Bundeena, Jibbon and Marley shore fishing
Jibbon, the ocean ledges south of Bundeena and the two Marley beaches call for different gear. A small worm bait over Jibbon's sand is a whiting proposition. A cabbage bait drifting beside a washed reef is for luderick and drummer. A whole pilchard worked beyond that reef brings tailor and salmon into the picture. Start by choosing which water you want to fish, then pack for it.
Jibbon is sheltered estuary-facing water; Marley is open surf. The intervening ocean ledges demand another plan again. Historical names such as the Balconies and Waterrun describe individual fishing water, but do not establish a current route to it.
For a first visit, start with Jibbon Beach from Bundeena: a small worm bait over the sand on a rising tide gives you a clear whiting-and-bream plan, with the start or end of the day favoured.
Choose your water and tackle
| Area | Water to look for | Starting approach |
|---|---|---|
| Jibbon Beach | Deep sandy cove inside Port Hacking | Light worm baits for summer whiting, bream and flathead on rising water early or late |
| Jibbon’s eastern rocks and outer point | Sand-and-reef edge, then ocean wash | Small bream baits on the rising edge; weed in the wash; winter pilchards or lures for tailor outside |
| Cobblers and the Balconies | Boulders, close washes and deeper outside water | Crab or cunje for drummer and bream; floated pilchards for winter mixed fish, clear of rough bottom |
| Marley and Little Marley | Open beach gutters, reef corners and outlying platforms | Summer worms on sand for whiting and bream; whole pilchards or lures for winter tailor and salmon |
A light bait outfit, small hooks and worm baits suit Jibbon’s sand. For the rock washes, pack a balanced weed float separately from the pilchard rig. The Cobblers account gives a medium running ball sinker and a 2/0 hook as its crab-or-cunje example; adjust the weight to keep the bait working near cover. A bobby cork is useful when a whole pilchard would otherwise sink into the reef. Carry lures for the outside water only when there is a clear casting and landing position.
Use a sound green cabbage leaf for the hook bait, keeping it compact enough to drift naturally. Frayed weed that has already been grazed down is a poor substitute; bring good bait from a lawful source.
Jibbon and Port Hacking Point
Jibbon Beach and its eastern rocks
Jibbon is a deep cove inside Port Hacking, with sandy water rather than the banks and broken surf of Marley. Summer whiting are the obvious light-tackle target. A beachworm or bloodworm, a small hook and only enough lead to present it over the sand make more sense than a heavy rock outfit. A rising tide near the beginning or end of the day also puts bream and flathead on the list.
At the eastern rocks, look beyond the immediate reef to the outer beach water. The useful distinction is the junction of sand and rock: bream can work that edge on the rise, while summer whiting and flathead use the sand. Winter brings trevally into the same plan. If tailor show, change to a pilchard or lure rather than persisting with a small bottom bait.
The small sandy beach and Port Hacking Point
The historical account identifies a small sandy beach between Jibbon Beach and Port Hacking Point. Its mixed sand-and-rock gutter is bream water. Keep a fish strip or nipper lightly weighted, use a modest steady berley trail and concentrate on the rising tide in low light. Winter trevally are a useful secondary target.
The inside of Port Hacking Point changes to a low, sloping ledge and much rougher bottom. Here the wash coming off the point matters more than a long cast. Crab or cunje baits suit drummer and bream, but expect abrasion and snags. The cleaner edge outside the wash is where a lure or slowly worked pilchard becomes a tailor presentation.
The outer point and Jibbon bight
The outer point is a weed-and-wash proposition for luderick and drummer. The boulder water immediately south is deeper than the low shelf, and a lightly weighted crab or cunje bait can be worked into that wash for drummer or bream. Winter tailor are worth a spinning outfit when they are moving outside.
Farther into the bight, much of the water is shallow and kelpy. Pick the useful openings. The northern end has the cleaner boulder hole for crab or cunje baits; the breaking rock towards the southern end is the spinning target for tailor and pike. The small holes in the sloping shelf beyond suit close drummer fishing, rather than blind long casting. These are low ocean rocks and need a genuinely calm sea.
The Bombora-facing gutter and rocky fingers
The shore gutter described opposite Jibbon Bombora lies below a small sandy stretch. It has a mixture of sand and rock, with more depth than the surrounding shallow reef. Berley and small baits for bream on a rising tide are the sensible starting point. Jibbon Bombora itself is an offshore landmark here, not a shore destination.
The first rocky fingers towards Cobblers offer another change. Wash on either side of the finger suits a cabbage float for luderick and drummer. A submerged reef just to the south breaks water over the close ground, where crab baits can find drummer and bream. A wide cast may find a snapper, but the close wash is the defining feature of this section.
Cobblers, the Balconies and The Gully
Cobblers: boulder water and the low ledge
Cobblers is the cove associated with conspicuous boulder stacks. Its mouth is rough-bottom country. The old account gives a practical drummer and bream rig: a running ball sinker down to a 2/0 hook, baited with crab or cunje. Keep the bait working near the boulders without hanging an unnecessarily long trace through them. Adjust the lead to the water, and bring your bait with you.
The higher northern ledges put more distance between angler and fish. Longer casts into the same general boulder water require a different outfit, and landing a fish is an additional problem. Height should never be mistaken for a refuge from large seas.
The low ledge north of the cove has a better-defined weed-fishing plan: float cabbage through the wash for luderick and drummer, or spin for tailor beyond it. The deeper cove water beside and in front of the ledge gives a wider bait a chance at snapper. The ledge is exposed, so this is calm-weather water.
The Balconies and Waterrun washes
Waterrun names a seep down the cliff. The Balconies are the high platforms around it. The useful structure is a combination of deep wash, rough reef and a ridge extending towards a breaking bommie. The often-quoted six metres refers to the standing height of a ledge, not a measured water depth.
On the eastern front, fish the wash for luderick and drummer with weed, or use small animal baits for bream, trevally and leatherjackets. Outside that rough ground, pilchards and lures suit tailor and salmon, with kingfish and tuna a warm-water possibility. Carrying both a float outfit and a spinning outfit makes sense only if you can manage the extra gear and have a sound landing position.
The water behind the southern bommie suits drummer and bream on crab or cunje. The neighbouring bight calls for a different presentation. A pilchard suspended under a bobby cork can work in the wash without being dragged straight into the bottom, particularly for winter tailor, salmon, bream and trevally. Drummer and jackets remain closer to the rock.
At the main balcony ledge north of Waterrun, the account identifies two principal washes. Follow one with a weed float for luderick and drummer, or fish a pilchard below a bobby cork for the mixed winter fish. The reason for using the float is control through the wash, not simply keeping a bait at the surface. The blackfish guide covers float balance and bait presentation in more detail.
The lower Waterrun ledges
The low platform beside Waterrun has weed-fishing washes, a southern-corner bight and a narrow ledge beyond. Their fishing detail is worth separating from the old approach instructions, which are not a visitor route in this guide.
On the platform, a cabbage float suits luderick and drummer. A floating pilchard outside the wash can find bream, trevally and tailor, while a wider bait is a snapper possibility. The southern bight is more of a close-hole drummer spot with crab or cunje. Winter pilchards through the outer water add salmon and tailor. The narrow ledge beyond continues the close reef fishing for luderick, drummer and jackets, with tailor outside.
The Gully, Sloping Rock and southern ledges
Sloping Rock is at the northern end of The Gully. Its rough, washed boulders suit crab or cunje for drummer and bream. Winter tailor can move outside, and a wider cast may reach a snapper. Carry the bait you need and choose calm conditions.
At Gully Rocks, the breaking bommies are the important structure. Work small baits around their washes for drummer. An offshore breeze can help carry a pilchard float out towards winter tailor, although it says nothing about the size of the incoming swell.
The southern boulders suit lightly weighted crab or cunje in individual pockets. The low platform beyond has more continuous weed-fishing wash for luderick and drummer, with bream, trevally and tailor taking pilchards in winter. The original account separates a wider southeast snapper cast from this close fishing. That casting direction is not a surveyed fishing mark.
The Gutter and Tablet's Ledge
The Gutter immediately south of the low platform has deeper water for bream, trevally and drummer on crab, cunje or pilchards. Leatherjackets are closer to the ledge base. A floating pilchard worked through the mouth is the tailor option. Summer luderick are another possibility, but carry weed rather than counting on finding it there.
Tablet's Ledge is farther south, before the cliff coast towards Marley Head. Rock tablets and boulders break up the wash, making close presentations worthwhile for luderick, drummer, bream and trevally. The higher southern section gives the tailor angler water to work a bait or lure outside, while longer casts are the snapper approach. There is no visitor route below the Marley Head cliffs in this guide.
Marley and Little Marley
Marley Beach and the northern boulders
Marley's beach fishing starts with the sand on the day. Find an actual gutter or deeper hole before setting up. In summer, worms suit whiting, bream and flathead. In winter, a whole pilchard in deeper water is a tailor or salmon bait. The beach faces enough southerly weather to make that plan unworkable when the sea is up.
The northern boulders add reef to the sand. That mixed bottom is the feature behind the area's historical summer mulloway fishing: squid or a substantial fresh fish bait, a rising tide and the late afternoon into evening. A pilchard on the bottom is a smaller-fish option for bream and winter tailor. Farther towards the point, the increasing reef makes crab baits for drummer more logical than a beach rig dragged across everything.
The low shelves beyond the inner northern point are close-wash water for drummer and bream. They are not an alternative when the beach is too rough.
Between Marley and Little Marley
The southern Marley corner has small gutters that suit bream baits: nippers, mullet strips or pieces of pilchard. Farther out on the ledges, a cabbage float follows the wash for luderick and drummer. A large bait presented onto the sandy water is a different proposition again, aimed at summer mulloway; winter brings tailor and salmon into that outer water.
The dividing point is low and reefy. Small crab or cunje baits can be worked into individual pockets, but hooked fish have plenty of rock to cut a line against. The gutter on the Little Marley side holds drummer and bream, with tailor outside. In winter a longer lure cast or a pilchard under a bobby cork covers that outer water more effectively than a small bait dropped at your feet.
The inner northern ledges of Little Marley reach sand. Bream are the first target, with trevally and tailor useful winter alternatives. Keep the distinction clear: inner sand, outer gutter and close reef do not need the same presentation.
Little Marley Beach and southern boulders
Little Marley is a smaller sand-fishing option. Summer whiting take worms and nippers, while bream are worth a try more broadly through the year. Early or late sessions also keep casting away from the busiest swimming period.
At the southern boulders, fish the sand nearer the beach for bream and trevally. The outer washed water gives a larger squid or fish bait a chance at snapper, mulloway or tailor. The change from sand to rougher water is useful fishing information; it does not make these rocks a sheltered option in a southerly swell.
South Marley main platform
South of Little Marley, the main platform has deeper water and several distinct targets. On its southern side, a weed float follows the wash for luderick. Crab or cunje fished closer to the rock suits drummer and bream, with leatherjackets tight to the ledge.
The deeper gutter is rough-bottom drummer water. An outfit able to handle abrasion matters here, but loading up the sinker only makes it easier to wedge the rig in the reef. Work a bait through the hole rather than anchoring it among the rocks.
The seaward point is the predator position. Lures, slowly worked pilchards or a lawful live bait can cover tailor, salmon and passing kingfish or tuna. Fresh squid or octopus cast farther out is the snapper or mulloway approach. Those larger-fish possibilities need a workable landing plan before the bait goes out.
At the northern shallow reef, cabbage under a float is more appropriate. The inside breaking wash suits luderick and drummer, while the small bight towards the beach-side boulders is bream and drummer water on a rising tide in low light.
Flat Rock and the connecting low shelf
Flat Rock is the smaller ledge south of the main platform. Its low wash suits luderick and drummer on weed, with tailor taking a slowly retrieved pilchard or lure outside. The higher front gives access to wider water for squid and fish baits aimed at snapper or mulloway; leatherjackets and drummer remain close to the rock.
Two side washes make useful cabbage-float lanes. The low shelf between Flat Rock and the main platform has the same luderick and drummer approach, with crab, cunje or pilchard pieces for bream.
Planning the session
Use the public Jibbon Beach approach from Bundeena or the official Bundeena Drive to Marley walk for the beaches. Check Royal National Park alerts before committing to the walk or a late finish. The current deer-control programme includes signed areas around Bundeena and Maianbar from sunset to sunrise Monday to Thursday, excluding school holidays, through 18 December 2026. A walking track beside a cliff is not confirmation of access to the rocks below.
Bring legally obtained bait. The old accounts' references to collecting weed, crabs and cunje are not blanket permission to take them in a national park or a closed intertidal area. Check the Sydney South fishing guide and closure maps. Abalone gut is prohibited as bait. Blue groper must not be targeted or retained under the current NSW rule.
For the ocean rocks, wear the required approved lifejacket, fish with someone and watch the sets before committing. Keep an exit clear, stay off washed ledges and leave when conditions build. High rocks and offshore wind do not make a large swell safe.
For the quieter estuary side, see Port Hacking shore fishing. South of Marley, the next guide covers Wattamolla and Curracurrang.