What fish can you catch at Horseshoe Beach Newcastle?

Flathead and sand whiting come off the sheltered sand flats near the base of the south breakwall, while the adjacent rock walls hold yellowfin bream, tailor and luderick. Flathead are there year-round, whiting fire over the warmer months, and luderick are a cool-season fish. You will need a NSW Recreational Fishing Fee to fish here, as it is required everywhere in NSW.

Is Horseshoe Beach Newcastle good for fishing with kids?

Yes — it is one of the easiest land-based spots on the Newcastle waterfront. The water is calm and shallow with no swell, parking and toilets are close, and the flats produce flathead and whiting on light gear. Just note it is a busy off-leash dog beach, so early morning is the best time to fish before the crowds and dogs arrive.

What size flathead can you keep in Newcastle Harbour?

Dusky flathead in NSW have a slot limit: you can only keep fish between 36cm and 70cm, and anything over 70cm must be released, as the big females are the breeders. The daily bag limit is 5. Flathead from the harbour also carry Williamtown PFAS advice of one 150 g serve a week for adults. A NSW Recreational Fishing Fee is required to fish anywhere in the state, including Newcastle Harbour.

When is the best time to fish Horseshoe Beach?

First light on a rising tide is the prime window. The flathead and whiting bite hardest early before the sun is fully up and before the dog beach gets busy. A clean flooding tide also suits luderick on the rock walls, and dawn or dusk in the wash is when tailor come on.

Do you need a fishing licence to fish at Horseshoe Beach in Newcastle?

There is no licence as such, but NSW requires anyone fishing — saltwater or freshwater — to pay the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee and carry the receipt. It runs $7 for three days, $14 for a month, $35 for a year or $85 for three years. You can buy it online before you head down, and the receipt has to be with you while you fish.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Horseshoe Beach / Newcastle Harbour

Mon 02 Nov 2026 · Australia/Sydney

Forecast updated 1:03pm AEDT

Bite Alert

←

2 Nov

tap to pick date

→

Today Tomorrow Sat 31 Oct

📍 Horseshoe Beach / Newcastle Harbour

last quarter · 55%

Weather: Rainy Wind: E 89° · 15 km/h Swell: 1.0 m @ 6 s S Water: 19.6 °C Pressure: 1016.9 hPa ↓ falling Sheltered water: wind direction matters less here

★★★★☆

High Fish Activity

Email me when a High bite day is coming Free

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 6:00 am

Solunar Major window

Time of day Dawn

Tide Moving

Wind E 7 km/h

Moon last quarter all day

Water temp 19.6 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day Timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 5:27 am Last light 7:45 pm

High 3:23 am Low 8:46 am High 3:17 pm Low 10:15 pm

Drag or use arrow keys to explore

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

3:30 am → 9:30 am

Good

6:30 pm → 8:30 pm

Good

1:30 am → 2:30 am

First light

5:27 am

Last light

7:45 pm

Sunrise

5:53 am

Sunset

7:20 pm

Moonrise

1:43 am

Moonset

12:15 pm

High tide

3:23 am

Low tide

8:46 am

High tide

3:17 pm

Low tide

10:15 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

🌧️

20°

→︎

110°

11 km/h

1am

🌧️

19°

→︎

109°

11 km/h

2am

🌧️

19°

→︎

107°

11 km/h

3am

🌧️

19°

→︎

101°

10 km/h

4am

🌧️

18°

→︎

90°

9 km/h

5am

🌧️

18°

→︎

82°

8 km/h

6am

🌧️

18°

→︎

83°

7 km/h

7am

🌧️

19°

→︎

88°

6 km/h

8am

🌧️

19°

→︎

94°

6 km/h

9am

🌧️

20°

→︎

93°

7 km/h

10am

🌧️

21°

→︎

91°

10 km/h

11am

🌧️

22°

→︎

90°

12 km/h

12pm

🌧️

22°

→︎

89°

15 km/h

1pm

🌧️

22°

→︎

88°

18 km/h

2pm

🌧️

22°

→︎

86°

20 km/h

3pm

☀️

22°

→︎

84°

21 km/h

4pm

☀️

22°

→︎

80°

21 km/h

5pm

☁️

22°

→︎

75°

21 km/h

6pm

☁️

21°

→︎

68°

20 km/h

7pm

☁️

21°

↗︎

58°

19 km/h

8pm

☁️

20°

↗︎

51°

19 km/h

9pm

☁️

20°

↗︎

47°

18 km/h

10pm

☁️

19°

↗︎

45°

18 km/h

11pm

☁️

19°

↗︎

44°

17 km/h

Hourly Swell

Easing 0.9 → 0.6 m S

12am

0.9 m

@ 6 s

↓︎

Slight

chop

1am

1.0 m

@ 6 s

↓︎

Slight

chop

2am

1.0 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

3am

1.0 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

4am

1.0 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

5am

1.0 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

6am

1.0 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

7am

1.0 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

8am

1.1 m

@ 6 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

9am

1.0 m

@ 6 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

10am

1.0 m

@ 6 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

11am

1.0 m

@ 6 s

↓︎

Slight

chop

12pm

1.0 m

@ 6 s

↓︎

Slight

chop

1pm

0.9 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Slight

chop

2pm

0.9 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Slight

chop

3pm

0.8 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Slight

chop

4pm

0.7 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Slight

chop

5pm

0.7 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Slight

chop

6pm

0.7 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Slight

chop

7pm

0.6 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Slight

chop

8pm

0.6 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Slight

chop

9pm

0.6 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Slight

chop

10pm

0.6 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Slight

chop

11pm

0.6 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Slight

chop

Water Temp (°C)

↗ warming — up 0.7° over the last 3 days

Fri

30 Oct

18.9°

Sat

31 Oct

18.9°

Sun

1 Nov

19.0°

Mon

2 Nov

19.6°

Tue

3 Nov

19.7°

Wed

4 Nov

19.8°

Thu

5 Nov

19.7°

Fri

6 Nov

19.6°

Sat

7 Nov

—

Sun

8 Nov

—

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 15 km/h E (89°).

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

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

3:30 am → 9:30 am

Good

6:30 pm → 8:30 pm

Good

1:30 am → 2:30 am

First light

5:27 am

Last light

7:45 pm

Sunrise

5:53 am

Sunset

7:20 pm

Moonrise

1:43 am

Moonset

12:15 pm

High tide

3:23 am

Low tide

8:46 am

High tide

3:17 pm

Low tide

10:15 pm

Nearby Spots

Species at This Spot

Keep Tabs on Horseshoe Beach / Newcastle Harbour

Get an email when the bite score here hits High, and stop refreshing this page. Free account, takes a minute.

Alert Me When It's High Save This Spot