What fish can you catch from the Nelson Bay breakwall?

Yellowfin bream and luderick are the mainstays, with snapper, mulloway, yellowtail kingfish, dusky flathead, silver trevally, squid and the occasional black drummer or blue groper. Bream bite year-round, luderick run through winter, and kingfish and squid show through summer. Blue groper is a no-take, release-only species in NSW and line fishing for it is prohibited, so anything that comes up goes straight back.

When is the best time to catch luderick at Nelson Bay breakwall?

Late May through winter is prime, and the run can hang on into spring. Float-fish weed or ocean cabbage and work the drift around the bottom 1.5 hours of the tide either side of low water. The breakwall's winter luderick fishing is rated among the most consistent in Port Stephens.

Do you need a fishing licence to fish the Nelson Bay breakwall?

Yes. A NSW Recreational Fishing Fee is required to fish anywhere in NSW, including land-based spots like the breakwall, unless you hold an exemption. You can buy a fee online or from local tackle shops, and you must carry proof while fishing.

Do you have to wear a lifejacket to fish the Nelson Bay breakwall?

Port Stephens Council's map marks a series of declared high-risk rock fishing locations along the ocean coast between Birubi Point and Tomaree Head. Fishing with rod, line or handline from naturally occurring rock exposed to ocean swell in those places requires an appropriate lifejacket under the Rock Fishing Safety Act 2016, the duty covers anyone helping you and children under 12 in your care, and a $100 on-the-spot fine applies. Wear one on the outside face of the breakwall whenever there is any swell running — the water does not care which side of a legal line you are standing on.

Is there parking and toilets at the Nelson Bay breakwall?

Yes. There's free parking along Teramby Road and Victoria Parade and in the Donald Street carpark, all a short flat walk from the wall. The foreshore precinct has public toilets, fish-cleaning tables with running water, picnic tables, BBQs and a playground, with cafes and a tackle shop nearby in the Nelson Bay CBD.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Nelson Bay Breakwall

Sat 31 Oct 2026 · Australia/Sydney

Forecast updated 5:10pm AEDT

Bite Alert

←

31 Oct

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Today Tomorrow Sat 31 Oct

📍 Nelson Bay Breakwall

waning gibbous · 75%

Weather: Cloudy Wind: E 83° · 4 km/h Swell: 0.8 m @ 10 s S Water: 20.0 °C Pressure: 1015.4 hPa ↓ falling Faces north · Offshore: SE, S, SW · Onshore: NW, N, NE · Forecast wind: cross-shore

★★★★☆

High Fish Activity

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▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 5:30 am

Solunar Major window

Time of day Dawn

Tide Turning

Wind NE 14 km/h

Moon waning gibbous all day

Water temp 20.0 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day Timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 5:28 am Last light 7:42 pm

High 12:44 am Low 6:10 am High 12:51 pm Low 8:00 pm

Drag or use arrow keys to explore

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

4:00 am → 7:30 am

3h 30m

Good

4:30 pm → 9:00 pm

4h 30m

Good

12:00 am → 1:30 am

1h 30m

Good

10:00 am → 10:30 am

30m

First light

5:28 am

Last light

7:42 pm

Sunrise

5:54 am

Sunset

7:16 pm

Moonrise

12:05 am

Moonset

9:53 am

High tide

12:44 am

Low tide

6:10 am

High tide

12:51 pm

Low tide

8:00 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

☁️

17°

↗︎

34°

17 km/h

1am

☁️

16°

↗︎

33°

17 km/h

2am

☁️

16°

↗︎

35°

18 km/h

3am

☁️

16°

↗︎

35°

17 km/h

4am

☁️

16°

↗︎

34°

16 km/h

5am

☁️

16°

↗︎

30°

14 km/h

6am

☁️

16°

↗︎

32°

12 km/h

7am

☁️

17°

↗︎

32°

12 km/h

8am

☁️

19°

↗︎

27°

9 km/h

9am

☁️

21°

↗︎

29°

8 km/h

10am

☁️

22°

↗︎

32°

6 km/h

11am

☁️

26°

↗︎

63°

6 km/h

12pm

☁️

26°

→︎

83°

4 km/h

1pm

☁️

27°

→︎

99°

8 km/h

2pm

🌧️

27°

→︎

76°

11 km/h

3pm

🌧️

28°

↗︎

44°

14 km/h

4pm

☁️

29°

↗︎

30°

15 km/h

5pm

☁️

27°

↑︎

22°

14 km/h

6pm

🌧️

24°

↗︎

28°

10 km/h

7pm

🌧️

22°

↗︎

34°

11 km/h

8pm

☁️

22°

↑︎

21°

13 km/h

9pm

☁️

22°

↑︎

15°

15 km/h

10pm

☁️

21°

↑︎

358°

12 km/h

11pm

☁️

21°

↖︎

337°

10 km/h

Hourly Swell

Easing 1.1 → 0.6 m S

12am

1.1 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Moderate

ground

1am

1.1 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Moderate

ground

2am

1.1 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Moderate

ground

3am

1.1 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Moderate

ground

4am

1.0 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Moderate

ground

5am

1.0 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Moderate

6am

1.0 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Moderate

7am

1.0 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Slight

8am

1.0 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Slight

9am

0.9 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Slight

10am

0.9 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Slight

11am

0.9 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Slight

12pm

0.8 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Slight

1pm

0.8 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Slight

ground

2pm

0.8 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Slight

ground

3pm

0.8 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Slight

ground

4pm

0.7 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Slight

ground

5pm

0.7 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Slight

ground

6pm

0.7 m

@ 10 s

↘︎

Slight

7pm

0.7 m

@ 9 s

↘︎

Slight

8pm

0.7 m

@ 8 s

↘︎

Slight

9pm

0.7 m

@ 8 s

↘︎

Slight

10pm

0.7 m

@ 9 s

↘︎

Slight

11pm

0.6 m

@ 9 s

↘︎

Slight

Water Temp (°C)

↗ warming — up 0.8° over the last 3 days

Wed

28 Oct

19.2°

Thu

29 Oct

19.5°

Fri

30 Oct

20.0°

Sat

31 Oct

20.0°

Sun

1 Nov

20.2°

Mon

2 Nov

20.4°

Tue

3 Nov

20.5°

Wed

4 Nov

20.6°

Thu

5 Nov

20.7°

Fri

6 Nov

20.7°

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 4 km/h E (83°).

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 am → 7:30 am

3h 30m

Good

4:30 pm → 9:00 pm

4h 30m

Good

12:00 am → 1:30 am

1h 30m

Good

10:00 am → 10:30 am

30m

First light

5:28 am

Last light

7:42 pm

Sunrise

5:54 am

Sunset

7:16 pm

Moonrise

12:05 am

Moonset

9:53 am

High tide

12:44 am

Low tide

6:10 am

High tide

12:51 pm

Low tide

8:00 pm

Nearby Spots

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