Are wire traces banned at Terrigal Haven?

Yes. A Section 8 fishing closure that commenced on Friday 4 September 2026 and runs for five years prohibits taking fish with a line fitted with a wire trace or chain trace, or a line made of wire or chain, throughout Terrigal Haven. The closure runs from the shoreline at Terrigal Rock Pool beside the boardwalk across all waters of the Haven to Terrigal Point, and it exists to protect critically endangered greynurse sharks. Other lawful fishing methods carry on as normal. On-the-spot fines of $500 to $1,500 apply, with maximum court penalties of $22,000 and up to six months imprisonment for a first offence, so swap the wire for heavy mono.

Where do you catch luderick at Terrigal Haven?

On the rock shelf on the north side of the Haven beneath The Skillion, where two ledges have a long local reputation as luderick country. Float-fish green cabbage weed or algae through the wash on a moving tide, ideally in the cooler months. A NSW Recreational Fishing Fee is required to fish anywhere in NSW, including off the rocks here, and luderick must be at least 27cm with a daily bag limit of 10 and 20 in possession.

Do you have to wear a lifejacket rock fishing at Terrigal?

Yes. Terrigal is in the Central Coast local government area, which is declared under the Rock Fishing Safety Act 2016, and an approved lifejacket is required by law for anyone rock fishing or helping someone rock fish on swell-exposed rock. Adults need AS 4758 level 50S or greater and children under 12 need level 100. A $100 on-the-spot fine applies, so it is not a suggestion.

What pelagics can you catch off The Skillion?

Through the warmer months — roughly December to April — bonito, frigate mackerel, mack tuna, Australian salmon and the occasional yellowtail kingfish push in close enough to spin from the ledge. High-speed spinning with 30–65g metals or a pilchard under a bobby cork are the standard methods, and February to April is the peak window when the warm current sits close to shore. Rig with mono or fluorocarbon leader, not wire, because wire and chain traces are banned in the Haven.

Is The Skillion rock platform safe for fishing?

It is a deep-water ocean ledge and carries real risk — it takes swell square-on and sets can wash the lower rock without warning, which is a large part of why the Central Coast is a declared high-risk rock-fishing area. Watch the swell for several minutes before climbing down, never fish low ledges in a rising sea or alone, wear a lifejacket as required by law, and choose a settled, small-swell forecast.

Can you keep a blue groper caught at Terrigal?

No. The eastern blue groper has a bag limit of zero in NSW, and the line fishing prohibition was continued for a further three years from 1 March 2025, so it runs to 1 March 2028. They are a regular bycatch for anglers berleying for blackfish, so handle them carefully, unhook them in the water where you can, and let them go.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Terrigal Haven / The Skillion

Thu 17 Sep 2026 · Australia/Sydney

Save

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17 Sep

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Today Tomorrow Sat 19 Sep

📍 Terrigal Haven / The Skillion

waxing crescent · 28%

Weather: Cloudy Wind: S 189° · 27 km/h Swell: 1.9 m @ 8 s SE Water: 18.2 °C Pressure: 1031.4 hPa → steady

★★★☆☆

Medium Fish Activity

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 6:00 pm

Solunar Between windows

Time of day Dusk

Tide Turning

Wind S 18 km/h

Moon waxing crescent all day

Water temp 18.2 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 5:26 am Last light 6:11 pm

Low 4:45 am High 11:35 am Low 6:30 pm

Drag or use arrow keys to explore

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

4:00 pm → 7:30 pm

3h 30m

Good

5:00 am → 6:30 am

1h 30m

First light

5:26 am

Last light

6:11 pm

Sunrise

5:51 am

Sunset

5:47 pm

Moonrise

8:57 am

Moonset

11:58 pm

Low tide

4:45 am

High tide

11:35 am

Low tide

6:30 pm

High tide

11:50 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

☀️

13°

↓︎

195°

28 km/h

1am

☀️

13°

↓︎

200°

28 km/h

2am

☀️

12°

↙︎

208°

26 km/h

3am

☀️

11°

↙︎

219°

23 km/h

4am

☀️

10°

↙︎

228°

21 km/h

5am

☀️

10°

↙︎

233°

20 km/h

6am

☀️

10°

↙︎

234°

19 km/h

7am

☀️

10°

↙︎

229°

18 km/h

8am

☁️

11°

↙︎

216°

20 km/h

9am

☁️

13°

↓︎

201°

23 km/h

10am

☁️

14°

↓︎

193°

26 km/h

11am

☁️

15°

↓︎

190°

27 km/h

12pm

☁️

15°

↓︎

189°

27 km/h

1pm

☁️

16°

↓︎

188°

26 km/h

2pm

☁️

16°

↓︎

189°

25 km/h

3pm

☁️

15°

↓︎

190°

24 km/h

4pm

☁️

15°

↓︎

190°

22 km/h

5pm

☁️

15°

↓︎

190°

20 km/h

6pm

☀️

14°

↓︎

189°

18 km/h

7pm

☀️

14°

↓︎

187°

16 km/h

8pm

☀️

14°

↓︎

180°

14 km/h

9pm

☀️

14°

↓︎

172°

13 km/h

10pm

☀️

14°

↓︎

170°

11 km/h

11pm

☀️

13°

↓︎

197°

8 km/h

Hourly Swell

Steady ~1.5 m S

12am

1.6 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Moderate

1am

1.7 m

@ 9 s

↘︎

Moderate

2am

1.8 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

3am

1.9 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

4am

2.1 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Solid

5am

2.0 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Solid

chop

6am

2.0 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Solid

chop

7am

2.0 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

8am

2.0 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

9am

2.0 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

10am

2.0 m

@ 8 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

11am

1.9 m

@ 8 s

↘︎

Moderate

12pm

1.9 m

@ 8 s

↘︎

Moderate

1pm

1.9 m

@ 8 s

↘︎

Moderate

2pm

1.9 m

@ 8 s

↘︎

Moderate

3pm

1.9 m

@ 8 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

4pm

2.0 m

@ 8 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

5pm

2.0 m

@ 8 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

6pm

2.0 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Solid

chop

7pm

2.0 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Solid

chop

8pm

1.9 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

9pm

1.7 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

10pm

1.6 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

11pm

1.5 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

Water Temp (°C)

→ steady around 18.2°

Mon

14 Sep

18.4°

Tue

15 Sep

18.7°

Wed

16 Sep

18.6°

Thu

17 Sep

18.2°

Fri

18 Sep

18.3°

Sat

19 Sep

18.6°

Sun

20 Sep

18.8°

Mon

21 Sep

18.8°

Tue

22 Sep

18.9°

Wed

23 Sep

—

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 27 km/h S (189°).

Wind map data: ECMWF HRES (operational), updated every 6 hours. Not for navigation.

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

4:00 pm → 7:30 pm

3h 30m

Good

5:00 am → 6:30 am

1h 30m

First light

5:26 am

Last light

6:11 pm

Sunrise

5:51 am

Sunset

5:47 pm

Moonrise

8:57 am

Moonset

11:58 pm

Low tide

4:45 am

High tide

11:35 am

Low tide

6:30 pm

High tide

11:50 pm

Nearby spots

Species at this spot

Luderick
Rock Blackfish
Tailor
Australian Salmon
Bonito
Yellowtail Kingfish
Silver Trevally