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. 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

Thu 17 Sep 2026 · Australia/Sydney

Save

←

17 Sep

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Today Tomorrow Sat 19 Sep

📍 Horseshoe Beach / Newcastle Harbour

waxing crescent · 28%

Weather: Rainy Wind: S 196° · 32 km/h Swell: 2.6 m @ 9 s S Water: 19.0 °C Pressure: 1030.9 hPa → steady

★★★☆☆

Medium Fish Activity

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 5:30 am

Solunar Between windows

Time of day Dawn

Tide Moving

Wind SW 26 km/h

Moon waxing crescent all day

Water temp 19.0 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 5:25 am Last light 6:09 pm

Low 4:45 am High 11:30 am Low 6:30 pm

Drag or use arrow keys to explore

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

5:00 am → 6:30 am

1h 30m

Good

4:00 pm → 7:30 pm

3h 30m

First light

5:25 am

Last light

6:09 pm

Sunrise

5:49 am

Sunset

5:45 pm

Moonrise

8:57 am

Moonset

11:55 pm

Low tide

4:45 am

High tide

11:30 am

Low tide

6:30 pm

High tide

11:50 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

🌧️

15°

↓︎

187°

33 km/h

1am

🌧️

14°

↓︎

189°

33 km/h

2am

🌧️

14°

↓︎

194°

32 km/h

3am

🌧️

13°

↓︎

199°

32 km/h

4am

🌧️

13°

↙︎

205°

30 km/h

5am

🌧️

12°

↙︎

214°

26 km/h

6am

🌧️

11°

↙︎

228°

22 km/h

7am

🌧️

11°

↙︎

236°

20 km/h

8am

🌧️

12°

↙︎

226°

22 km/h

9am

🌧️

13°

↙︎

212°

27 km/h

10am

🌧️

14°

↙︎

203°

32 km/h

11am

🌧️

15°

↓︎

199°

32 km/h

12pm

🌧️

15°

↓︎

196°

32 km/h

1pm

🌧️

15°

↓︎

194°

31 km/h

2pm

🌧️

15°

↓︎

192°

30 km/h

3pm

🌧️

15°

↓︎

191°

28 km/h

4pm

🌧️

16°

↓︎

190°

27 km/h

5pm

🌧️

15°

↓︎

190°

25 km/h

6pm

🌧️

15°

↓︎

191°

23 km/h

7pm

🌧️

15°

↓︎

190°

21 km/h

8pm

🌧️

15°

↓︎

185°

20 km/h

9pm

🌧️

15°

↓︎

179°

19 km/h

10pm

🌧️

15°

↓︎

175°

17 km/h

11pm

☁️

15°

↓︎

174°

15 km/h

Hourly Swell

Building 1.4 → 2.3 m S

12am

1.4 m

@ 11 s

↓︎

Moderate

ground

1am

1.4 m

@ 11 s

↓︎

Moderate

ground

2am

1.7 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Moderate

ground

3am

2.0 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Solid

4am

2.3 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Solid

5am

2.3 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Solid

6am

2.3 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Solid

7am

2.3 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Solid

8am

2.3 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Solid

9am

2.4 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Solid

10am

2.5 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Solid

11am

2.5 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Solid

12pm

2.6 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Solid

1pm

2.6 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Solid

2pm

2.6 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Solid

3pm

2.5 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Solid

4pm

2.5 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Solid

5pm

2.5 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Solid

6pm

2.5 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Solid

7pm

2.5 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Solid

8pm

2.5 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Solid

chop

9pm

2.4 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Solid

chop

10pm

2.4 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Solid

chop

11pm

2.3 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Solid

chop

Water Temp (°C)

↘ cooling — down 0.4° over the last 3 days

Mon

14 Sep

19.4°

Tue

15 Sep

19.4°

Wed

16 Sep

19.3°

Thu

17 Sep

19.0°

Fri

18 Sep

18.9°

Sat

19 Sep

19.0°

Sun

20 Sep

19.1°

Mon

21 Sep

19.1°

Tue

22 Sep

19.1°

Wed

23 Sep

—

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 32 km/h S (196°).

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 → 6:30 am

1h 30m

Good

4:00 pm → 7:30 pm

3h 30m

First light

5:25 am

Last light

6:09 pm

Sunrise

5:49 am

Sunset

5:45 pm

Moonrise

8:57 am

Moonset

11:55 pm

Low tide

4:45 am

High tide

11:30 am

Low tide

6:30 pm

High tide

11:50 pm

Nearby spots

Species at this spot

Dusky Flathead
Sand Whiting
Yellowfin Bream
Luderick
Tailor
Silver Trevally