Can you fish from Swansea Bridge?

No. Fishing from the Swansea Bridge deck and footpath is prohibited, there is clear signage at various positions on the bridge and its surrounds, and Lake Macquarie police have run enforcement operations — one issued 42 infringement notices with penalties from $231 to $960. Fish the purpose-built fishing platforms, the channel walls and the rock edges beside the bridge instead, which is where the current and the fish are anyway. You also need a NSW Recreational Fishing Fee to fish anywhere in NSW.

What is the best tide to fish Swansea Bridge for kingfish?

Time it around the tide change. The channel current runs hard on the bigger tides and the kingfish bite best in the hour either side of slack water; dead high and dead low are slow. Live yellowtail or slimy mackerel and surface poppers in the current seam are the standout methods, and kingfish are 65cm minimum with a bag of 5.

What fish can you catch at Swansea Channel?

Yellowtail kingfish are the prize, mostly late spring through summer and into autumn, at 65cm minimum with a bag of 5. Dusky flathead, yellowfin bream, sand whiting, luderick, mulloway after dark and squid are all caught around the channel and the nearby Drop Over at Marks Point year-round, with seasonal peaks. Mulloway are 70cm minimum with a bag of 1 per person. Remember the fishing is from the platforms, walls and banks — not from the bridge.

Do dusky flathead have a slot limit in NSW?

Yes. In NSW dusky flathead have a 36cm minimum and a slot — fish over 70cm must be released to protect the big breeding females — with a bag limit of 5. A NSW Recreational Fishing Fee is required to fish in the state.

Is there parking and toilets at Swansea Bridge?

Yes. The Swansea boat ramp on the Swansea side has a car park, street parking along Channel Street and public toilets, and the sealed shared path beside the bridge is pram and wheelchair friendly. The productive fishing edges, though, are on uneven rock and bank rather than the path.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Swansea Bridge

Sat 19 Sep 2026 · Australia/Sydney

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19 Sep

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Today Tomorrow Sat 19 Sep

📍 Swansea Bridge

first quarter · 48%

Weather: Sunny Wind: E 87° · 4 km/h Swell: 0.8 m @ 9 s S Water: 19.0 °C Pressure: 1024.1 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 E 9 km/h

Moon first quarter all day

Water temp 19.0 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 5:23 am Last light 6:11 pm

High 1:10 am Low 6:30 am High 1:39 pm Low 8:42 pm

Drag or use arrow keys to explore

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

5:00 pm → 7:30 pm

2h 30m

Good

5:00 am → 7:00 am

Good

2:00 pm → 3:00 pm

First light

5:23 am

Last light

6:11 pm

Sunrise

5:47 am

Sunset

5:47 pm

Moonrise

10:32 am

Moonset

—

High tide

1:10 am

Low tide

6:30 am

High tide

1:39 pm

Low tide

8:42 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

☀️

13°

↖︎

314°

6 km/h

1am

☀️

13°

↖︎

298°

6 km/h

2am

☀️

12°

↖︎

299°

6 km/h

3am

☀️

11°

↖︎

309°

5 km/h

4am

☀️

11°

↖︎

318°

5 km/h

5am

☀️

11°

↖︎

319°

7 km/h

6am

☀️

11°

↖︎

318°

8 km/h

7am

☀️

12°

↖︎

318°

9 km/h

8am

☀️

15°

↖︎

317°

9 km/h

9am

☀️

18°

↖︎

314°

7 km/h

10am

☀️

20°

↖︎

315°

5 km/h

11am

☀️

21°

↑︎

350°

2 km/h

12pm

☀️

22°

→︎

87°

4 km/h

1pm

☀️

23°

→︎

97°

7 km/h

2pm

☀️

23°

→︎

95°

10 km/h

3pm

☀️

22°

→︎

92°

12 km/h

4pm

☀️

21°

→︎

91°

13 km/h

5pm

☀️

20°

→︎

95°

12 km/h

6pm

☀️

19°

→︎

105°

9 km/h

7pm

☀️

17°

↘︎

117°

7 km/h

8pm

☀️

17°

↘︎

121°

4 km/h

9pm

☀️

17°

↘︎

124°

1 km/h

10pm

☀️

16°

←︎

270°

1 km/h

11pm

☀️

16°

↙︎

238°

3 km/h

Hourly Swell

Easing 1.1 → 0.6 m SE

12am

1.1 m

@ 8 s

↘︎

Moderate

1am

1.1 m

@ 8 s

↘︎

Moderate

2am

1.1 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

3am

1.1 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Moderate

4am

1.0 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Moderate

5am

1.0 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Moderate

6am

1.0 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

7am

0.9 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

8am

0.9 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Slight

9am

0.9 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Slight

10am

0.9 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Slight

11am

0.8 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

12pm

0.8 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

1pm

0.7 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

2pm

0.7 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

3pm

0.7 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

4pm

0.7 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

5pm

0.7 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

6pm

0.7 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

7pm

0.7 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

8pm

0.7 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

9pm

0.7 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

10pm

0.7 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

11pm

0.6 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Slight

Water Temp (°C)

→ steady around 19.0°

Wed

16 Sep

19.2°

Thu

17 Sep

18.9°

Fri

18 Sep

18.9°

Sat

19 Sep

19.0°

Sun

20 Sep

19.2°

Mon

21 Sep

19.2°

Tue

22 Sep

19.2°

Wed

23 Sep

19.2°

Thu

24 Sep

—

Fri

25 Sep

—

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 4 km/h E (87°).

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 pm → 7:30 pm

2h 30m

Good

5:00 am → 7:00 am

Good

2:00 pm → 3:00 pm

First light

5:23 am

Last light

6:11 pm

Sunrise

5:47 am

Sunset

5:47 pm

Moonrise

10:32 am

Moonset

—

High tide

1:10 am

Low tide

6:30 am

High tide

1:39 pm

Low tide

8:42 pm

Nearby spots

Species at this spot

Yellowtail Kingfish
Dusky Flathead
Yellowfin Bream
Sand Whiting
Luderick
Mulloway (Jewfish)
Tailor
Southern Calamari (Squid)