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

Fri 18 Sep 2026 · Australia/Sydney

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18 Sep

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Today Tomorrow Sat 19 Sep

📍 Nelson Bay Breakwall

first quarter · 38%

Weather: Sunny Wind: S 167° · 11 km/h Swell: 1.4 m @ 8 s S Water: 18.6 °C Pressure: 1030.0 hPa ↓ falling

★★★★☆

High Fish Activity

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 5:30 pm

Solunar Major window

Time of day Dusk

Tide Moving

Wind E 8 km/h

Moon first quarter all day

Water temp 18.6 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 5:22 am Last light 6:09 pm

Low 5:39 am High 12:23 pm Low 7:30 pm

Drag or use arrow keys to explore

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

4:30 pm → 8:30 pm

Good

5:00 am → 7:00 am

Good

10:00 am → 10:30 am

30m

First light

5:22 am

Last light

6:09 pm

Sunrise

5:46 am

Sunset

5:45 pm

Moonrise

9:41 am

Moonset

12:47 am

Low tide

5:39 am

High tide

12:23 pm

Low tide

7:30 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

☀️

12°

↙︎

218°

5 km/h

1am

☀️

12°

←︎

249°

4 km/h

2am

☀️

11°

←︎

267°

6 km/h

3am

☀️

11°

←︎

272°

10 km/h

4am

☀️

11°

←︎

275°

12 km/h

5am

☀️

10°

←︎

279°

13 km/h

6am

☀️

10°

←︎

284°

13 km/h

7am

☀️

11°

←︎

283°

13 km/h

8am

☀️

13°

←︎

270°

10 km/h

9am

☀️

16°

↙︎

239°

8 km/h

10am

☀️

18°

↙︎

207°

8 km/h

11am

☀️

19°

↓︎

183°

10 km/h

12pm

☀️

19°

↓︎

167°

11 km/h

1pm

☀️

19°

↘︎

155°

12 km/h

2pm

☀️

19°

↘︎

143°

12 km/h

3pm

☀️

19°

↘︎

127°

11 km/h

4pm

☀️

18°

→︎

112°

10 km/h

5pm

☀️

17°

→︎

98°

8 km/h

6pm

☀️

15°

→︎

75°

6 km/h

7pm

☀️

13°

↗︎

46°

6 km/h

8pm

☀️

13°

↑︎

21°

7 km/h

9pm

☀️

12°

↑︎

360°

8 km/h

10pm

☀️

10°

↑︎

349°

10 km/h

11pm

☀️

10°

↑︎

341°

10 km/h

Hourly Swell

Easing 1.9 → 1.1 m S

12am

1.9 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

1am

1.8 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

2am

1.8 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

3am

1.7 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

4am

1.7 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

5am

1.6 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

6am

1.6 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

7am

1.5 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

8am

1.5 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

9am

1.5 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

10am

1.5 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

11am

1.4 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

12pm

1.4 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

1pm

1.3 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

2pm

1.3 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

3pm

1.4 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

4pm

1.4 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

5pm

1.3 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

6pm

1.3 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

7pm

1.3 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

8pm

1.2 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

9pm

1.2 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

10pm

1.2 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

11pm

1.1 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Moderate

Water Temp (°C)

↘ cooling — down 0.8° over the last 3 days

Tue

15 Sep

19.4°

Wed

16 Sep

19.1°

Thu

17 Sep

18.6°

Fri

18 Sep

18.6°

Sat

19 Sep

18.8°

Sun

20 Sep

19.0°

Mon

21 Sep

19.2°

Tue

22 Sep

19.4°

Wed

23 Sep

—

Thu

24 Sep

—

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 11 km/h S (167°).

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

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

4:30 pm → 8:30 pm

Good

5:00 am → 7:00 am

Good

10:00 am → 10:30 am

30m

First light

5:22 am

Last light

6:09 pm

Sunrise

5:46 am

Sunset

5:45 pm

Moonrise

9:41 am

Moonset

12:47 am

Low tide

5:39 am

High tide

12:23 pm

Low tide

7:30 pm

Nearby spots

Species at this spot

Luderick
Yellowfin Bream
Snapper
Mulloway (Jewfish)
Yellowtail Kingfish
Dusky Flathead
Silver Trevally
Southern Calamari (Squid)