pm

☀️

15°

↓︎

167°

11 km/h

8pm

☀️

14°

↓︎

168°

9 km/h

9pm

☀️

13°

↓︎

178°

6 km/h

10pm

☀️

13°

↙︎

204°

4 km/h

11pm

☀️

12°

↙︎

246°

5 km/h

Hourly Swell

Easing 1.6 → 1.3 m S

12am

1.6 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

1am

1.8 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

2am

1.8 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

3am

1.8 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

4am

1.8 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

5am

1.8 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

6am

1.7 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

7am

1.7 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

8am

1.7 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

9am

1.7 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

10am

1.7 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

11am

1.7 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

12pm

1.7 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

1pm

1.7 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

2pm

1.7 m

@ 8 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

3pm

1.7 m

@ 8 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

4pm

1.7 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

5pm

1.7 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

6pm

1.6 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

7pm

1.5 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

8pm

1.5 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

9pm

1.4 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

10pm

1.3 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

11pm

1.3 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

Water Temp (°C)

→ steady around 17.7°

Mon

14 Sep

18.0°

Tue

15 Sep

18.0°

Wed

16 Sep

17.8°

Thu

17 Sep

17.7°

Fri

18 Sep

17.8°

Sat

19 Sep

17.9°

Sun

20 Sep

18.0°

Mon

21 Sep

18.0°

Tue

22 Sep

18.1°

Wed

23 Sep

—

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 22 km/h S (188°).

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 am → 6:30 am

1h 30m

Good

4:00 pm → 7:30 pm

3h 30m

First light

5:27 am

Last light

6:12 pm

Sunrise

5:52 am

Sunset

5:47 pm

Moonrise

8:56 am

Moonset

12:00 am

Low tide

4:50 am

High tide

11:30 am

Low tide

6:30 pm

Nearby spots

Species at this spot

Yellowtail Kingfish
Luderick
Yellowfin Bream
Tailor
Australian Salmon
Rock Blackfish
Silver Trevally
Eastern Blue Groper · closed