Port Hacking shore fishing: Dolans Bay, Lilli Pilli and Audley
Port Hacking has useful shore water, but the deep wharf edge, flooded sandflat and upper-estuary hole need different treatment. At Dolans Bay, keep the bait beside structure. At Maianbar, follow the edge of newly covered sand from a secure shore position. Below Audley weir, give the deeper hole its own float drift instead of fishing it like the picnic-side shallows.
Choose the water before choosing the rig
| Area | Water to look for | Starting approach |
|---|---|---|
| Dolans Bay and Lilli Pilli | Structure and deep water close to the edge | Small baits for bream and jackets; weed for luderick; Dolans squid jigs at dusk where the retrieve is clear |
| Maianbar and Fishermans Bay | Rising water over sand, with weed and channel edges | Worms or nippers for whiting and bream as the sand floods; small lures beside weed for flathead |
| Grays Point and Swallow Rock | Sand edges beside a busy moving-water corridor | Light worm or nipper baits over sand; small baits beside the rocky drop; keep the launch lane clear |
| Audley below the weir | Sandy shallows and a distinct hole beside the rock bar | Small baits over sand; adjust a weed float to the deeper luderick hole in a quiet early or late session |
The tide exchanges a lot of water through the Port’s narrow channels. Clear water and boat traffic make a quiet approach useful, particularly beside ramps and popular waterfront reserves. First or last light often gives a more workable session than the busiest part of a summer day.
A light spinning outfit with small hooks and only enough sinker to control the bait covers the sand edges and many bream presentations. Keep a small selection of squid jigs for a clear wharf-side retrieve. Luderick need their own balanced float, weed hook and adjustable depth; take a landing net that reaches the water. A livebait outfit for kingfish or mulloway is a separate decision once current, boat traffic and landing space have been assessed.
The northern bays and deep-water structures
Burraneer Bay: the upper ramp-side rock
The surviving Burraneer account identifies the upper ramp near Burraneer Park as the shore option. Rock beside the ramp gives bream cover, with autumn and quieter evening periods emphasised. Flathead and whiting are associated with nearby sand; drifting down the bay centre is a separate boat method.
Put a small bait on the clean edge beside rock, with enough lead to maintain contact. If small fish strip it repeatedly, change the bait or session timing rather than continually feeding the same pickers. Keep clear of launching and retrieving boats. Use the Water Street public ramp precinct, without treating adjoining private waterfront as an extension of it.
Dolans Bay: baitfish above, structure fish below
Wally’s Wharf beside the Dolans Bay ramp offers several presentations in a small area. Bream and trevally work around the structure, while leatherjackets and luderick are more closely associated with its edges. Fish a small bait beside the structure for jackets, or use a balanced weed float for luderick. A heavy sinker dropped into the snag does neither job well.
A little burley can bring yellowtail, small tailor, garfish and mullet into view. Summer garfish and longtom belong to the surface-fishing account, using small fish or prawn baits. These are distinct from the deeper bream presentation. Keep livebait within current size, possession and permitted-method rules.
Dusk features in the local squid account. Work a jig where it can settle and be retrieved without tangling the wharf or boats. The shore-squidding method explains the controlled lifts, pauses and steady pressure for fishing a single jig from a wharf or shoreline. The council facility page identifies the public ramp and wharf. Follow works signs and leave loading areas free.
Lilli Pilli: distinguish the structure from the deep hole
Lilli Pilli’s attraction is deep water close to the baths precinct. There is a useful difference between fishing beside structure and trying to reach the wider hole. Leatherjackets and luderick belong close to the jetty and rocky margins; bream and trevally also feature along the southern rocky shore, particularly in the older winter accounts.
For luderick, set the float to follow the actual depth along the edge and keep the weed clear of the bottom. For jackets, a compact prawn bait close to structure is more purposeful than a long cast. Small baits for bream and trevally need enough weight to stay in the chosen lane as the tide strengthens.
The deeper-water history includes kingfish, mulloway, tailor and john dory. Yellowtail, slimy mackerel and garfish were the livebait supply. Before putting out a large bait, establish that the current, boat movements and landing space permit it. The old boat positions off the bath corner and channel marker are not shore-casting marks.
Council’s Lilli Pilli entry confirms recreational fishing and small-craft use at the jetty and pontoon. Keep fishing outside the swimming enclosure, and watch for divers and moving boats as well as swimmers.
Yowie Bay: the public ramp-side edge
The public ramp near the upper western side is Yowie Bay’s supported shore option. The older account puts bream close to the boatshed-side edge, with burley and quiet periods when launching traffic is absent. A small bait fished close to cover is the appropriate starting point.
The deep-water mulloway and large-flathead reports belong to the sailing-club water farther down the bay. They should not be transferred to the public ramp. Use the Wonga Road ramp and pontoon, keep its operating area clear and stop casting when boats need it.
Gymea Bay Baths: retain for after the works
Gymea Bay Baths Reserve is closed for reconstruction from May 2026 to early 2027. It is not a current trip option.
The fishing history is useful for a later visit once council reopens the reserve. Prawn baits beside pylons were used for leatherjackets; adjoining bottom gave occasional flathead, whiting and bream. Small pickers and swimming use limited the session. The distinction is structure fishing against pylons versus a bait on the bottom beyond them, not unrestricted fishing anywhere around the baths.
North West Arm: a limited park-shore lead
The old account separately names park shore at the end of Ellesmere Road as a bream option in North West Arm. It supplies little further shore detail. Its flathead, whiting and flounder advice concerns boat drifts beside entrance sandbanks.
That historical park frontage has not been matched confidently to a current unrestricted fishing approach, particularly with nearby works in progress. Keep it as a local bream lead, not a visitor route. Dolans Bay, Lilli Pilli and Swallow Rock have clearer public-facility information for planning a session.
Maianbar and Warumbul
Maianbar: fish the rising edge, keep the exit dry
Maianbar’s broad flats change completely through a tide. The outer channel retains depth at low water; as the flood covers the sand, whiting, bream and flathead can move into shallower feeding water. The older account also records occasional tarwhine.
Worms and nippers suit this fishing. Place the bait where new water meets the bank and let it settle with little weight. A bait on the shallow feeding edge may be more useful than one thrown into the deepest visible channel. Move along a secure foreshore position to keep that edge within reach.
Do not follow a falling tide onto remote banks and rely on wading back as water rises. The plan is rising water within reach of dry shore. Check collection rules before pumping bait; the old description of productive nipper flats is not permission to collect throughout the area.
Fishermans Bay: the sand-and-weed edge
The channel towards Fishermans Bay has shallow sand and weed, giving a more defined edge than the broad open flats. It is useful flathead water for a small lure worked beside weed, with longtom among the surface-fish possibilities in the source account.
Keep the lure near the clean edge instead of dragging it through thick weed. Garfish and mullet occur in the same local account, but need a small-bait and burley approach rather than being treated as routine flathead-lure targets. Use public foreshore ground and do not assume a continuous walk around every private frontage.
Warumbul: the rocky drop-off
Warumbul gives the southern shore a different job from Maianbar. Deeper water lies against a rocky edge: bream, leatherjackets and luderick beside the drop-off, with flathead also recorded. A lightly weighted bait can stay close to rock without a long cast across a sandflat.
Squid are another relevant target, with both jigs and baits in the local account. Rvee’s first Port Hacking squidding report recorded several good calamari. The exact site was not recorded.
The older catches also include summer surface fish and night mulloway on squid or live bait. Current park access hours govern any such plan. The old wharf is not confirmed as a present facility; use the official picnic-area information for parking and road conditions. The final road is unsealed and wet-weather access can require four-wheel drive.
Grays Point and Audley
Grays Point: the spit and its deeper rock edge
The sand spit and adjoining rocky shoreline are two distinct presentations. On the sand side, rising water covers feeding ground for whiting, bream and flathead. Worms or nippers near the channel edge suit the bait approach; small lures cover flathead and occasional tailor.
The rocky edge beside the spit has more depth close in. That is the bream and leatherjacket option, with mullet and some flathead also in the account. Keep a small bait close to rock and use burley sparingly enough that it stays near the fishing lane. Boat traffic is the practical constraint through the narrow moving-water corridor.
Fish the sand and rock that can be reached from secure public shore. A high-tide-covered spit is not a reason to push farther out across the flats.
Swallow Rock beach: fish beside the ramp, not across it
The small beach south of the ramp is upstream of the point sandflats. It offers a sand-edge session for whiting, flathead and bream, with worm or nipper baits on rising water.
Mullet are a useful separate target. A little bread or pollard burley keeps them interested; dough or worm baits are the documented approach. This can make better use of close water than casting over visible fish for a distant flathead.
Swallow Rock Reserve has public parking and facilities. Dawn or dusk may be quieter, but the ramp must remain clear whenever a boat needs it.
Wants Beach: small baits over the sand
Wants Beach is an old name for a small sandy picnic-side shore at Audley. Its precise modern identity remains uncertain.
The fishing description is useful: summer bream, whiting, flathead and flounder on rising water, using worms, nippers or lawful bait prawns. Keep the bait on sand with little lead. Mullet respond to a steady, modest burley trail and small offering. This is the sandy-edge method, distinct from the deeper hole below the weir.
Below Audley weir: the hole beside the rock bar
Immediately downstream of the weir is a deeper hole beside a visible rocky bar. Luderick are the float-fishing option, using weed, light tackle and burley. Set the float for the hole and shorten the drift before it reaches the bar; a rig that works over the adjoining shallows needs adjusting here.
The downstream banks also have bream, flathead, mullet and garfish in the account, using fresh worm, nipper or lawful prawn baits. Early and late quiet periods are more workable than busy picnic hours. This guide stays in saltwater below the weir.
Reids Flat provides official Audley visitor information and lists fishing. Check the current Royal National Park alerts. The scheduled deer-control closure affects Audley trails and picnic flats from sunset to sunrise Monday to Thursday, outside school holidays, through 18 December 2026. Do not convert old night-fishing advice into a trip during a closure.
Bait collection and protected water
Shiprock Aquatic Reserve is a no-fishing area from boat or shore. Do not collect or disturb its marine life, dead or alive. Use the official boundary map rather than old descriptions based on counting waterfront houses.
The Port Hacking closures distinguish several rules. Gunnamatta has a worm, nipper and shellfish closure; Cabbage Tree Point has an intertidal invertebrate closure; shellfish collection is prohibited along the specified Simpsons Bay to Costens Point frontage and adjoining water. These are not permission to dig in seagrass, mangroves or saltmarsh elsewhere. Bring bait when a boundary or habitat is uncertain. Use bait prawns rather than supermarket seafood. Do not target or retain eastern blue groper.
One practical shore note: wear a lifejacket wherever a fall into deep or fast water is a realistic risk, keep a dry way back and leave shared facilities clear. The specific compulsory rock-fishing rule applies to exposed natural ocean rocks in the declared area; it is not a blanket legal requirement for every sheltered estuary jetty.
For the weed rig, use the blackfish guide. The Cronulla guide covers the entrance-side rocks and ocean beaches; Bundeena, Jibbon and Marley covers the ocean-facing shore farther south.