Do you need a licence to fish at Wattamolla?

Yes. A NSW Recreational Fishing Fee is required to fish anywhere in NSW, including the beach, lagoon and rocks at Wattamolla. It is $7 for three days, $14 for a month, $35 for a year or $85 for three years, and the receipt has to be carried while you fish. Separately, Royal National Park charges a $12 per vehicle daily entry fee to drive in.

Is a lifejacket compulsory for rock fishing at Wattamolla?

Yes on the ocean ledges. Wattamolla is in the Sutherland Shire local government area, a declared area under the NSW Rock Fishing Safety Act 2016, and the law requires an appropriate lifejacket whenever you fish with rod, line or handline from naturally occurring rock exposed to ocean swell. It covers anyone helping you and any child under 12 in your care. Adults need AS 4758 level 50S or greater, under-12s need level 100, and a $100 on-the-spot fine applies. Wear one on any rock here that takes swell, because most of it does.

What can you catch at Wattamolla?

In the sheltered bay and lagoon, sand whiting and yellowfin bream over the sand, mostly in the warmer months with bream around all year. Off the ocean rock ledges, Australian salmon and tailor in the cooler half of the year, yellowtail kingfish and bonito in summer, and rock blackfish (drummer) and luderick close to the wash. The rocks reward a steady berley trail. Note the lagoon is closed to all recreational nets and traps except a landing net, though line fishing there is unaffected.

When is the best time to fish the rocks at Wattamolla?

Dawn and the last hour before dark, on a small, clean and ideally dropping swell. The ledges face the open ocean and wash over on any real swell, so check the forecast and only fish them when conditions are calm. Bear in mind that until 18 December 2026 the picnic area is closed sunset to sunrise, Monday to Thursday excluding school holidays, so on those nights the dawn and dusk sessions are not available at all. Autumn and winter are the standout for salmon, tailor, blackfish and luderick, while summer brings the kingfish shot.

Is Wattamolla good for kids and beginners?

The lagoon and the back of the cove are excellent for kids — calm, sheltered water away from the surf, with whiting and bream on simple bait rigs, plus toilets, picnic tables and barbecues a short walk away. Keep children well off the ocean rock ledges, which are dangerous and have caused deaths, and do not let anyone jump from the top of the waterfall into the lagoon, because many people have been injured that way. Until 30 September 2026 beach access is via the eastern stairs only, which is tide dependent, and until 18 December 2026 the picnic area closes sunset to sunrise Monday to Thursday excluding school holidays. Arrive early on summer weekends, as the car park fills fast.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Wattamolla (Royal National Park)

Wed 16 Sep 2026 · Australia/Sydney

Save

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16 Sep

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Today Tomorrow Sat 19 Sep

📍 Wattamolla (Royal National Park)

waxing crescent · 19%

Weather: Sunny Wind: S 189° · 28 km/h Swell: 1.4 m @ 10 s S Water: 17.8 °C Pressure: 1027.9 hPa → steady

★★★☆☆

Medium Fish Activity

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 6:00 pm

Solunar Between windows

Time of day Dusk

Tide Moving

Wind S 26 km/h

Moon waxing crescent all day

Water temp 17.8 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 5:29 am Last light 6:12 pm

Low 4:12 am High 10:53 am Low 5:23 pm High 11:10 pm

Drag or use arrow keys to explore

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

5:30 pm → 7:00 pm

1h 30m

Good

5:00 am → 6:30 am

1h 30m

First light

5:29 am

Last light

6:12 pm

Sunrise

5:54 am

Sunset

5:47 pm

Moonrise

8:18 am

Moonset

11:03 pm

Low tide

4:12 am

High tide

10:53 am

Low tide

5:23 pm

High tide

11:10 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

🌧️

12°

↓︎

199°

18 km/h

1am

🌧️

12°

↙︎

213°

14 km/h

2am

☀️

12°

↙︎

219°

13 km/h

3am

☀️

11°

↙︎

223°

12 km/h

4am

☀️

11°

↙︎

213°

19 km/h

5am

☀️

10°

↙︎

212°

22 km/h

6am

☀️

10°

↙︎

215°

21 km/h

7am

☀️

11°

↙︎

214°

24 km/h

8am

☀️

12°

↙︎

207°

25 km/h

9am

☀️

13°

↙︎

203°

27 km/h

10am

☀️

14°

↓︎

195°

26 km/h

11am

☀️

14°

↓︎

191°

27 km/h

12pm

☀️

15°

↓︎

189°

28 km/h

1pm

☀️

15°

↓︎

187°

30 km/h

2pm

☀️

15°

↓︎

187°

31 km/h

3pm

☀️

15°

↓︎

187°

32 km/h

4pm

☀️

15°

↓︎

188°

30 km/h

5pm

☀️

14°

↓︎

187°

28 km/h

6pm

☀️

14°

↓︎

188°

26 km/h

7pm

☀️

14°

↓︎

186°

28 km/h

8pm

☀️

14°

↓︎

186°

29 km/h

9pm

☀️

13°

↓︎

191°

25 km/h

10pm

☀️

13°

↙︎

203°

22 km/h

11pm

☀️

12°

↙︎

204°

23 km/h

Hourly Swell

Building 1.6 → 2.1 m S

12am

1.6 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

1am

2.1 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Solid

chop

2am

2.0 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

3am

1.9 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

4am

1.8 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

5am

1.9 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

6am

2.0 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

7am

2.1 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Solid

chop

8am

2.0 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Solid

9am

1.9 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Moderate

10am

1.8 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Moderate

11am

1.6 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Moderate

12pm

1.4 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Moderate

1pm

1.2 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Moderate

ground

2pm

1.2 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Moderate

ground

3pm

1.1 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Moderate

ground

4pm

1.1 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Moderate

ground

5pm

1.3 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Moderate

6pm

1.5 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Moderate

7pm

1.7 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Moderate

8pm

1.7 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Moderate

9pm

1.8 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Moderate

10pm

1.8 m

@ 9 s

↘︎

Moderate

11pm

2.1 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Solid

Water Temp (°C)

→ steady around 17.8°

Sun

13 Sep

17.9°

Mon

14 Sep

17.9°

Tue

15 Sep

18.0°

Wed

16 Sep

17.8°

Thu

17 Sep

17.7°

Fri

18 Sep

17.8°

Sat

19 Sep

17.9°

Sun

20 Sep

18.1°

Mon

21 Sep

18.1°

Tue

22 Sep

18.0°

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 28 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

5:30 pm → 7:00 pm

1h 30m

Good

5:00 am → 6:30 am

1h 30m

First light

5:29 am

Last light

6:12 pm

Sunrise

5:54 am

Sunset

5:47 pm

Moonrise

8:18 am

Moonset

11:03 pm

Low tide

4:12 am

High tide

10:53 am

Low tide

5:23 pm

High tide

11:10 pm

Nearby spots

Species at this spot

Australian Salmon
Tailor
Yellowtail Kingfish
Rock Blackfish
Luderick
Yellowfin Bream
Sand Whiting
Bonito