What fish can you catch at Mrs Macquaries Point?

Dusky flathead and yellowfin bream year-round, with tarwhine, silver trevally, tailor on the rising tide in the warmer months, luderick through the cooler months, and the occasional mulloway after dark or yellowtail kingfish in summer. It is a deep-water harbour mark on sandstone, so a moving tide and low light fish best. You need to pay the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee before fishing unless you are exempt — see below.

Can you fish at Mrs Macquaries Chair in the Royal Botanic Garden?

Land-based fishing from the rocks around the point is a long-standing thing to do here, and the point sits in The Domain at the northeastern edge of the Garden. The Trust's regulation expressly contemplates fishing from the Domain into Sydney Harbour, but only where the Trust permits it, so read the signage at the point rather than assuming. Park on Mrs Macquaries Road, which runs past the point, and you will find toilets, a cafe and shade nearby. Keep clear of swimmers and pedestrians, and remember the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee is required to fish anywhere in NSW.

Do you need a fishing licence at Mrs Macquaries Point?

There is no separate licence, but the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee applies to anyone 18 or over fishing in NSW waters, fresh or salt, and you must carry the receipt. It is $7 for three days, $14 for a month, $35 for a year or $85 for three years, bought online through Service NSW. Some exemptions apply, including under-18s, Pensioner Concession Card holders and Aboriginal fishers — a Seniors Card or Health Care Card does not count.

What are the size and bag limits for flathead and mulloway in Sydney Harbour?

Dusky flathead must be within a 36–70cm slot — anything under 36cm or over 70cm has to go back — with a bag limit of 5 and 10 in possession. Mulloway need to be at least 70cm with a bag limit of one fish per person, plus a boat limit of two per boat per day when two or more people are aboard. Yellowfin bream are 25cm minimum with a bag of 10 shared with tarwhine, and tarwhine themselves only need to be 20cm. These are NSW DPIRD rules and can change, so check the current saltwater bag and size limits before you keep a fish.

When is the best time to fish Mrs Macquaries Point?

Fish a moving tide rather than the slack, and favour dawn, dusk and into the dark when the sightseeing crowds thin out and the better fish move close to the rocks. Tailor come on the rising tide, kingfish and mulloway respond around the change of tide, and luderick prefer a run-out in the cooler months. The point is sheltered from ocean swell, so it stays fishable when the open coast is blown out.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Mrs Macquaries Point / Chair

Sat 12 Sep 2026 · Australia/Sydney

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12 Sep

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Today Tomorrow Sat 19 Sep

📍 Mrs Macquaries Point / Chair

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Weather: Sunny Wind: N 8° · 11 km/h Swell: 1.0 m @ 10 s S Water: 17.9 °C Pressure: 1028.2 hPa ↓ falling

★★★☆☆

Medium Fish Activity

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 6:00 pm

Solunar Between windows

Time of day Dusk

Tide Moving

Wind NE 16 km/h

Moon new all day

Water temp 17.9 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 5:34 am Last light 6:09 pm

Low 2:05 am High 8:17 am Low 2:14 pm High 8:26 pm

Drag or use arrow keys to explore

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

5:30 pm → 9:00 pm

3h 30m

Good

5:30 am → 7:00 am

1h 30m

Good

12:00 pm → 3:00 pm

First light

5:34 am

Last light

6:09 pm

Sunrise

5:59 am

Sunset

5:44 pm

Moonrise

6:18 am

Moonset

6:54 pm

Low tide

2:05 am

High tide

8:17 am

Low tide

2:14 pm

High tide

8:26 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

☀️

12°

↑︎

342°

1 km/h

1am

☀️

11°

↖︎

294°

5 km/h

2am

☀️

11°

←︎

292°

8 km/h

3am

☀️

10°

↖︎

298°

8 km/h

4am

☀️

10°

↖︎

303°

7 km/h

5am

☀️

10°

←︎

289°

7 km/h

6am

☀️

9°

←︎

285°

8 km/h

7am

☀️

10°

←︎

288°

8 km/h

8am

☀️

12°

←︎

282°

6 km/h

9am

☀️

15°

←︎

268°

5 km/h

10am

☀️

18°

←︎

282°

3 km/h

11am

☀️

20°

↗︎

53°

6 km/h

12pm

☀️

20°

→︎

93°

11 km/h

1pm

☀️

20°

→︎

81°

13 km/h

2pm

☀️

20°

→︎

69°

14 km/h

3pm

☀️

19°

↗︎

63°

14 km/h

4pm

☀️

19°

↗︎

52°

16 km/h

5pm

☀️

18°

↗︎

48°

16 km/h

6pm

☀️

17°

↗︎

41°

16 km/h

7pm

☀️

16°

↗︎

37°

15 km/h

8pm

☀️

16°

↗︎

32°

14 km/h

9pm

☀️

16°

↗︎

27°

14 km/h

10pm

☀️

16°

↑︎

8°

11 km/h

11pm

☀️

15°

↑︎

352°

10 km/h

Hourly Swell

Steady ~1.0 m S

12am

1.1 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Moderate

1am

1.0 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Moderate

2am

1.0 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Moderate

3am

1.0 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Moderate

4am

1.0 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Slight

5am

1.0 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Slight

6am

1.0 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Slight

7am

1.0 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Slight

8am

1.0 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Slight

9am

1.0 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Slight

10am

1.0 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Slight

11am

1.0 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Moderate

12pm

1.0 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Moderate

1pm

1.0 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Moderate

2pm

1.1 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Moderate

3pm

1.1 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Moderate

4pm

1.1 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Moderate

5pm

1.1 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Moderate

6pm

1.1 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Moderate

7pm

1.1 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Moderate

8pm

1.0 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Moderate

9pm

1.0 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Moderate

10pm

1.0 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Slight

11pm

1.0 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Slight

Water Temp (°C)

→ steady around 17.9°

Wed

9 Sep

17.9°

Thu

10 Sep

17.8°

Fri

11 Sep

17.9°

Sat

12 Sep

17.9°

Sun

13 Sep

17.9°

Mon

14 Sep

18.0°

Tue

15 Sep

18.0°

Wed

16 Sep

17.8°

Thu

17 Sep

17.7°

Fri

18 Sep

17.8°

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 11 km/h N (8°).

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

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

5:30 pm → 9:00 pm

3h 30m

Good

5:30 am → 7:00 am

1h 30m

Good

12:00 pm → 3:00 pm

First light

5:34 am

Last light

6:09 pm

Sunrise

5:59 am

Sunset

5:44 pm

Moonrise

6:18 am

Moonset

6:54 pm

Low tide

2:05 am

High tide

8:17 am

Low tide

2:14 pm

High tide

8:26 pm

Nearby spots

Species at this spot

Dusky Flathead
Yellowfin Bream
Tailor
Mulloway (Jewfish)
Yellowtail Kingfish
Luderick
Silver Trevally
Tarwhine