Mosman Bay to Kirribilli: blackfish walls, bream and small Harbour beaches
From Whiting Beach to the Harbour Bridge, the best shore fishing often happens beside your feet. Kelp along a wall, a small sand drop-off and a local back eddy are more useful things to recognise than the far bank. The blackfish outfit deserves a place beside the light bait or lure rod.
This stretch contains working ferry landings and private club structures. Public foreshore and ferry platforms are different places, and a report from one does not establish permission to use the other.
Choose the water for your session
| Area | Targets | Starting method and difference |
|---|---|---|
| Sirius Cove, small bay beaches | Whiting, bream and flathead | Small sand bait as water covers the shallows. |
| Musgrave, Mosman, Cremorne, Kurraba | Luderick and leatherjackets | Weed float along the wall; tiny prawn close to kelp for jackets. |
| Shell Cove, Neutral Bay | Bream, whiting and flathead | A quiet bait on the sand edge, changing angle around high water. |
| High Street, Kirribilli | Luderick and bream | Set the float to the particular wall and observe the local eddy. |
Put the outfit together
The main choice here is between a light sand-bait outfit and a proper weed-float setup. A 2–4kg spin rod is a representative light-bait option in Fisheries’ shore guide; carry small hooks and only enough lead for the reachable edge. For blackfish, add a sensitive float rod, small strong hook, spare shot and leader, and a net. Keep spare rigs ready, but reset the depth when moving from Musgrave to Kirribilli. The blackfish guide explains the setup in one place.
Taronga, Whiting Beach and Little Sirius Point
Fishing is prohibited on Taronga Zoo's commuter wharf. The neighbouring shore has blackfish beside reef on weed, leatherjackets close to kelp on prawn, and bream farther out around twilight.
Whiting Beach lies west of the terminal. A small worm or nipper suits sand whiting and bream, with flathead where a bait or lure reaches open sand. Little Sirius Point, between the beach and Sirius Cove, changes the emphasis back to reef. At higher water, feed a little berley and fish a lightly weighted bream bait close to the edge. A weed float is a deliberate alternative for luderick.
Sirius Cove: fish the flooded sand
Sirius is shallow. Summer high water gives whiting and flathead more room over the sand, and worms or nippers make sense. There is little advantage in a heavy sinker sitting among beach weed.
The eastern rocky margin is a different bream proposition into the evening. Keep the bait near the change from rock to open bottom. The public park reached from Little Sirius Cove Road is the visitor reference; scout and club facilities are separate.
Musgrave Street: a deliberate blackfish stop
Musgrave Street, the South Mosman ferry-wharf district, has walls and close kelp holding blackfish and leatherjackets. I recorded good luderick here in November 2021. In April 2025 there were fish again, but the early session was cold and exposed. A southerly can make a small Harbour stop less pleasant than it looks on a map.
The old shore account favours low water early or late and describes settings around four to five metres. Treat that as a clue, then adjust to the actual edge. If the bait continually catches kelp, shorten the setting. If it never approaches feeding depth, a beautifully balanced float will not fix the problem.
Leatherjackets are closer to the kelp and wall. A small piece of peeled prawn on a small hook is a different job from drifting weed for blackfish.
Mosman Wharf and the western walls
The kelp edge west of Mosman Wharf is the blackfish feature, with higher water favoured in the source account. Weed and restrained berley belong close to it. Leatherjackets occupy near structure; bream and flathead justify searching open water beyond.
The long wall is not equally productive throughout. Look for a kelp or bottom change instead of walking to its midpoint. The continuation towards the western side gives a bream alternative, and bread berley can bring mullet into view. Keep tackle off the shared path.
The little beach on Mosman Bay's western shore
The small beach near the rowing and skiff-club district is largely covered at high tide. That is when its sand edge becomes worth a worm or nipper for summer whiting, with bream and flathead secondary possibilities. Fish the public reserve margin; a club landing is separate.
Old Cremorne: kelp close, bream beyond it
Close kelp suits leatherjackets; higher-water blackfish need weed presented along its edge. Bream and tailor use open water beyond the rocks north and south of the landing. A modest cast past the near weed matters more than trying to reach the moored boats.
A small prawn lowered beside structure can find a jacket. A lightly weighted fish piece outside the weed is a better bream bait. A large prawn hurled out from a blackfish wall may miss both jobs.
Cremorne Point: work the change of tide
The rocky water either side of the lighthouse locality is blackfish ground. The last rising tide and first falling tide give useful windows. Fish weed along the edge with chopped-weed berley, watching the actual direction of the float.
Winter tailor are a separate lure or pilchard target outside. After dark, lightly weighted pilchard pieces in a small berley trail can interest bream closer in. Leatherjackets stay by kelp and structure. The lighthouse itself is not a proposed platform.
Shell Cove: sand at the head of the bay
West of the landing, Shell Cove brings sand back into the plan. Bream and flathead use the cove; inner sandy flats are better whiting water. Try worms or nippers around a dawn or late-afternoon high tide. At night, shorten the bream cast rather than automatically fishing deepest water.
The deeper water east of the swimming-pool district occasionally carries tailor. Keep all fishing outside the swimming enclosure.
Kurraba Point: weed beside the wall
Kurraba is primarily a blackfish stop. Fish weed and small berley along the wall and reef edge during the last rising tide. Peeled prawn close to the wall is the jacket alternative. Bream are worth patience and a light bait rather than a claim of constant action.
Winter dawn and dusk can bring tailor within lure range. A floating pilchard is another option where line stays clear of other users. A strong southerly exposes the point; the inner bay and point are not interchangeable positions.
Neutral Bay: Hayes Street and the inner wall
At Hayes Street, close kelp suits small prawn baits for jackets. The outside drop-off is the line to investigate with a blackfish float near the end of the rising tide. Bream become more interesting late or after dark. An occasional winter dory is possible around deeper structure, not dependable.
The wall at the head of Neutral Bay is more modest water. Higher tide at dawn or dusk, with a small worm, nipper or fish bait, is a sensible bream or flathead plan. Bread berley and small hooks can turn it into a deliberate mullet session.
High Street and Careening Cove
The walls around High Street, the North Sydney ferry locality, have different edges. The source favours the left wall for blackfish at the end of the rise and beginning of the fall. On the other side a rock drop-off gives a bream line and another falling-tide blackfish drift. Reset the float instead of carrying Musgrave's depth unchanged.
At night near high water, bream move closer to the wall. Wider casts have a chance of flathead or tailor, clear of the ferry approach. A strong southeast wind exposes this shore.
Careening Cove's public park margin is a quieter bream stop, with flathead and jackets also recorded. Keep the bait by a reachable bottom change. The sailing-club wharf does not become public access because it appears in an old account.
Kirribilli Point and the Bridge-side eddy
I had good-sized blackfish at Kirribilli in June 2020. The next day's account records Warwick netting one in the bay between Kirribilli Point and the Harbour Bridge. On that run-out tide the nearshore water moved west, towards the Bridge, in a local eddy.
That observation stops you assuming a float must follow the main Harbour current. Watch the drift beside the wall, feed berley into the same lane and set the bait to work through it. The recorded eddy is not a promise of identical flow at every tide.
Near the outer ferry locality, blackfish and jackets favour kelp and close structure. A suitable landing net matters more than another ten metres of casting distance.
Bait, wharves and a practical shore note
Fisheries guidance includes South Mosman, Mosman Bay, Old Cremorne, Cremorne Point, Kurraba, Neutral Bay, North Sydney and Kirribilli ferry localities. Follow the public-wharf operating rules, signs and closures. Ferries and passengers have priority. Taronga's ban is separate.
Bring lawful bait. Harbour intertidal and shellfish restrictions rule out collecting crabs, cunjevoi, oysters and mussels. Eastern blue groper cannot be targeted or retained. Follow Harbour seafood advice, including catch-and-release west of the Bridge.
Wear an approved lifejacket where swell-exposed rock-fishing rules apply, allow for wake and use sound footing and a suitable landing position. Carry out every scrap of line and packaging.
Continue east with Middle Head to Bradleys Head, or west with the Harbour beyond the Bridge. See how to catch blackfish for the float setup.