Towradgi Point

Towradgi Point is a low rocky projection between Corrimal Beach to the north and Towradgi Beach to the south, with a rock pool built into its tip. Beachsafe's fishing note for this stretch is short and accurate — the low rocks at each end are popular, together with the shifting gutters along the beach. That gives you two kinds of fishing from one car park — bream and tailor working the wash off the point, and whiting in the sand gutters that form either side of it. It is a smaller, tamer-looking rock than the big northern Illawarra shelves, which is exactly why it needs the same respect.

On the point, cast from the higher rock into the gutter where the wash drains off the reef, and drift a lightly weighted peeled prawn or pilchard piece back into the foam for bream. Tailor and salmon come to metal slugs or a pilchard on ganged hooks thrown across that same gutter at dawn and dusk. For whiting, walk off the rock onto either beach, find a gutter at low tide in daylight, then fish it on the rising tide with beachworm or pipi on a light running rig. Spacing out along the sand is easy here, which keeps you well clear of swimmers and surfers.

Yellowfin bream are the year-round mainstay off the rock at 25cm, on a bag of 10 shared with tarwhine. Tailor run through the year and peak in autumn and winter at 30cm and a bag of 10, while Australian salmon move through the gutters in the cooler months with no minimum size and a bag of 5. Sand whiting are the summer beach target at 27cm, on a bag of 20 shared across the whiting. Beach worms count toward a bag of 20, and pipis are for bait only and must not be taken beyond 50 metres of the high-tide mark.

Check the beach at dead low tide in daylight to spot the gutters — the darker water where waves are not breaking — then come back to fish them on the rising tide. The rocks at either end of Corrimal Beach go awash at high tide and in big seas, so fish the point around the lower half of the tide in a small swell and move to the sand as the water comes up. The rock pool is for swimmers, so keep casts and rigs well away from it. A headlamp helps on the path from the car, but wait until there is enough light to watch a few full sets before stepping onto the low rock.

A sealed car park off Towradgi Road sits right behind the point, with toilets beside the rock pool and a playground next to the car park. Towradgi Surf Club is a few hundred metres south-west along the beach, and the Corrimal surf club and a beach cafe are a short walk north along the shared path. The walk from the car to the rock is short and mostly level, but the rock itself is uneven and slippery, so it is not mobility-friendly. Families are better based on the beach either side, with the kids on the sand rather than the point.

The point faces east-south-east into the open ocean, and Beachsafe puts average waves on Towradgi Beach at about 1.5 metres. It fishes best on a swell under a metre, with a westerly or light offshore breeze keeping the face clean. The northern end of Towradgi Beach, tucked under the point, gets some shelter from summer northerlies and can stay fishable when the outer rock is not. Dawn and dusk are the productive windows for tailor and salmon, while whiting want the warmer months and a moving tide over the gutters.

The low rock goes awash at high tide and in big seas, so a wave that looks harmless from the car park can sweep the outer ledge, and Beachsafe records permanent rips against the rocks on both sides of the point. Check the swell and tide forecasts, watch for at least ten minutes before stepping out, stay off wet, weedy rock, never turn your back on the water, and leave in a rising sea. Wollongong is declared under the Rock Fishing Safety Act 2016 and the council's map shades Towradgi Point, so a lifejacket is compulsory here — adults AS 4758 level 50S or greater, under-12s level 100 — for you, anyone helping and children in your care, with a $100 on-the-spot fine. Wear cleated footwear and light clothing you can swim in, never fish alone, and tell someone your plan. If you are washed in, swim away from the rocks, float, signal and have your mate call 000, and know your way back to higher ground.

Yes. The low rocks at Towradgi Point and the beach gutters on either side are popular with anglers for bream, tailor, salmon and summer whiting. Fish away from the rock pool, wear a lifejacket on the rock — Wollongong is a declared rock-fishing area — and carry your NSW Recreational Fishing Fee receipt.

Yes. Towradgi is in the Wollongong local government area, a declared area under the Rock Fishing Safety Act 2016, and the council's map shades Towradgi Point. A lifejacket is compulsory when fishing with rod, line or handline from the rock, for anyone helping you and for any child under 12 in your care. Adults need AS 4758 level 50S or greater, under-12s level 100 or greater, and the on-the-spot fine is $100.

Bream, tailor and Australian salmon off the point and in the gutters, with sand whiting the summer beach target. Bream are 25cm on a bag of 10 shared with tarwhine, tailor 30cm with a bag of 10, salmon have no minimum size and a bag of 5, and sand whiting are 27cm on a bag of 20 shared across the whiting.

Use the sealed car park off Towradgi Road, directly behind the point. There are toilets beside the rock pool, and the surf clubs at Towradgi and Corrimal are each a short walk along the beach.