Clovelly / Gordons Bay

Clovelly and Gordons Bay are two sheltered rocky bays a few minutes apart on the eastern suburbs coast, and both sit inside the Bronte-Coogee Aquatic Reserve. Being inside a reserve does not mean the rod stays in the car: line fishing is permitted throughout, and it is spearfishing that is closed in Clovelly Bay, Gordons Bay and the surrounding waters. The draw for land-based anglers is the rock platform on the north side — North Clovelly Point, reached off the Clovelly car park rocks where the divers enter the water. It is calm by Sydney rock-fishing standards, the kelp wall drops away into clean reef close to the ledges, and the bay funnels bait and the occasional kingfish right under your rod tip. It is also home to the famous tame blue groper that snorkellers hand-feed, which matters, because groper here are strictly look-but-do-not-touch.

The locals work North Clovelly Point and the platform on the Gordons Bay side, casting metals and small stickbaits over the wash for surface fish at first and last light. Luderick anglers float weed under a quill float and trot it along the kelp edge on the run-in and run-out. Bream and trevally come on bait fished tight to the reef on a light running sinker. Kingfish are the prize and the headache — they get hooked close in on metals or live yellowtail off the diver-entry rocks, then bury you in the reef before you can do much about it. Overcast days fish all tides; on clear days stick to the two hours either side of high.

Luderick are the year-round bread-and-butter, best on the moving tide with green weed or bait weed brought in with you, at 27 cm and a bag of 10. Yellowfin bream and silver trevally hold on the reef edges all year and lift in the warmer months — bream 25 cm on a bag of 10 shared with tarwhine, trevally 30 cm on a bag of 10 shared across the trevallies. Rock blackfish, the black drummer the locals call pigs, sit in the wash and pull hard at 30 cm and a bag of 10. Tailor and Australian salmon run the platform on metals through the cooler half of the year, tailor from about April to August and salmon from about May to September, tailor at 30 cm on a bag of 10 and salmon with no minimum size at all on a bag of 5. Yellowtail kingfish are the summer-into-autumn visitor, hooked close to the rocks from roughly November to April, at 65 cm and a bag of 5. Eastern blue groper are everywhere here. Taking one by any method is prohibited right across NSW waters, and the line fishing prohibition on top of that runs until 1 March 2028, so admire them and move on.

Sunrise, sunset and overcast days are when the surface bite fires — a flat grey morning beats a bluebird one here. The platform is shared with snorkellers, divers and swimmers, so keep casts clear of anyone in the water and pack up your weed and bait scraps; this is a reserve and a busy one. Bring your bait with you, because inside the Bronte-Coogee reserve you may not collect cunjevoi, crabs, worms, shells or any other invertebrate except blacklip abalone and rock lobster, and among the plants only sea lettuce and bait weed may be gathered. Sea lettuce is the Ulva that blackfish anglers call cabbage and bait weed is what most of them call green weed, so those two are the exception and every other marine plant is out. The tame groper will follow a berley trail straight to your feet, which is a reason to be tidy rather than a reason to feed them off a hook. Live yellowtail jigged off the rocks are the kingfish edge when the water warms, and a metal already tied on and ready to launch beats one you have to rig while the school passes.

Park on Victory Street at the Clovelly Beach car park; the rock platform on the north side is a short walk from the car park near the pool. Public toilets and a freshwater rinse tap sit by the beach, and cafes are a couple of minutes up the hill. The Gordons Bay platform is reached on foot via the Cliffbrook Parade coastal path — there is no car access to that bay, only stairs and the old wooden boat ramps down to the water. The flat sections near the car park are manageable, but the productive ledges are uneven rock and not mobility-friendly. It is a workable spot to bring older kids who will stay back from the edge, and anyone who fishes or helps — a child under 12 in your care included — needs a lifejacket, as the hazards note explains.

Both bays face roughly east-southeast and open to the swell, so they fish best in light winds and a swell under about 1.5m. A westerly offshore flattens the platform nicely; a strong southerly or any solid ocean swell washes the lower ledges and shuts it down. Tide changes lift the bite for luderick, bream and trevally, with the run-out and the last of the run-in the pick. On clear, calm days work the two hours either side of high water; under cloud the surface fish will play across most of the tide. After heavy rain the bays colour up and the luderick bite drops away.

Clovelly sits in the Randwick City local government area, which is a declared area under the Rock Fishing Safety Act 2016 — a state law, not a council by-law. A lifejacket is compulsory when you fish with rod, line or handline from naturally occurring rock exposed to ocean swell here, the duty covers anyone helping you and any child under 12 in your care, adults need AS 4758 level 50S or greater and under-12s level 100, and a $100 on-the-spot fine applies. The platform is sheltered but still open to the ocean: sets wash the lower ledges, the rock is slick with weed and spray, and people have come unstuck on this stretch of coast. Watch the swell for several minutes before committing to a low ledge, never turn your back on the water, never fish alone, and wear grippy boots. Bluebottles blow in on northerlies, and the bays are full of swimmers and snorkellers, so check the water below before you cast.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.