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)

Fri 18 Sep 2026 · Australia/Sydney

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18 Sep

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Today Tomorrow Sat 19 Sep

📍 Nobbys Breakwall (Newcastle)

first quarter · 38%

Weather: Sunny Wind: E 111° · 7 km/h Swell: 1.5 m @ 8 s S Water: 18.9 °C Pressure: 1029.6 hPa ↓ falling

★★★★☆

High Fish Activity

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 6:00 pm

Solunar Major window

Time of day Dusk

Tide Moving

Wind NE 13 km/h

Moon first quarter all day

Water temp 18.9 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 5:24 am Last light 6:10 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 → 9:00 pm

4h 30m

Good

5:00 am → 7:00 am

First light

5:24 am

Last light

6:10 pm

Sunrise

5:48 am

Sunset

5:46 pm

Moonrise

9:42 am

Moonset

12:50 am

Low tide

5:39 am

High tide

12:23 pm

Low tide

7:30 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

☀️

13°

↙︎

234°

8 km/h

1am

☀️

12°

←︎

252°

9 km/h

2am

☀️

12°

←︎

254°

9 km/h

3am

☀️

12°

←︎

250°

9 km/h

4am

☀️

11°

←︎

251°

9 km/h

5am

☀️

11°

←︎

263°

8 km/h

6am

☀️

11°

←︎

280°

8 km/h

7am

☀️

12°

←︎

292°

8 km/h

8am

☀️

13°

↖︎

294°

7 km/h

9am

☀️

16°

←︎

291°

5 km/h

10am

☀️

17°

←︎

285°

3 km/h

11am

☀️

18°

↘︎

122°

2 km/h

12pm

☀️

19°

→︎

111°

7 km/h

1pm

☀️

19°

→︎

108°

11 km/h

2pm

☀️

19°

→︎

102°

13 km/h

3pm

☀️

19°

→︎

95°

13 km/h

4pm

☀️

18°

→︎

86°

13 km/h

5pm

☀️

18°

→︎

77°

13 km/h

6pm

☀️

17°

↗︎

67°

13 km/h

7pm

☀️

16°

↗︎

56°

13 km/h

8pm

☀️

15°

↗︎

43°

12 km/h

9pm

☀️

15°

↗︎

29°

12 km/h

10pm

☀️

14°

↑︎

17°

12 km/h

11pm

☀️

13°

↑︎

10°

11 km/h

Hourly Swell

Easing 2.3 → 1.2 m SE

12am

2.3 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Solid

chop

1am

2.2 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Solid

chop

2am

2.1 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Solid

chop

3am

2.0 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

4am

1.9 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

5am

1.8 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

6am

1.8 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

7am

1.7 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

8am

1.7 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

9am

1.6 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

10am

1.6 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

11am

1.6 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

12pm

1.5 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

1pm

1.5 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

2pm

1.5 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

3pm

1.5 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

4pm

1.5 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

5pm

1.4 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

6pm

1.3 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Moderate

7pm

1.3 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Moderate

8pm

1.2 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Moderate

9pm

1.2 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Moderate

10pm

1.2 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Moderate

11pm

1.2 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Moderate

Water Temp (°C)

↘ cooling — down 0.5° over the last 3 days

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

—

Thu

24 Sep

—

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 7 km/h E (111°).

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 → 9:00 pm

4h 30m

Good

5:00 am → 7:00 am

First light

5:24 am

Last light

6:10 pm

Sunrise

5:48 am

Sunset

5:46 pm

Moonrise

9:42 am

Moonset

12:50 am

Low tide

5:39 am

High tide

12:23 pm

Low tide

7:30 pm

Nearby spots

Species at this spot

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