Is Washaway Beach worth fishing or is it really one of the best tailor spots in Sydney Harbour?

It earns the reputation. Washaway is widely rated one of the most reliable tailor spots in the harbour, especially from spring through autumn when bait gets pushed into the shallows and the surface fish blitz. Just be aware the sand can be absent after a storm or at high tide, so time your trip for low to mid tide in settled weather. You will need a NSW Recreational Fishing Fee to fish here, as you do anywhere in NSW.

How do you get to Washaway Beach and is there parking?

There is no road access. You walk in via the Manly Scenic Walkway from Tania Park on Dobroyd Head or from the Clontarf and Castle Rock end, then take an unmarked side track near Grotto Point Lighthouse and scramble down a steep five-metre rock section at the northern end. Park at Tania Park or Clontarf and expect a decent bushwalk in either direction. There are no toilets or facilities at the beach itself.

Can you catch kingfish from the shore at Washaway Beach?

Yes — the rocky point at the southern end is often called Sydney Harbour's best shore-based access to quality kingfish. Fish a live yellowtail hard against the structure on a heavy outfit through summer and early autumn, caught on a bait jig rather than a squid jig, because squid cannot lawfully be taken inside the aquatic reserve. The NSW minimum size for yellowtail kingfish is 65cm and the bag limit is 5.

Is fishing allowed at Washaway Beach, and is it inside the North Harbour Aquatic Reserve?

Fishing is allowed, and yes, Washaway is inside the reserve. DPI describes the North Harbour (Sydney) Aquatic Reserve as the waters of North Harbour between North Head and Dobroyd Head, out to the line drawn from the eastern end of Forty Baskets Beach to Manly Point, which puts this east-facing beach at the foot of Dobroyd Head squarely inside it. That means finfish on a hand-held line and nothing else — no spearfishing, no nets or traps, and no squid, shellfish, worms or other invertebrates, dead or alive — so bring every bait in with you. Little penguins also use this harbour, but the declared critical habitat sits over on the Manly side — Little Manly Point through Collins, Store and Quarantine Beaches to Cannae Point, plus the Manly Point foreshore — so the sunset-to-sunrise closure from 1 July to 28 February does not reach Washaway. A NSW Recreational Fishing Fee is required as well.

Do you need a lifejacket to fish the rocks at Washaway Beach?

Yes. The Northern Beaches local government area is declared under the NSW Rock Fishing Safety Act 2016, and the law requires an appropriate lifejacket when you fish with rod, line or handline from naturally occurring rock exposed to ocean swell. Adults need Australian Standard AS 4758 level 50S or greater and children under 12 need level 100 or greater, with a $100 on-the-spot fine for going without, and the duty covers anyone helping you as well. Wear cleated boots or rock plates, watch for swell and ground sets, and never fish the rock in a building sea.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Washaway Beach (North Harbour)

Thu 17 Sep 2026 · Australia/Sydney

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17 Sep

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Today Tomorrow Sat 19 Sep

📍 Washaway Beach (North Harbour)

waxing crescent · 28%

Weather: Sunny Wind: S 176° · 17 km/h Swell: 1.4 m @ 7 s SE Water: 17.7 °C Pressure: 1031.1 hPa ↓ falling

★★★☆☆

Medium Fish Activity

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 5:30 am

Solunar Between windows

Time of day Dawn

Tide Moving

Wind SW 15 km/h

Moon waxing crescent all day

Water temp 17.7 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 5:27 am Last light 6:12 pm

Low 4:45 am High 11:35 am Low 6:23 pm

Drag or use arrow keys to explore

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

5:00 am → 6:30 am

1h 30m

Good

4:00 pm → 7:00 pm

First light

5:27 am

Last light

6:12 pm

Sunrise

5:52 am

Sunset

5:47 pm

Moonrise

8:57 am

Moonset

12:00 am

Low tide

4:45 am

High tide

11:35 am

Low tide

6:23 pm

High tide

11:56 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

☀️

12°

↓︎

196°

22 km/h

1am

☁️

12°

↙︎

206°

20 km/h

2am

☁️

11°

↙︎

219°

18 km/h

3am

☀️

10°

↙︎

222°

17 km/h

4am

☁️

10°

↙︎

224°

16 km/h

5am

☀️

9°

↙︎

244°

15 km/h

6am

☀️

8°

←︎

253°

13 km/h

7am

☀️

9°

←︎

258°

13 km/h

8am

☀️

11°

↙︎

242°

12 km/h

9am

☀️

13°

↙︎

211°

14 km/h

10am

☀️

15°

↓︎

192°

18 km/h

11am

☀️

16°

↓︎

182°

18 km/h

12pm

☀️

16°

↓︎

176°

17 km/h

1pm

☀️

16°

↓︎

167°

15 km/h

2pm

☀️

16°

↘︎

150°

15 km/h

3pm

☀️

16°

↘︎

148°

14 km/h

4pm

☀️

15°

↘︎

151°

14 km/h

5pm

☀️

15°

↘︎

143°

12 km/h

6pm

☀️

14°

↘︎

136°

8 km/h

7pm

☀️

13°

↘︎

144°

4 km/h

8pm

☀️

12°

↓︎

167°

2 km/h

9pm

☀️

12°

↙︎

240°

2 km/h

10pm

☀️

11°

←︎

262°

5 km/h

11pm

☀️

10°

←︎

270°

6 km/h

Hourly Swell

Easing 1.4 → 0.9 m S

12am

1.4 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

1am

1.5 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

2am

1.5 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

3am

1.6 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

4am

1.6 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

5am

1.6 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

6am

1.5 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

7am

1.5 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

8am

1.5 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

9am

1.5 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

10am

1.4 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

11am

1.4 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

12pm

1.4 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

1pm

1.4 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

2pm

1.3 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

3pm

1.3 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

4pm

1.3 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

5pm

1.2 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Moderate

chop

6pm

1.1 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

7pm

1.1 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

8pm

1.0 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

9pm

1.0 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

10pm

1.0 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Slight

chop

11pm

0.9 m

@ 7 s

↘︎

Slight

chop

Water Temp (°C)

↘ cooling — down 0.5° over the last 3 days

Mon

14 Sep

18.2°

Tue

15 Sep

18.3°

Wed

16 Sep

18.0°

Thu

17 Sep

17.7°

Fri

18 Sep

17.8°

Sat

19 Sep

17.9°

Sun

20 Sep

18.1°

Mon

21 Sep

18.3°

Tue

22 Sep

18.4°

Wed

23 Sep

18.7°

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 17 km/h S (176°).

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 am → 6:30 am

1h 30m

Good

4:00 pm → 7:00 pm

First light

5:27 am

Last light

6:12 pm

Sunrise

5:52 am

Sunset

5:47 pm

Moonrise

8:57 am

Moonset

12:00 am

Low tide

4:45 am

High tide

11:35 am

Low tide

6:23 pm

High tide

11:56 pm

Nearby spots

Species at this spot

Tailor
Yellowtail Kingfish
Australian Salmon
Yellowfin Bream
Dusky Flathead
Silver Trevally