Can you catch kingfish off Nobbys Breakwall?

Yes — Nobbys is one of the better land-based kingfish spots in Newcastle. They arrive as the water warms from about November, peak over summer into autumn, and hunt the wash around the deeper tip. A live yellowtail caught on the spot, or a stickbait worked through the wash on a moving tide at first or last light, is the way to target them. Note the NSW size limit of 65cm and a bag limit of 5, and you'll need to have paid the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee.

Do you need a fishing licence to fish Nobbys Breakwall?

There's no licence as such, but you must pay the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee and carry the receipt to fish anywhere in NSW, salt or fresh. It's $7 for three days, $14 for a month, $35 for a year or $85 for three years. Some people are exempt, including anglers under 18 and certain concession holders.

Is it safe to fish Nobbys Breakwall, and do you need a lifejacket?

It's an exposed ocean wall, so treat it seriously: south-east swell can wash the lower ocean-side ledges, the rock is slippery, and people have been swept off Newcastle's walls. Fish with swell under about 1.5m, wear cleated boots, and don't fish the exposed tip alone or in the dark. Wear a lifejacket: one is strongly recommended on any swell-washed rock or wall here — adults AS 4758 level 50S or greater, under-12s level 100. The breakwall is also a Port Authority of NSW structure — the Stockton wall opposite is Port of Newcastle's — and it can be closed to the public during maintenance works, so check the Port Authority's notices and the swell before a long drive.

How do you get out onto Nobbys Breakwall and where do you park?

Park at the free Nobbys Beach car park off Nobbys Road, then walk — there's no car access on the pier. It's about 550m of sealed path to the gate at the base of the wall, then a fair way out over rock to the productive tip, roughly an hour round trip. Toilets and showers are at the surf club by the car park; there are none on the wall itself.

What's the best time of year to fish Nobbys Breakwall?

It depends on the target. Kingfish and bonito are warm-season fish, best from late spring through autumn. Tailor run the wall most of the year and are at their best from autumn into winter, salmon take over through the colder months, and luderick move onto the harbour-side weed from June to September. Mulloway are caught year-round but fish best after dark from late summer into mid-autumn. Dawn and dusk over a moving tide are the prime windows in any season.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Nobbys Breakwall (Newcastle)

Thu 17 Sep 2026 · Australia/Sydney

Save

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17 Sep

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Today Tomorrow Sat 19 Sep

📍 Nobbys Breakwall (Newcastle)

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

Yellowtail Kingfish
Tailor
Australian Salmon
Bonito
Mulloway (Jewfish)
Silver Trevally
Luderick