Can you collect cunjevoi or pump worms for bait at Mona Vale Headland?

No. Mona Vale Headland is a declared Intertidal Protected Area, which means collecting cunjevoi, worms, crabs, shellfish and all other invertebrates from the rocks is prohibited, and you cannot kill cunjevoi to berley fish. Line fishing is allowed — you just have to bring your own bait, such as bread, prawns or weed, within the recreational bag limits. You also need a NSW Recreational Fishing Fee to fish anywhere in NSW.

Do you have to wear a lifejacket to rock fish at Mona Vale?

Yes. The Northern Beaches is a declared area under the NSW Rock Fishing Safety Act 2016, and the law requires an appropriate lifejacket when you fish with rod, line or handline from naturally occurring rock exposed to ocean swell — which is what the Mona Vale platform is. Adults need Australian Standard AS 4758 level 50S or greater, and children under 12 need level 100 or greater. It also covers anyone helping someone else fish, and anyone supervising a child who is fishing. Going without can attract a $100 on-the-spot fine.

What fish can you catch off Mona Vale Headland?

It is best known for drummer (rock blackfish) and luderick, which peak from autumn through winter when weed grows thick on the rocks. You will also find yellowfin bream and silver trevally year-round, tailor and Australian salmon on the spin through the cooler months, sand whiting in summer, and the odd snapper off the deeper reef. Eastern blue groper are resident in the Basin, but they are protected and release-only, so they are a fish to watch rather than catch.

Can you keep blue groper caught at Mona Vale?

No. Eastern blue groper is a no-take, release-only species everywhere in NSW, and the line fishing prohibition on it has been extended to 1 March 2028. Any groper that grabs a bait — and they are common in Bongin Bongin Bay — has to go back, and none should be targeted. Handle it gently in the water and let it swim off. A NSW Recreational Fishing Fee is still required to fish the area.

Is Mona Vale Headland a good spot for beginners or kids?

It is one of the gentler ocean rock platforms on the Northern Beaches — the lower ledges are a short, mostly flat walk from the Surfview Road car park, with toilets and showers nearby. That said, it is still exposed to ocean swell and the rock gets slippery, so it suits supervised, settled-weather sessions only. Anyone fishing or helping to fish must wear a lifejacket, children under 12 included, and the Basin is not patrolled by lifeguards.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Mona Vale Headland (Bongin Bongin)

Sat 19 Sep 2026 · Australia/Sydney

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19 Sep

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Today Tomorrow Sat 19 Sep

📍 Mona Vale Headland (Bongin Bongin)

first quarter · 48%

Weather: Sunny Wind: E 70° · 9 km/h Swell: 0.7 m @ 9 s S Water: 18.1 °C Pressure: 1023.7 hPa ↓ falling

★★★☆☆

Medium Fish Activity

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 6:00 pm

Solunar Major window

Time of day Dusk

Tide Moving

Wind SE 4 km/h

Moon first quarter all day

Water temp 18.1 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 5:24 am Last light 6:13 pm

High 1:18 am Low 6:30 am High 1:39 pm Low 8:50 pm

Drag or use arrow keys to explore

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

5:00 pm → 7:30 pm

2h 30m

Good

5:00 am → 7:00 am

Good

2:00 pm → 3:00 pm

First light

5:24 am

Last light

6:13 pm

Sunrise

5:49 am

Sunset

5:48 pm

Moonrise

10:31 am

Moonset

—

High tide

1:18 am

Low tide

6:30 am

High tide

1:39 pm

Low tide

8:50 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

☁️

11°

←︎

281°

6 km/h

1am

☁️

11°

←︎

275°

6 km/h

2am

☁️

10°

←︎

273°

7 km/h

3am

☁️

10°

←︎

272°

9 km/h

4am

☁️

10°

←︎

274°

10 km/h

5am

☁️

10°

←︎

277°

11 km/h

6am

☀️

10°

←︎

280°

11 km/h

7am

☀️

11°

←︎

285°

11 km/h

8am

☀️

15°

←︎

292°

8 km/h

9am

☀️

19°

↖︎

311°

5 km/h

10am

☀️

22°

↑︎

360°

3 km/h

11am

☀️

24°

↗︎

50°

5 km/h

12pm

☀️

24°

→︎

70°

9 km/h

1pm

☀️

24°

→︎

78°

12 km/h

2pm

☀️

23°

→︎

87°

12 km/h

3pm

☀️

22°

→︎

97°

12 km/h

4pm

☀️

21°

→︎

105°

11 km/h

5pm

☀️

20°

→︎

111°

8 km/h

6pm

☀️

18°

↘︎

120°

4 km/h

7pm

☀️

17°

↓︎

180°

1 km/h

8pm

☀️

15°

↙︎

233°

3 km/h

9pm

☀️

14°

↙︎

241°

4 km/h

10pm

☀️

13°

↙︎

247°

5 km/h

11pm

☀️

12°

←︎

261°

5 km/h

Hourly Swell

Steady ~0.6 m S

12am

0.8 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

1am

0.8 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

2am

0.8 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

3am

0.9 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

4am

0.9 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

5am

0.8 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

6am

0.8 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

7am

0.8 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

8am

0.8 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

9am

0.8 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

10am

0.8 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

11am

0.7 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

12pm

0.7 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

1pm

0.7 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

2pm

0.7 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

3pm

0.7 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

4pm

0.7 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

5pm

0.6 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

6pm

0.6 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

7pm

0.6 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

8pm

0.6 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

9pm

0.6 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

10pm

0.6 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

11pm

0.6 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

Water Temp (°C)

→ steady around 18.1°

Wed

16 Sep

18.2°

Thu

17 Sep

17.8°

Fri

18 Sep

17.9°

Sat

19 Sep

18.1°

Sun

20 Sep

18.3°

Mon

21 Sep

18.4°

Tue

22 Sep

18.7°

Wed

23 Sep

18.9°

Thu

24 Sep

—

Fri

25 Sep

—

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 9 km/h E (70°).

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 pm → 7:30 pm

2h 30m

Good

5:00 am → 7:00 am

Good

2:00 pm → 3:00 pm

First light

5:24 am

Last light

6:13 pm

Sunrise

5:49 am

Sunset

5:48 pm

Moonrise

10:31 am

Moonset

—

High tide

1:18 am

Low tide

6:30 am

High tide

1:39 pm

Low tide

8:50 pm

Nearby spots

Species at this spot

Rock Blackfish
Luderick
Yellowfin Bream
Tailor
Australian Salmon
Silver Trevally
Sand Whiting