Malabar, Little Bay and Cape Banks shore fishing
There is a lot of different fishing between South Maroubra and Henry Head. The inner beaches give whiting, bream and flathead a place to feed over sand. Long Bay's edges have deeper float water. Green Reef and Julieanne have an open-water history, while the Trap, Pinnacle and Jolong contain separate gutters, washes and wider casting water.
Start with the job you want the bait to do. A pilchard held above reef for tailor is quite different from cabbage drifting beside a gutter wall. A drummer bait belongs close to cover; a snapper bait often needs to clear it.
| Water to choose | Main job | What to bring |
|---|---|---|
| Malabar and Little Bay beaches | Summer whiting, bream and flathead over sand | A light worm-bait outfit. |
| The Boilers, Donkeys and Julieanne | Luderick along deeper edges and gutters | A balanced float with adjustable depth and spare weighted rigs. |
| Green Reef and Julieanne outside water | Passing tailor, salmon and pelagics | A lure or suspended fish bait; apply the local bait closures. |
| The Trap and Pinnacle gutters | Luderick or a deliberate drummer session | Separate light weed and stronger close-bait outfits. |
| Cape Banks washes and Henry Head | Close reef fish or wider surface fish | Match the outfit to the reachable water, with reserve-compliant bait. |
Mike Lazar landed his Malabar kingfish on live yellowtail in March 2013. The fish took his first bait, then came back for the second. Have the landing position settled before putting out a live bait; hooking the fish is only part of the job.
Tackle that fits these different jobs
For the beach sand, a light 7-foot spinning rod and 3kg line will fish a close worm bait well. A small running ball sinker above a swivel, a light trace and a size 8 or 10 long-shank hook keep that bait manageable. Carry a longer rod when the useful sand lies beyond the short outfit's comfortable cast.
For the deeper luderick lanes, use a long, soft rod, a 3000-size spinning reel, about 3kg line and leader, and a size 8 sneck hook below a balanced float. The depth setting is the adjustment that matters at the Boilers or Julieanne. Carry spare floats and weighted leaders so a lost rig does not cost the whole feeding window.
For drummer, a representative stronger outfit is an 11-foot rod rated around 7–15kg, a 4000-size reel and about 10kg mono. Fit a compact strong hook and use only the lead needed to control the bait beside cover. A drummer can take the cabbage on a light luderick rig, but that is no reason to choose the light rig when drummer are the target. For passing salmon or tailor, an 8-foot spinning outfit with 6kg braid and a 10kg leader is a useful separate option. Check its casting rating against the lure or suspended-bait rig.
South Maroubra and the outer Malabar headland
Before a trip starting at Maroubra Beach, check the dated beach notice and follow Council's directions.
The eastern section of Malabar Headland National Park closes for rifle-range use, and Artillery Track is closed. Obey the gates, red flags and warning signs. Within the Magic Point grey nurse shark critical habitat, animal-bait line fishing is prohibited. The permitted lure and non-animal-bait exceptions are different from permission to fish pilchards, squid or live yellowtail. The animal-bait methods discussed below apply only outside that closure.
South Maroubra: the reef and backing hole
South of Maroubra, reef extends well offshore, with water spilling back into a deeper pocket close to the rock. Drummer and bream work that close pocket. Winter tailor are the wider-water target, with pilchards carried under a bobby cork above the reef rather than pulled across it.
The useful distinction is that the backing hole is close bait water; the reef outside is a suspended-bait or lure job. Baitfish being pushed towards the beach are a better reason to change to tailor than simply casting a heavier rig farther out.
Little Greeny
Little Greeny's principal target is luderick. High water in the late afternoon, when the cliffs shade the water, is the particular feeding pattern in its history. Keep cabbage moving through the wash at a depth that avoids dragging it across the bottom.
The fishing tide and the working position are separate questions here. The low ledge can be covered, and northerly swell is a particular problem. Potholes and slippery rock further limit the usable area. A promising high-water drift does not justify occupying a flooded ledge.
Big Greeny
Big Greeny changes the water from Little Greeny's principal blackfish lane to a sloping outer reef and a deeper drop towards The Blessings. Luderick and drummer occupy the close wash, with bream and leatherjackets around the structure. Summer spinning was directed along the edge of that drop-off.
The prominent gutter beside the reef is a separate close-water target. Keep the bait in the gutter rather than allowing it to be pulled over the low weed-covered flat. This low flat needs calm water and low tide: a rising tide takes away that flat quickly.
The Blessings
The long, deep gutter gives The Blessings its identity. A controlled cabbage drift beside the gutter wall is the luderick presentation. Drummer, bream and leatherjackets use the same rough cover but call for different bait and tackle.
A pilchard drift beyond the close gutter is the tailor-and-salmon alternative outside the bait closure. That is worth distinguishing from anchoring a fish bait in the bottom of the blackfish lane. Seasonal pelagic fish may pass the wider water, but the gutter is the place's dependable structural feature.
No Name
The higher ledge south of The Blessings is called No Name in the account. Its clear fishing purpose is winter tailor with a pilchard or garfish presentation, and occasional salmon. Keep the bait working off the rough bottom where it can be retrieved.
The lower ledge's drummer-and-bream history does not make it a sensible step down when the higher position is unproductive. The original account itself regards that low option as difficult even at low water in a flat sea.
Dead Mans Gulch
This is the large bight south of The Blessings and No Name. Its several washes have a luderick history, so the useful fishing water is beside the rock and within the wash lanes, not automatically beyond the mouth of the bight.
Dead Mans Gulch has a history of restricted access and difficult low approaches. There is no current public route recommendation here. Do not improvise a descent to reach the washes.
Yellow Rock
Yellow Rock is not a recommended fishing destination. The original account specifically advises against attempting it because of the exposed, slippery rock and wave action. Its position is useful for understanding the bayward shore, not as a fishing mark to pursue.
Tailor Spot and the Boilers
Bayward of Yellow Rock, the old Tailor Spot accounts used pilchards or garfish on ganged hooks beneath a bobby cork during winter. A northeasterly gives a different wind aspect from a southerly, which makes the presentation difficult. A height advantage does not supply a workable landing plan by itself.
Farther into northern Long Bay, the Boilers is a deeper float-water proposition for bream and luderick. The historical starting depth was about four to five metres. Adjust to the actual lane and bottom; do not treat that setting as a measured current depth. The adjoining washes add drummer and winter tailor, with the bay's wind shelter offering a different session from the outer headland.
Long Bay: beach sand and the southern shore
Malabar Beach, at the head of Long Bay
Whiting and flathead are the main summer sand targets, with evening and night fishing featuring in the accounts. Beachworms, bloodworms and nippers suit the whiting-and-bream work; a small mullet strip gives flathead and bream a different offering.
Fish the actual sand water within casting range and use only enough lead to keep control. This is a lighter session than fishing a pilchard beyond the headland reef. Malabar Beach has public foreshore facilities and beach access, making it a useful starting point for an inner-bay plan.
The Malabar pool shore
The southern shore near the ocean pool has a long gutter inside the pool landmark and a projecting ledge farther out. Its particular history is night bream around high water, on light line with very little lead. Mullet strip, pilchard, nippers and tuna pieces all appear in the accounts.
Keep a small bait beside the gutter edge rather than forcing a heavy sinker into the rock. Luderick use the wash as another feeding lane. The swimming pool and the old boat-skid area are orientation features; they are not permission to cast across the pool or working boat facilities.
The Shacks
The Shacks refers to former fishing shelters behind this part of the southern Long Bay shore. The prominent rock and adjoining wash have a bream, luderick and drummer history. Choose weed for the float lane or lawful animal bait close to the rough cover.
Winter tailor change the job: float a pilchard or garfish out above the bottom. The prominent gutter in this sector provides another wash lane, not a reason to carry the close drummer rig unchanged along the whole shore.
High Spot
Before Green Reef, the higher shore called High Spot has a clear winter-tailor method: a pilchard under a bobby cork. The two wash pockets nearby offer drummer and bream water closer in.
Keep the distinction between the suspended outer bait and the close wash. The name describes elevation; it is not a safety rating. No golf-course shortcut or crossing of the intervening gutter is part of this guide's approach advice.
Green Reef to Little Bay
High Rock
High Rock is at the northern corner of the broad Green Reef platform. A wash and gutter run out from it, while a shallower backing gutter fills at higher water. The front wash has drummer history with lawful cunje bait, as well as bream and luderick. The backing gutter was a separate night bream-and-drummer proposition.
The tide that feeds the backing gutter can also isolate the rock. Do not attempt to reach the isolated position by an improvised descent or crossing.
Green Reef
Green Reef is the broad low platform at the easterly point between Long Bay and Little Bay. Its eastern aspect explains the surface-fishing history: tailor, salmon, small kingfish and tuna at different times. A moving lure or controlled suspended bait keeps the presentation in that open-water lane.
The runoff washes are a separate luderick-and-drummer job. A wider bottom cast was used for snapper. The low platform needs calm water and the lower part of the tide; there is no reason to stand farther out simply because a fish is visible beyond the reef.
Donkeys
Donkeys is the deep gutter between Green Reef and Julieanne on the northern Little Bay shore. Its value to a blackfish angler is the wash and drift along the gutter. Feed cabbage through that lane under a balanced float rather than fishing the bait motionless on the floor.
Drummer share the cover. A stronger outfit with lawful cunje or cabbage and a measured berley supply is a separate approach. Adjust the depth until the bait travels through the lane without repeatedly snagging.
Balance spare floats with their sinkers and leaders at home, then keep each combination together. Replacing a lost rig should not mean starting the balancing job again beside the gutter.
Julieanne
Julieanne has deeper water beside the ledge, giving it a broader role than Donkeys' blackfish gutter. Tailor, salmon, tuna and kingfish feature in its open-water history. The northeasterly wind aspect can suit that work, while a southerly directly affects the ledge.
For luderick, the old starting setting was about three to four metres beneath the float, either beside the main ledge or the lower neighbouring shelf. Check the drift rather than assuming that depth is correct everywhere. Drummer and leatherjackets work close to the rock; a longer cast changes the target to snapper. Dawn or night bream were taken on pilchard or lawful crab bait. Those are separate presentations, not one rig fishing the entire water column.
Little Bay: the northern rock-and-sand edge
The inner northern shore offers an important contrast: a hole on the sand side of reef was bream water, while the reef itself was the drummer target. Use a small bait on retrievable bottom for bream; keep a stronger drummer presentation beside cover. Cabbage gives luderick a separate option in the wash.
A longer pilchard cast was used for winter tailor. That does not replace the close-water plan if the fish are feeding along the reef edge. The bay-facing shore has a different wind aspect from Green Reef, but remains exposed to southerly swell.
Little Bay Beach and the southern boulders
Little Bay's beach has a summer-whiting history around high water after dark, with bloodworms the favoured bait. A light rig on the sand is the appropriate starting point. Keep clear of bathers and inspect the water before choosing the cast.
The southern boulders provide a separate bream session between the rocks. Luderick also use that inner cover. The public staircase from Pine Avenue, street parking and facilities are described in Council's Little Bay information. They do not establish a through-route across neighbouring golf courses.
The Trap and Pinnacle
The Trap: outside water and northern gutter
The Trap is a low platform south of Little Bay, before Pinnacle. Its wider water has warm-water small-tuna history and cooler-month tailor and salmon. Pilchards or lures can work above the structure; a longer bottom cast changes the target to snapper, bream or trevally.
Close in, the north-side submerged rock and gutter hold luderick and drummer. Cabbage beside the rock is the float presentation. Lawful crab or cunje with little lead is a stronger bait-fishing job. The mainland lip opposite the gutter can complicate landing a fish, so settle that problem before beginning the drift.
The Trap's southeast shelf catches incoming swell and sends it across the main platform, especially around high water and in a southerly or groundswell. The old stake is not a safety device and does not make an exposed position usable.
The Trap: the southern gutter and small cork
The small southern point leads into another relatively deep gutter. Luderick take cabbage there, while drummer can take the same bait and test a light trace. Keep a separate stronger outfit if drummer are the intended target.
One particularly useful local method replaces the conventional blackfish float with a small sliver of cork in calm water when fish are wary. The reduced indicator still has to show the bait's progress and a take. It is a refinement for controllable water, not an excuse to lose sight of the rig in a rough wash.
Pinnacle: the northern wash
Pinnacle is the next substantial platform south of the Trap. The northern wash offers several presentations: cabbage under a float for luderick, a lightly weighted lawful animal bait for drummer and bream, or pilchard pieces for bream and trevally.
A whole pilchard worked beyond the wash changes the job to tailor and salmon. Do not let it settle into the close snags between retrieves. Water can race across the platform's low backing area and discharge through this northern side, so a quiet-looking edge is not the whole sea picture.
Pinnacle: the outer point
The outer point's easterly aspect gives a longer snapper cast. The recorded baits include octopus leg, tuna, half pilchard, cuttlefish and lawful crab bait. Early or late light on the first part of a rising tide is the particular pattern in the account.
Close to the wash, a small ball sinker allows a compact bait to move for bream, drummer and leatherjackets. Winter pilchard fishing adds tailor and trevally. The low approach and lack of retreat at the outer point make high water or a moderate sea a poor proposition, irrespective of the fishing tide.
Pinnacle: the southern gutters and Reservoir Bay edge
South of the point, shallow shelves, deeper gutters and a boulder-filled bight create a different session. Luderick and drummer work the gutter lanes on cabbage. A compact lawful crab or cunje bait suits drummer close to the shelves and boulders, but the bottom is hard on tackle.
The southern boulder edge, where wash turns towards Reservoir Bay, has night bream-and-drummer history with berley and stronger tackle. A wider pilchard under a cork is a secondary tailor option. These low shelves are covered at high water; their exposure at low tide does not make them a permanent working area.
Jolong and the approach to Cape Banks
The high coast between Pinnacle and Jolong
Between Reservoir Bay and Jolong, the shoreline contains small holes, deeper gutters and a pocket behind a bombora near the southern end. Drummer and bream were the close-gutter targets on lawful crab or cunje bait. The elevation changes line control, which explains why the historical accounts used more lead than in a wash directly below a low ledge.
Winter tailor were caught with pilchards under bobby corks because spinning was difficult from height. That explains the fishing method; it does not supply a workable modern cliff-landing plan. The larger gutter immediately before Jolong is a distinct piece of feeding water, not an instruction to descend to it.
Jolong: the cave-side gulf
On Jolong's northern side, the gulf near the sea cave has deeper close water and wash, with bomboras on the opposite side. A weed drift is the luderick option. Lawful crab or cunje targets drummer and bream, while pilchard pieces add trevally and tailor.
This is a different job from spinning off the low front. There is no approach recommendation to the cave-side gulf here. Jolong's broad low front is far from higher ground and offers poor recovery options if a wave takes an angler in.
Jolong: the outer front and southern washes
Winter slow-spun pilchards feature in the outer-front accounts for tailor, salmon, bream and trevally. Warm-water tuna give a lure angler another possibility. A longer snapper cast uses a more substantial bait such as octopus leg, mullet, tuna or another fresh fish bait.
The southern wash is a separate luderick lane on cabbage. Close drummer and leatherjackets take lawful animal bait, while lightly weighted half pilchards interest bream. Keep those close presentations controlled instead of allowing them to be swept out with the longer-cast rig.
Jolong: the southern boulder bight
The bight south of the main platform contains small washes and gutters among broken rock. Drummer and bream are the close-cover targets with lawful crab or cunje. A small hook and compact cunje bait gives leatherjackets a separate presentation.
A floating pilchard can reach tailor or trevally beyond the boulders. Snapper fishing requires clearing the shallow reef in front, so a long cast that drops short of clean water defeats the purpose. Do not use the exposed cliff base as a low-tide route.
The boulder water before Cape Banks
Beyond the gully south of Jolong, the account distinguishes a hole near a large boulder from the gutter behind it. The first is a snapper and wider fish-bait proposition, with pilchard drifts for tailor, bream and trevally. The backing gutter is a closer drummer job with lawful crab or cunje, or a lightly weighted pilchard piece for bream.
Chopped pilchard berley was used to hold fish in that backing water. Dawn and dusk into night feature in the local account. The bait needs to follow the feeding lane; a large quantity of berley going elsewhere does not help it.
Cape Banks: the northern washes and outer water
The boulder shore before the Cape Banks bridge has smaller washes and holes for drummer, bream and luderick. A compact bait and controlled berley trail belong close to cover. A wider cast towards open bottom was a separate snapper presentation, while Cape Banks itself has a surface-fishing history.
The northern boulder washes and the open front need different presentations. A snapper bait belongs beyond the close rough bottom; a surface lure fishes another part of the water. Keep the presentation matched to the water actually reachable from a lawful, manageable position.
Henry Head
Inside Cape Banks, on the Botany Bay side, Henry Head adds a different wind aspect. Its shelter from northerly wind can help baitfish hold nearby, though the headland remains exposed to southerly sea. Dawn and dusk are useful times to watch for surface feeding.
Warm blue water near the top of the tide features in the small-tuna and kingfish accounts. In colder months, pilchard baits were used for bream and trevally, and winter tailor took lures or pilchards worked behind the wash. Snapper are the separate bottom-bait target. Drummer, luderick and leatherjackets remain close to the rock. Use the formed public Henry Head track and current park information to plan the visit; the track does not approve every lower ledge.
Bait boundaries and the rock-fishing note
The Long Bay Intertidal Protected Area covers the shore between Boora Point and Tupia Head. Do not collect protected seashore animals there for bait or berley. Bring lawful bait for the Long Bay methods.
The Cape Banks Aquatic Reserve runs from the Cape Banks bridge to Endeavour Light at Henry Head, extending 100 metres seaward from mean low water. Line fishing is permitted. Do not collect cunjevoi, crabs, worms or other protected invertebrates; the specified animal exceptions are blacklip abalone and rock lobster, and the plant exceptions are sea lettuce and bait weed. Do not target eastern blue groper anywhere along this coast under the current NSW protection.
Use signed public approaches, not golf-course shortcuts. There is no continuous public shore route through the intervening golf courses. Wear the required approved lifejacket, suitable footwear and fish with a mate. Watch the full wave cycle, keep a dry working area and clear way back, and settle how to land the intended fish before casting. Leave before the tide or sea removes that position.
For rigs, see the blackfish guide and live-bait guide. Continue north with Clovelly, Coogee and Maroubra, or inside the bay with the Botany Bay shore guide.