Iluka Breakwall (Clarence River North Wall)

The Iluka wall is the northern training wall of the Clarence River, running about a kilometre out from the end of Iluka Beach to the river mouth. The Clarence is one of the biggest rivers on the NSW coast, and twice a day the whole of it squeezes past this pile of rock — which is exactly why jewies, tailor, bream and blackfish hang off it. You get two kinds of water from the one walk: the river side, sheltered and tide-driven, and the ocean side, where Iluka Beach gutters run up to the rocks. The remains of an old trawler lie on the river side, visible in calm weather — which is the kind of structure fish like and tackle boxes don't.

Locals work the river face on the run-out for bream and luderick, with float-fished weed for the blackfish and lightly weighted prawn, mullet strip or pilchard pieces sent into the rocks for bream. Tailor are a dawn and dusk proposition on metals or ganged pilchards cast off the outer half of the wall, mostly through the cooler months. Jewie anglers fish the change of tide after dark with live bait or big strip and squid baits on the river side towards the tip, where the current eases as the tide turns. The ocean face and the beach corner at the wall's root are worth a look for dart and bream when there's a clean gutter.

Bream and luderick are the bread and butter, and both lift through the cooler months when they school along the walls. Tailor push in from autumn through winter. Mulloway are the reason serious locals bother with night sessions; they're 70 cm minimum with a bag of one. Dusky flathead sit on the sand edges inside the wall through the warmer months — the slot is 36–70 cm — and silver trevally turn up most of the year. The Clarence also holds mangrove jack in summer, though on the wall they're an occasional ambush around the rocks rather than a sure thing.

Fish the river side when the swell is up and the ocean side is washing; the wall gives you a choice most spots don't. Time sessions around the tide change — the Clarence run-out can be strong enough to drag light sinkers into the rocks, so step up the lead or wait for the slack. After heavy rain the river runs brown for days, which slows the blackfish but can fire up the jewies. Carry your own bait — bought prawns, pilchards and squid are the easy answer. Mind the surfers at the wall's beach end — the break that formed beside the wall is popular, and a cast line is no way to make friends.

Drive into Iluka and follow the service road towards the end of Iluka Beach, where a small car park sits at the root of the wall. A fine-gravel track runs out along the crest, so the first stretch is an easy walk, but the rock itself is uneven and the wall is not suitable for wheelchairs. The town's shops, cafes and the ferry to Yamba are a few minutes away. Kids are fine on the inner end with supervision; the outer half is for steady feet only.

The river side fishes in most weather because the wall blocks the swell, but a big south-east or easterly sea breaks over the outer end and makes the tip unsafe. Light westerlies and a clean, small swell are the pick for the ocean face. Tide matters more than wind: the run-out and the turn are the productive windows, and a dead high on a big tide can be slow. Floodwater colours the river for days after heavy rain upstream.

The outer half of the wall takes waves in a big sea and the rocks are slippery wet or dry; check the swell forecast, watch the sets for ten minutes before walking out, never turn your back on the sea, and don't fish the tip in a building swell. The Clarence current is strong on the run-out, and anyone who falls in on the river side is carried seaward towards the bar — keep back from the edge after dark. Clarence Valley is not one of the ten council areas declared under the Rock Fishing Safety Act 2016, but a lifejacket is strongly recommended on the outer wall, with cleated boots and light clothing you can swim in. Don't fish the tip alone; if you go in, swim clear of the wall, float, signal and have your mate call 000, and know your retreat. Boats cross the Clarence bar right off the tip, so keep lines clear of the channel. Bluebottles drift onto the beach end after north-easterlies.

Yes. The Iluka breakwall is the northern training wall of the Clarence River mouth and is fished from both the river side and the beach side. There's a small car park at the end of Iluka Beach and a gravel track along the crest; the rock itself is uneven and not suited to wheelchairs. A NSW Recreational Fishing Fee is required unless you're exempt.

Bream, luderick (blackfish), tailor, silver trevally and mulloway are the regulars, with dusky flathead on the sand edges in summer and dart on the beach side. Mangrove jack turn up in the Clarence in summer. Mulloway are 70 cm minimum with a bag of one; tailor are 30 cm with a bag of 10; luderick 27 cm with a bag of 10.

They fish the same river mouth, so the fish are much the same. Iluka (north wall) is quieter and has more of a beach corner; Yamba (south wall) has a sealed path and toilets at the root and is easier with kids. Pick the wall that's sheltered from the day's swell and wind.

Clarence Valley is not one of the ten council areas declared under the Rock Fishing Safety Act 2016, but a lifejacket is strongly recommended on the outer half of the wall, where waves break over the rocks in a big sea and the Clarence current runs hard.