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Fishing spots in New South Wales

Where to fish in New South Wales, area by area from Tweed Heads to Eden: 31 area guides with 228 spots and 162 boat ramps. Each guide lists its spots with access, best tide and wind, safety and zone notes, its boat ramps, what is biting in October and the local rules.

Updated

Every area guide lists each spot with the same details, so you can compare them: what it is and how you get there, what's good there this month, the best tide and wind we could confirm, safety and marine park notes, and a link to the forecast for that spot.

NSW North Coast

  • Tweed Heads and Kingscliff fishing spots

    10 spots, 6 boat ramps: Tweed River south wall (Duranbah), Letitia Spit and Fingal Head and more. Peak in October: dusky flathead, sand whiting and mulloway.

  • Brunswick Heads and Byron Bay fishing spots

    3 spots, 3 boat ramps: Crabbes Creek Beach, Tallow Beach and Windarra Bank. Peak in October: dusky flathead, sand whiting and mulloway.

  • Ballina and the Richmond River fishing spots

    9 spots, 6 boat ramps: Seven Mile Beach (Lennox Head), Skennars Head and Sharpes Beach and more. Peak in October: sand whiting, mulloway and dusky flathead.

  • Evans Head fishing spots

    6 spots, 1 boat ramp: Broadwater Beach, Airforce Beach and Evans River and more. Peak in October: sand whiting, mulloway and dusky flathead.

  • Yamba, Iluka and the Clarence River fishing spots

    9 spots, 6 boat ramps: Woody Head, Iluka Bluff and Iluka north wall & Iluka Beach and more. Peak in October: mulloway, dusky flathead and sand whiting.

  • Wooli and Minnie Water fishing spots

    6 spots, 6 boat ramps: Brooms Head, Sandon Bluffs and Rocky Point (Minnie Water) and more. Peak in October: sand whiting, mulloway and dusky flathead.

  • Woolgoolga and Red Rock fishing spots

    5 spots, 6 boat ramps: Corindi Beach (Red Rock), Arrawarra Headland and Woolgoolga Beach and more. Peak in October: dusky flathead, sand whiting and mulloway.

  • Coffs Harbour and Sawtell fishing spots

    10 spots, 6 boat ramps: Diggers Beach & Macauleys Headland, Park Beach & Coffs Creek and Northern breakwall (Muttonbird Island) and more. Peak in October: mulloway, sand whiting and snapper.

  • Nambucca Heads and Urunga fishing spots

    6 spots, 6 boat ramps: North Beach (Mylestom), Urunga (Bellinger–Kalang estuary) and Hungry Head & beach and more. Peak in October: sand whiting, mulloway and dusky flathead.

  • South West Rocks and the Macleay fishing spots

    9 spots, 6 boat ramps: Macleay Arm (Stuarts Point), Macleay River entrance walls and Point Briner (town rocks) and more. Peak in October: sand whiting, mulloway and dusky flathead.

  • Port Macquarie and the Hastings fishing spots

    8 spots, 6 boat ramps: Point Plomer & Queens Head, North Shore Beach and Settlement Point and more. Peak in October: dusky flathead, sand whiting and mulloway.

NSW Mid Coast to Sydney

  • Camden Haven fishing spots

    8 spots, 6 boat ramps: Grants Head (Bonny Hills), Pilot Beach (North Haven) and Camden Haven entrance walls and more. Peak in October: mulloway, sand whiting and dusky flathead.

  • Forster-Tuncurry and Wallis Lake fishing spots

    7 spots, 6 boat ramps: Forster-Tuncurry breakwalls, Nine Mile Beach (Tuncurry) and Wallis Lake flats and channels and more. Peak in October: Australian salmon, sand whiting and mulloway.

  • Port Stephens fishing spots

    8 spots, 6 boat ramps: Shoal Bay, Tomaree Head and Fingal Bay beach and more. Peak in October: sand whiting, Australian salmon and dusky flathead.

  • Newcastle and Stockton fishing spots

    8 spots, 6 boat ramps: Stockton Beach, Stockton breakwall and Nobbys breakwall (Macquarie Pier) and more. Peak in October: mulloway, sand whiting and dusky flathead.

  • Lake Macquarie fishing spots

    8 spots, 6 boat ramps: Blacksmiths breakwall (Swansea Channel), Swansea Heads (Reids Mistake) and Swansea Channel drop-over (Marks Point) and more. Peak in October: dusky flathead, sand whiting and snapper.

  • Central Coast and Tuggerah Lakes fishing spots

    8 spots, 6 boat ramps: Norah Head, Budgewoi & Lakes beaches and The Entrance channel and more. Peak in October: sand whiting, dusky flathead and Australian salmon.

  • Pittwater, Broken Bay and the Hawkesbury fishing spots

    10 spots, 6 boat ramps: Palm Beach, Careel Bay flats and Pittwater (main basin) and more. Peak in October: dusky flathead, mulloway and sand whiting.

  • Sydney Harbour fishing spots

    8 spots, 5 boat ramps: The Spit (Middle Harbour), Balmoral (Rocky Point) and Clifton Gardens jetty and more. Peak in October: dusky flathead, sand whiting and mulloway.

  • Botany Bay and Port Hacking fishing spots

    9 spots, 6 boat ramps: Botany Bay (open bay drifts), Yarra Bay artificial reef and Lady Robinsons Beach (Brighton-le-Sands) and more. Peak in October: sand whiting, dusky flathead and snapper.

  • Wollongong and Port Kembla fishing spots

    5 spots, 3 boat ramps: Bellambi Point, Wollongong Harbour breakwall and Port Kembla Eastern Breakwater and more. Peak in October: Australian salmon, snapper and sand and tiger flathead.

NSW South Coast

  • Lake Illawarra and Windang fishing spots

    4 spots, 3 boat ramps: Windang Beach, Windang Island and Lake Illawarra entrance & Windang Bridge and more. Peak in October: dusky flathead, sand whiting and mulloway.

  • Kiama and Shellharbour fishing spots

    10 spots, 5 boat ramps: Barrack Point, Shellharbour boat harbour and Bass Point and more. Peak in October: Australian salmon, dusky flathead and sand whiting.

  • Jervis Bay and the Shoalhaven fishing spots

    9 spots, 6 boat ramps: Shoalhaven Heads, Crookhaven Heads and Crookhaven River, Greenwell Point and more. Peak in October: Australian salmon, dusky flathead and sand whiting.

  • Ulladulla and St Georges Basin fishing spots

    9 spots, 6 boat ramps: St Georges Basin, Sussex Inlet and Lake Conjola entrance and more. Peak in October: sand whiting, dusky flathead and Australian salmon.

  • Batemans Bay and the Clyde fishing spots

    5 spots, 6 boat ramps: Clyde River (Big Island), Snapper Island & the inner bay reefs and Caseys Beach & Observation Head and more. Peak in October: dusky flathead, sand whiting and Australian salmon.

  • Moruya and Tuross Head fishing spots

    6 spots, 5 boat ramps: Moruya Heads breakwall, Moruya River (Preddys Wharf) and Congo Point and more. Peak in October: sand whiting, dusky flathead and mulloway.

  • Narooma and Wagonga Inlet fishing spots

    6 spots, 6 boat ramps: Narooma breakwall (Wagonga Head), Wagonga Inlet and Narooma Beach and more. Peak in October: sand whiting, mulloway and Australian salmon.

  • Bermagui and Wallaga Lake fishing spots

    6 spots, 4 boat ramps: Wallaga Lake, Haywards Beach and Bermagui harbour & breakwalls and more. Peak in October: Australian salmon, sand whiting and dusky flathead.

  • Merimbula, Pambula and Tathra fishing spots

    7 spots, 5 boat ramps: Bega River mouth (Mogareeka), Tathra Wharf and Merimbula Wharf and more. Peak in October: Australian salmon, dusky flathead and sand whiting.

  • Eden and Twofold Bay fishing spots

    6 spots, 2 boat ramps: Eden Wharf (Snug Cove), Aslings Beach and Twofold Bay drifts (boat) and more. Peak in October: Australian salmon, sand whiting and dusky flathead.

Rules, licence and safety in New South Wales

NSW Recreational Fishing Fee needed to fish NSW saltwater (incl. spearfishing, hand gathering, bait collecting, prawning): $7 3 days, $14 1 month, $35 1 year, $85 3 years (Oct 2026). Exempt: under 18, Aboriginal people, Pensioner Concession Card and DVA TPI/EDA Gold Card holders (other cases, e.g. some DVA payments or a charter or guide with an exemption certificate, are on the exemptions page). Interstate licences are not an exemption. Licence details.

Rules for particular waters

New South Wales: official links

Read the official forecast and warnings in the Bureau of Meteorology's own words: NSW coastal and local waters forecast map and current warnings.

Boating: New South Wales boating safety, crossing coastal bars and lifejacket rules. Lifejackets: Boats <=4.8m: always on open waters and bars (L100+); enclosed waters when alone or at night. >4.8m: all wear L100+ crossing bars. Under-12s: always on <=4.8m; open areas <=8m underway.

Heading out on the water? Log on and off with Marine Rescue NSW. Log On when you head out and Log Off when you return. Call your Marine Rescue NSW base on VHF Channel 16 or use the free Marine Rescue NSW app. If you don't Log Off, volunteers start searching.

Marine parks and closed areas: NSW marine parks (Cape Byron, Solitary Islands, Port Stephens-Great Lakes, Jervis Bay, Batemans, Lord Howe Island), NSW aquatic reserves, Intertidal protected areas (Sydney) and Australian Marine Parks (Temperate East network, Lord Howe).

  • Rock fishing lifejacket law: Lifejacket required by law when rock fishing in declared areas (Rock Fishing Safety Act 2016): Ballina, Central Coast, Kiama, Lake Macquarie, Northern Beaches, Port Stephens, Randwick, Richmond Valley, Sutherland, Wollongong. $100 fine. More.

New South Wales' official rules: size and bag limits, closed seasons and areas and freshwater rules (checked 9 Oct 2026).

Emergency: 000 (112 from mobiles) · VHF channel 16 for distress.

More fishing spot guides

All fishing spot guides, including South East Queensland's areas. Other states: Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia and Northern Territory.

Sources and checked dates

Spot and ramp positions: Composite Gazetteer of Australia (Geoscience Australia and the state and territory naming authorities), CC BY 4.0, ABS Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Edition 3 (2021) (Australian Bureau of Statistics), CC BY 4.0 and Maritime NSW Boat Ramps (Transport for NSW), CC BY 4.0. Spot research checked 9 Oct 2026 and fact-checked 9 Oct 2026; rules checked 9 Oct 2026; safety links checked 9 Oct 2026. Every source and licence: Sources and disclaimers.