Turimetta Head

Turimetta Head is the sandstone point between Warriewood Beach and Turimetta Beach, a narrow strip of headland reserve running out to a low rock platform that the ocean works over from three sides. It is a known Northern Beaches rock-fishing spot, with the usual drummer, luderick and bream wash and tailor and salmon in the white water, but without the crowds of Long Reef. The legal geography is worth knowing: the Narrabeen Head Aquatic Reserve starts at the southern end of Turimetta Beach, roughly 600 m south of the point, so the head itself sits outside it. Line fishing is legal in both places, but the reserve bans collecting cunjevoi, crabs, worms, shellfish and every other invertebrate except abalone and rock lobster.

Work the white water off the tip and the gutters along the platform edges for rock blackfish, luderick and bream, with a berley of bread and weed to hold them in the wash. Float-fish green weed or cabbage for luderick and drummer on a running float set to the depth of the gutter, or fish a lightly weighted prawn or bread bait for bream. At first and last light, spin 20–40g metals into the foam for tailor and salmon. Pick the side of the head that is out of the wind and swell — the northern face in a southerly, the southern face in a north-easter — and on the northern face stay well back from the Warriewood Blowhole, where lifeguards have had to pull people out of the tunnel after falls from the rocks.

Rock blackfish (black drummer) are the hard-pulling local, at 30 cm and a bag of 10; blue drummer look similar but are release-only in NSW. Luderick are 27 cm with a bag of 10, and yellowfin bream 25 cm on a bag of 10 shared with tarwhine. Tailor are 30 cm with a daily bag of 10, Australian salmon have no minimum size and a bag of 5, and silver trevally are 30 cm inside a shared trevally bag of 10. Eastern blue groper turn up on Sydney ledges like this, but line fishing for them is prohibited in NSW until 28 February 2028, so any that takes a bait goes straight back.

Bring all your bait, and don't drift south collecting it — from the southern end of Turimetta Beach to the Narrabeen Head rock baths you are in the aquatic reserve, where cunjevoi, crabs, worms, shellfish and every other invertebrate except abalone and rock lobster are off limits. Watch the platform for several full sets before walking out; the low rock here is washed on even modest swell. Low light does the work for tailor and salmon, while drummer and luderick fish best in the white water on a rising tide. A long-handled gaff or landing net saves a lot of fish lost to the climb up the ledge.

Park on Narrabeen Park Parade, Warriewood, where there is street-side parking near the headland reserve, and take one of the walking tracks through the Turimetta Headland Reserve out to the rocks. The final stretch onto the platform is uneven rock, so this is not a spot for prams, wheelchairs or small children. There are no facilities on the headland itself, so bring water and plan around the walk back up. The beach below is unpatrolled.

The head is open to everything from a north-east swell round to a southerly, which makes it a small-swell ledge — it fishes on a clean sea under about 1 m and turns dangerous quickly once the swell builds. Westerly winds flatten the sea and are the classic rock-fishing conditions; a strong onshore wind makes the low ledges unfishable. Drummer and luderick want some white water — dead calm days are slower. Dawn and dusk on a rising tide are the windows to target. Beachsafe notes a treated-sewage outfall on the northern Turimetta platform.

The platform is low enough for sets to sweep it without warning; in February 2016 lifeguards rescued a 14-year-old from a ledge inside the Warriewood Blowhole, on the head's northern side. 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. The Northern Beaches is declared under the Rock Fishing Safety Act 2016, so a lifejacket is compulsory on this rock — 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. Turimetta Beach is unpatrolled and carries rips, so don't count on it as an easy way out.

Yes. Turimetta Head is a known rock-fishing spot and sits outside the Narrabeen Head Aquatic Reserve, which begins at the southern end of Turimetta Beach. Line fishing is legal on the head and in the reserve, but the reserve bans collecting cunjevoi and other invertebrates. A lifejacket is required by law on this ocean rock, and a NSW Recreational Fishing Fee is required unless you are exempt.

No. The Narrabeen Head Aquatic Reserve covers the rocky shore from the southern end of Turimetta Beach to the rock baths at Narrabeen Head and 100 m out to sea. Turimetta Head is at the northern end of the beach, roughly 600 m from the reserve boundary. Inside the reserve, line fishing and spearfishing are allowed but collecting cunjevoi, invertebrates or shells is not.

Yes. The Northern Beaches is a declared area under the NSW Rock Fishing Safety Act 2016, so a lifejacket is compulsory when fishing from ocean rock here. Adults need AS 4758 level 50S or greater, children under 12 need level 100 or greater, and the fine for going without is $100 on the spot.

Rock blackfish (black drummer), luderick and yellowfin bream in the wash, tailor and Australian salmon at dawn and dusk, and silver trevally. Eastern blue groper turn up on Sydney's rocky reefs but are protected from line fishing in NSW until 28 February 2028, so release any you hook.