Do you need a lifejacket to fish the rocks at Coalcliff?

Yes. Coalcliff sits within the Wollongong local government area, a declared rock-fishing area under the Rock Fishing Safety Act 2016, and the council's map shades the Coalcliff shelf, 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 AS 4758 level 50S or greater and under-12s level 100 or greater, and the fine is $100 on the spot. You also need to have paid the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee and to carry the receipt.

What fish can you catch at Coalcliff?

The rock platform gives up drummer (rock blackfish) year-round, luderick mainly from autumn to spring, plus yellowfin bream, silver trevally, Australian salmon and tailor. The beach produces bream, sand whiting and trevally off the top of the tide. Eastern blue groper live around the kelp here but are protected no-take in NSW, with line fishing for them prohibited until 1 March 2028, so they must be released.

Where do you park at Coalcliff for fishing?

Turn off Lawrence Hargrave Drive at the Coalcliff SLSC signpost just north of the Sea Cliff Bridge. Parking near the beach entrance is limited and there is more at the southern end by the rock pool. Spots fill quickly on warm weekends, so arrive early. From the southern car park it is a short walk to the beach and rock pool, then a rock scramble south to reach the main fishing platform.

When is the best time to fish Coalcliff rock platform?

Fish a making-to-high tide on a small-to-moderate swell under about 1.5m, ideally around dawn or dusk. Get a berley trail running early and the drummer and luderick bite usually switches on once it has been going for a while. Westerly winds clean the water and suit the float fishing; a strong onshore easterly blows it out and makes the platform unsafe.

Is Coalcliff good for fishing with kids?

The beach and rock pool end is the family half of it, with a surf club patrol over the summer season and good whiting and bream on the beach off the top of the tide. The rock platform under the bridge is a different proposition: exposed ocean ledges with swell and slippery rock, inside a declared area where lifejackets are required by law, so it is not a place for young children.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Coalcliff Rock Platform

Thu 17 Sep 2026 · Australia/Sydney

Save

←

17 Sep

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Today Tomorrow Sat 19 Sep

📍 Coalcliff Rock Platform

waxing crescent · 28%

Weather: Sunny Wind: S 186° · 24 km/h Swell: 1.5 m @ 7 s SE Water: 17.7 °C Pressure: 1032.0 hPa → steady

★★★☆☆

Medium Fish Activity

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 6:00 pm

Solunar Between windows

Time of day Dusk

Tide Turning

Wind S 16 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 5:28 am Last light 6:13 pm

Low 4:53 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

5:28 am

Last light

6:13 pm

Sunrise

5:53 am

Sunset

5:48 pm

Moonrise

8:57 am

Moonset

12:03 am

Low tide

4:53 am

High tide

11:30 am

Low tide

6:30 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

☀️

11°

↙︎

205°

28 km/h

1am

☀️

11°

↙︎

207°

28 km/h

2am

☀️

10°

↙︎

208°

28 km/h

3am

☀️

10°

↙︎

210°

28 km/h

4am

☀️

10°

↙︎

211°

27 km/h

5am

☀️

11°

↙︎

212°

27 km/h

6am

☀️

11°

↙︎

213°

27 km/h

7am

☀️

12°

↙︎

212°

27 km/h

8am

☀️

12°

↙︎

208°

26 km/h

9am

☀️

13°

↓︎

202°

26 km/h

10am

☀️

14°

↓︎

197°

26 km/h

11am

☀️

15°

↓︎

192°

25 km/h

12pm

☀️

15°

↓︎

186°

24 km/h

1pm

☀️

16°

↓︎

180°

23 km/h

2pm

☀️

16°

↓︎

178°

22 km/h

3pm

☀️

15°

↓︎

177°

21 km/h

4pm

☀️

15°

↓︎

176°

20 km/h

5pm

☀️

14°

↓︎

173°

18 km/h

6pm

☀️

14°

↓︎

169°

16 km/h

7pm

☀️

13°

↓︎

166°

14 km/h

8pm

☀️

13°

↓︎

168°

11 km/h

9pm

☀️

12°

↓︎

175°

9 km/h

10pm

☀️

12°

↓︎

189°

7 km/h

11pm

☀️

11°

↙︎

219°

6 km/h

Hourly Swell

Easing 1.6 → 1.0 m S

12am

1.6 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

1am

1.6 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

2am

1.5 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

1.4 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

7am

1.4 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

8am

1.4 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

9am

1.4 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

10am

1.5 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

11am

1.5 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

12pm

1.5 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

1pm

1.5 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

2pm

1.5 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

3pm

1.5 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

4pm

1.5 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

5pm

1.4 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

6pm

1.4 m

@ 6 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

7pm

1.4 m

@ 6 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

8pm

1.3 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

9pm

1.2 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

10pm

1.1 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

11pm

1.0 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

Water Temp (°C)

→ steady around 17.7°

Mon

14 Sep

18.0°

Tue

15 Sep

18.0°

Wed

16 Sep

17.9°

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

18.0°

Wed

23 Sep

—

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 24 km/h S (186°).

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

5:28 am

Last light

6:13 pm

Sunrise

5:53 am

Sunset

5:48 pm

Moonrise

8:57 am

Moonset

12:03 am

Low tide

4:53 am

High tide

11:30 am

Low tide

6:30 pm

Nearby spots

Species at this spot

Rock Blackfish
Luderick
Yellowfin Bream
Silver Trevally
Australian Salmon
Tailor
Sand Whiting
Eastern Blue Groper · closed