What can you catch at Shellharbour Boat Harbour?

Yellowfin bream year-round, dusky flathead and sand whiting through the warmer months, and luderick (blackfish) off the walls and ledges in autumn and winter. Australian salmon and tailor work the adjacent points and rock ledges, with silver trevally, squid and the occasional mulloway or drummer in the mix. A paid NSW Recreational Fishing Fee is required to fish anywhere in NSW, including here.

Can you fish the harbour at Shellharbour Village, or is it restricted?

The original Shellharbour Village boat harbour is open land-based fishing — work the rock walls and the harbour edges, and keep clear of the swimming beach and the ocean pool. The fishing restrictions you may have read about apply to the separate Shellharbour Marina at Shell Cove, a kilometre or so south, where the on-site signage sets which parts of the harbour are open, so read it before you set up.

Is Shellharbour Boat Harbour good for kids and beginners?

Yes. The inside of the harbour is sheltered, the foreshore is flat and pram-friendly, and there are toilets, picnic facilities and an ocean pool right there. Light bream and whiting gear off the walls is forgiving for first-timers. Keep small children away from the open rock ledges either side, which face the ocean and are no place for kids.

Do you need a lifejacket to fish the rocks at Shellharbour?

Wear one. People have died rock fishing this stretch of coast, Kiama immediately south and Wollongong immediately north are both declared rock-fishing areas under the Rock Fishing Safety Act 2016, and these ledges face the same ocean. An adult jacket needs to meet AS 4758 level 50S or greater and an under-12's level 100, and cleated boots and several minutes watching the swell matter just as much before you step onto anything low.

When is the best time to fish Shellharbour Boat Harbour?

Dawn and dusk on a run-in tide into the change are the standout windows. Bream fish year-round, flathead and whiting peak spring through autumn, and luderick and salmon are at their best in autumn and winter off the walls and ledges. Low light brings the salmon and tailor in close on the adjacent points.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Shellharbour Boat Harbour

Wed 21 Oct 2026 · Australia/Sydney

Forecast updated Wed 21 Oct, 11:08pm AEDT

Bite Alert

←

21 Oct

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Today Tomorrow Sat 31 Oct

📍 Shellharbour Boat Harbour

waxing gibbous · 73%

Weather: Cloudy Wind: W 292° · 2 km/h Swell: 0.8 m @ 5 s E Water: 19.5 °C Pressure: 1023.9 hPa ↓ falling Faces east · Offshore: SW, W, NW · Onshore: NE, E, SE · Forecast wind: offshore

★★★☆☆

Medium Fish Activity

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▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 6:00 am

Solunar Between windows

Time of day Dawn

Tide Turning

Wind W 6 km/h

Moon waxing gibbous all day

Water temp 19.5 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day Timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 5:41 am Last light 7:41 pm

High 5:33 am Low 11:00 am High 5:16 pm

Drag or use arrow keys to explore

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

5:00 am → 7:30 am

2h 30m

Good

5:30 pm → 10:00 pm

4h 30m

Good

8:30 am → 10:00 am

1h 30m

Good

3:00 am → 4:00 am

First light

5:41 am

Last light

7:41 pm

Sunrise

6:07 am

Sunset

7:15 pm

Moonrise

2:12 pm

Moonset

3:11 am

High tide

5:33 am

Low tide

11:00 am

High tide

5:16 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

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15°

←︎

292°

7 km/h

1am

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15°

←︎

287°

7 km/h

2am

☁️

14°

←︎

286°

6 km/h

3am

☁️

14°

←︎

286°

6 km/h

4am

☁️

13°

←︎

283°

6 km/h

5am

☁️

13°

←︎

276°

5 km/h

6am

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12°

←︎

272°

6 km/h

7am

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12°

←︎

268°

6 km/h

8am

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16°

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270°

5 km/h

9am

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19°

↑︎

18°

2 km/h

10am

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21°

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56°

8 km/h

11am

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23°

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55°

12 km/h

12pm

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22°

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61°

14 km/h

1pm

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22°

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57°

14 km/h

2pm

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22°

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56°

15 km/h

3pm

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22°

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49°

15 km/h

4pm

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21°

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50°

14 km/h

5pm

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21°

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47°

13 km/h

6pm

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20°

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40°

13 km/h

7pm

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19°

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33°

9 km/h

8pm

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18°

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24°

6 km/h

9pm

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18°

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356°

5 km/h

10pm

🌧️

17°

↑︎

338°

5 km/h

11pm

🌧️

17°

←︎

292°

2 km/h

Hourly Swell

Steady ~0.8 m E

12am

0.8 m

@ 5 s

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Slight

chop

1am

0.8 m

@ 4 s

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Slight

chop

2am

0.8 m

@ 4 s

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Slight

chop

3am

0.8 m

@ 4 s

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Slight

chop

4am

0.8 m

@ 5 s

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Slight

chop

5am

0.8 m

@ 5 s

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Slight

chop

6am

0.8 m

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Slight

chop

7am

0.8 m

@ 5 s

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Slight

chop

8am

0.8 m

@ 5 s

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Slight

chop

9am

0.8 m

@ 5 s

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Slight

chop

10am

0.8 m

@ 5 s

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Slight

chop

11am

0.8 m

@ 5 s

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Slight

chop

12pm

0.8 m

@ 5 s

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Slight

chop

1pm

0.7 m

@ 5 s

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Slight

chop

2pm

0.7 m

@ 5 s

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Slight

chop

3pm

0.7 m

@ 5 s

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Slight

chop

4pm

0.7 m

@ 5 s

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Slight

chop

5pm

0.7 m

@ 5 s

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Slight

chop

6pm

0.7 m

@ 5 s

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Slight

chop

7pm

0.7 m

@ 5 s

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Slight

chop

8pm

0.8 m

@ 5 s

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Slight

chop

9pm

0.8 m

@ 5 s

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Slight

chop

10pm

0.8 m

@ 5 s

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Slight

chop

11pm

0.8 m

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Slight

chop

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 2 km/h W (292°).

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 → 7:30 am

2h 30m

Good

5:30 pm → 10:00 pm

4h 30m

Good

8:30 am → 10:00 am

1h 30m

Good

3:00 am → 4:00 am

First light

5:41 am

Last light

7:41 pm

Sunrise

6:07 am

Sunset

7:15 pm

Moonrise

2:12 pm

Moonset

3:11 am

High tide

5:33 am

Low tide

11:00 am

High tide

5:16 pm

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