What fish can you catch at Merewether Beach and the rock platforms?

Off the beach gutters: Australian salmon and tailor on metals and pilchards, plus yellowfin bream and sand whiting on worms and pipis. Off the rock platforms behind the ocean baths: black drummer (rock blackfish), luderick, bream and squid, with the protected blue groper in the heavy washes. A NSW Recreational Fishing Fee is required to fish anywhere in NSW, salt or fresh.

Do you need a lifejacket to rock fish at Merewether?

Wear one. A lifejacket is strongly recommended on any swell-washed rock or wall here — adults AS 4758 level 50S or greater, under-12s level 100. Given people have been swept from Newcastle platforms in seas that looked manageable from the car park, treat it as standard kit on every session.

When is the best time to fish Merewether?

Dawn, dusk and overcast days outfish bright midday everywhere here. The beach gutters fire on a rising tide with a moderate 1–2m swell, peaking for salmon and tailor from April to September. The rock washes fish best on a clean, green flooding tide with the swell under about 1.5m.

Can you keep a blue groper caught at Merewether?

No. The Eastern Blue Groper is a no-take, release-only species across NSW, and the line fishing prohibition was continued for a further three years from 1 March 2025, so it runs to 1 March 2028. If you hook the resident groper in the washes, release it unharmed and avoid the baits that single them out. Significant fines apply for taking one.

Where do you park to fish Merewether?

Use the three-tiered car park along Henderson Parade beside the ocean baths, which puts you a short walk from both the beach gutters and the rock platforms. It fills quickly on warm weekends, so arrive early. The baths pavilion and surf club have toilets and showers, though the baths are closed all day every Thursday for cleaning, and there are cafes up the hill for food and coffee.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Merewether Beach & Rock Platforms

Sat 24 Oct 2026 · Australia/Sydney

Forecast updated Sat 24 Oct, 11:16pm AEDT

Bite Alert

←

24 Oct

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Today Tomorrow Sat 31 Oct

📍 Merewether Beach & Rock Platforms

waxing gibbous · 95%

Weather: Sunny Wind: NE 36° · 16 km/h Swell: 1.0 m @ 6 s E Water: 18.6 °C Pressure: 1015.8 hPa ↓ falling Faces south-east · Offshore: W, NW, N · Onshore: E, SE, S · Forecast wind: cross-shore

★★★★☆

High Fish Activity

Email me when a High bite day is coming Free

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 7:30 pm

Solunar Between windows

Time of day Dusk

Tide Moving

Wind NE 17 km/h

Moon waxing gibbous all day

Water temp 18.6 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day Timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 5:37 am Last light 7:37 pm

Low 1:08 am High 7:21 am Low 1:28 pm High 7:30 pm

Drag or use arrow keys to explore

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

6:30 pm → 9:00 pm

2h 30m

Good

4:30 am → 7:30 am

Good

10:30 pm → 12:00 am

1h 30m

Good

1:00 pm → 2:30 pm

1h 30m

First light

5:37 am

Last light

7:37 pm

Sunrise

6:02 am

Sunset

7:12 pm

Moonrise

5:14 pm

Moonset

4:28 am

Low tide

1:08 am

High tide

7:21 am

Low tide

1:28 pm

High tide

7:30 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

☀️

19°

↗︎

50°

16 km/h

1am

☀️

18°

↗︎

34°

13 km/h

2am

☀️

18°

↑︎

22°

12 km/h

3am

☀️

17°

↑︎

11°

11 km/h

4am

☀️

17°

↑︎

357°

10 km/h

5am

☀️

17°

↑︎

342°

7 km/h

6am

☀️

16°

↖︎

308°

5 km/h

7am

☀️

17°

↖︎

298°

3 km/h

8am

☀️

18°

↖︎

315°

4 km/h

9am

☀️

20°

↖︎

312°

3 km/h

10am

☀️

22°

↗︎

31°

1 km/h

11am

☀️

24°

→︎

106°

4 km/h

12pm

☀️

24°

→︎

106°

9 km/h

1pm

☀️

23°

→︎

97°

15 km/h

2pm

☀️

24°

→︎

86°

17 km/h

3pm

🌧️

24°

→︎

77°

20 km/h

4pm

🌧️

24°

→︎

77°

19 km/h

5pm

☀️

24°

→︎

70°

18 km/h

6pm

☀️

24°

↗︎

63°

17 km/h

7pm

☀️

23°

↗︎

54°

17 km/h

8pm

☀️

22°

↗︎

45°

17 km/h

9pm

☀️

22°

↗︎

37°

16 km/h

10pm

☀️

21°

↗︎

41°

16 km/h

11pm

☀️

21°

↗︎

36°

16 km/h

Hourly Swell

Steady ~1.0 m E

12am

1.1 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Moderate

chop

1am

1.2 m

@ 5 s

→︎

Moderate

chop

2am

1.2 m

@ 5 s

→︎

Moderate

chop

3am

1.2 m

@ 5 s

→︎

Moderate

chop

4am

1.2 m

@ 5 s

→︎

Moderate

chop

5am

1.2 m

@ 5 s

→︎

Moderate

chop

6am

1.1 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Moderate

chop

7am

1.1 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Moderate

chop

8am

1.1 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Moderate

chop

9am

1.0 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Moderate

chop

10am

1.0 m

@ 5 s

→︎

Moderate

chop

11am

1.0 m

@ 5 s

→︎

Slight

chop

12pm

0.9 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Slight

chop

1pm

0.9 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Slight

chop

2pm

0.9 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Slight

chop

3pm

0.8 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Slight

chop

4pm

0.8 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Slight

chop

5pm

0.7 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Slight

chop

6pm

0.8 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Slight

chop

7pm

0.8 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Slight

chop

8pm

0.9 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Slight

chop

9pm

0.9 m

@ 5 s

→︎

Slight

chop

10pm

1.0 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Slight

chop

11pm

1.0 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Moderate

chop

Water Temp (°C)

↘ cooling — down 1.2° over the last 3 days

Wed

21 Oct

19.8°

Thu

22 Oct

19.0°

Fri

23 Oct

18.6°

Sat

24 Oct

18.6°

Sun

25 Oct

18.9°

Mon

26 Oct

18.3°

Tue

27 Oct

18.2°

Wed

28 Oct

18.3°

Thu

29 Oct

18.7°

Fri

30 Oct

18.9°

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 16 km/h NE (36°).

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

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

6:30 pm → 9:00 pm

2h 30m

Good

4:30 am → 7:30 am

Good

10:30 pm → 12:00 am

1h 30m

Good

1:00 pm → 2:30 pm

1h 30m

First light

5:37 am

Last light

7:37 pm

Sunrise

6:02 am

Sunset

7:12 pm

Moonrise

5:14 pm

Moonset

4:28 am

Low tide

1:08 am

High tide

7:21 am

Low tide

1:28 pm

High tide

7:30 pm

Nearby Spots

Species at This Spot

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