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

Thu 22 Oct 2026 · Australia/Sydney

Forecast updated Thu 22 Oct, 11:20pm AEDT

Bite Alert

←

22 Oct

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Today Tomorrow Sat 31 Oct

📍 Nelson Bay Breakwall

waxing gibbous · 82%

Weather: Cloudy Wind: NE 41° · 13 km/h Swell: 0.7 m @ 5 s E Water: 19.3 °C Pressure: 1022.6 hPa ↓ falling Faces north · Offshore: SE, S, SW · Onshore: NW, N, NE · Forecast wind: onshore

★★★☆☆

Medium Fish Activity

Email me when a High bite day is coming Free

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 6:00 am

Solunar Between windows

Time of day Dawn

Tide Turning

Wind NE 22 km/h

Moon waxing gibbous all day

Water temp 19.3 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day Timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 5:38 am Last light 7:34 pm

High 6:12 am Low 11:54 am High 6:05 pm

Drag or use arrow keys to explore

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

5:00 am → 7:00 am

Good

6:30 pm → 11:00 pm

4h 30m

Good

9:00 am → 10:30 am

1h 30m

First light

5:38 am

Last light

7:34 pm

Sunrise

6:03 am

Sunset

7:09 pm

Moonrise

3:09 pm

Moonset

3:32 am

High tide

6:12 am

Low tide

11:54 am

High tide

6:05 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

🌧️

18°

↗︎

63°

18 km/h

1am

🌧️

17°

↗︎

61°

17 km/h

2am

🌧️

17°

→︎

69°

19 km/h

3am

🌧️

18°

↗︎

63°

21 km/h

4am

🌧️

17°

→︎

68°

20 km/h

5am

🌧️

17°

↗︎

67°

22 km/h

6am

🌧️

17°

↗︎

66°

22 km/h

7am

🌧️

18°

↗︎

55°

19 km/h

8am

🌧️

18°

↗︎

59°

18 km/h

9am

🌧️

18°

↗︎

63°

19 km/h

10am

🌧️

19°

↗︎

61°

20 km/h

11am

🌧️

20°

↗︎

56°

20 km/h

12pm

☁️

22°

↗︎

59°

24 km/h

1pm

🌧️

22°

↗︎

62°

25 km/h

2pm

🌧️

20°

↗︎

60°

26 km/h

3pm

🌧️

20°

↗︎

65°

24 km/h

4pm

🌧️

19°

↗︎

58°

22 km/h

5pm

🌧️

19°

↗︎

51°

20 km/h

6pm

☁️

20°

↗︎

45°

19 km/h

7pm

☁️

19°

↗︎

48°

19 km/h

8pm

☁️

19°

↗︎

52°

18 km/h

9pm

☁️

19°

↗︎

52°

18 km/h

10pm

☁️

19°

↗︎

46°

16 km/h

11pm

☁️

18°

↗︎

41°

13 km/h

Hourly Swell

Steady ~0.7 m E

12am

0.6 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Slight

chop

1am

0.6 m

@ 5 s

→︎

Slight

chop

2am

0.6 m

@ 5 s

→︎

Slight

chop

3am

0.6 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Slight

chop

4am

0.6 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Slight

chop

5am

0.6 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Slight

chop

6am

0.7 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Slight

chop

7am

0.7 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Slight

chop

8am

0.7 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Slight

chop

9am

0.7 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Slight

chop

10am

0.7 m

@ 5 s

→︎

Slight

chop

11am

0.7 m

@ 5 s

→︎

Slight

chop

12pm

0.6 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Slight

chop

1pm

0.5 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Slight

chop

2pm

Calm

3pm

0.5 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Slight

chop

4pm

0.6 m

@ 6 s

→︎

Slight

chop

5pm

0.7 m

@ 5 s

→︎

Slight

chop

6pm

0.7 m

@ 5 s

→︎

Slight

chop

7pm

0.7 m

@ 5 s

→︎

Slight

chop

8pm

0.7 m

@ 5 s

→︎

Slight

chop

9pm

0.7 m

@ 5 s

→︎

Slight

chop

10pm

0.7 m

@ 5 s

→︎

Slight

chop

11pm

0.7 m

@ 5 s

→︎

Slight

chop

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 13 km/h NE (41°).

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 am → 7:00 am

Good

6:30 pm → 11:00 pm

4h 30m

Good

9:00 am → 10:30 am

1h 30m

First light

5:38 am

Last light

7:34 pm

Sunrise

6:03 am

Sunset

7:09 pm

Moonrise

3:09 pm

Moonset

3:32 am

High tide

6:12 am

Low tide

11:54 am

High tide

6:05 pm

Nearby Spots

Species at This Spot

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