South West Rocks Breakwall (Macleay River)

The Macleay River reaches the sea between two long rock walls just west of South West Rocks, and the south wall — the one on the town side — runs about 1.4 km from the end of New Entrance Road to a tip that pokes into the surf. Every fish heading in or out of the Macleay has to pass it, which is why the river walls hold big bream, flathead and jewies. The tip is ocean; the inside face is river; the long middle section is somewhere in between and usually the most forgiving. Every estuary from South West Rocks north holds mangrove jack, so a summer jack off the rocks is a real chance.

Most anglers drive to the end of New Entrance Road, park by the river and walk out along the wall, stopping wherever the current is doing something useful. Bream and flathead come from the river face on lightly weighted prawns, yabbies, poddy mullet or soft plastics bumped along the base of the rocks, with the run-out tide pushing bait past the wall. Luderick anglers float green weed or cabbage down the inside edge through the cooler months. The jewie crowd works the outer third and the tip after dark, on live mullet, fresh squid or big plastics, through the slack and the first of the run.

Bream are the bread and butter all year, with the bigger fish crowding the wall in winter, and dusky flathead fire from spring through autumn. Mulloway are here year-round — mostly school fish, with the odd much bigger one for anglers who put in the night sessions. Luderick fill the cooler months and tailor run along the outer wall in autumn and winter. Summer adds the chance of a mangrove jack among the rocks, usually on a live poddy or a plastic left too close to the snags.

Mulloway are 70 cm minimum with a bag of one. Dusky flathead are a 36–70 cm slot with a bag of five; bream are 25 cm and a combined 10 with tarwhine; luderick 27 cm and 10; mangrove jack have no size limit and a bag of five. After heavy rain the Macleay runs brown for days, and the fish that stay often sit at the cleaner water near the tip on the run-in. Spearfishing is closed within 100 m of both breakwaters.

New Entrance Road runs north from the edge of town over the creek to a sandy parking area at the river end of the south wall; from there it's a long, flat walk along the wall track to the outer section, well over a kilometre to the tip. The alternative is to walk up Back Beach from the Back Creek footbridge in town and come onto the wall near its seaward end. There are no toilets or shelter on the wall itself — use the facilities in town first. The rock armour is uneven and the walk is long, so this is not a pram or wheelchair outing beyond the car park.

The inside face fishes in most weather because the wall itself takes the southerly swell. The tip and outer third want a small swell and a light offshore wind; a big easterly or south-easterly sea breaks across the bar and washes the end of the wall. The run-out tide carries bait seaward along the river face and is the usual bream and flathead window, while the change and the early run-in suit the jewies. Flood water after Macleay rain slows the inner wall but can push fish toward the mouth.

The outer wall and tip are ocean rock: sets break over them without warning in an easterly swell, and the rocks are slick with weed below the high-tide line. Check the swell forecast, watch the sets for ten minutes first, and never turn your back on the sea. Kempsey is not one of the ten council areas declared under the Rock Fishing Safety Act 2016, but a lifejacket is strongly recommended on the outer wall and tip, along with cleated or felt-soled footwear and light clothing you can swim in. The river runs hard through the entrance on the ebb — anyone who goes in is carried out over the bar, so keep children well back from the edge. At night carry a headlamp and a charged phone, fish with someone, and stay off the tip if spray is reaching the walking line. If you go in, swim clear of the wall, float, signal and have your mate call 000, and know your retreat. Keep lines clear of boats crossing the bar.

Most people fish the south wall of the Macleay River entrance, reached by driving to the end of New Entrance Road and walking out along the wall. The river face is the bream, flathead and luderick water; the outer third and the tip are where the mulloway are chased after dark. It's a long walk — well over a kilometre to the tip — with no facilities on the wall.

Yes. The Macleay walls are a known jewfish spot, with school fish common and the occasional very large fish, mostly at night on live mullet, squid or big soft plastics around the tide changes. In NSW mulloway are 70 cm minimum with a bag of one per person, and you need a NSW Recreational Fishing Fee receipt unless you're exempt.

Yes. Every estuary system from South West Rocks north has good populations of mangrove jack, and the Macleay walls produce the odd fish in the warmer months. NSW has no size limit on mangrove jack and a bag limit of five.

The run-out tide is the usual bream and flathead window along the river face, because it sweeps bait past the rocks. For mulloway, the change of tide around dusk or after dark and the first hour of the run-in are the favourites. Avoid the outer wall when an easterly swell is breaking over the bar.