Tailor
Excellent
The main run. Fish the gutters and headlands into the evening; ganged pilchards, metals, and a wire-free trace only if you accept the bite-offs.
Hawks Nest Fishing Report
Updated Sat, 26 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The northern side of Port Stephens’ entrance: the Myall River, Jimmys Beach and Bennetts Beach, bream, whiting and the tailor of the ocean beach.
2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Next tide
Low 12:57 am model
Air / High
16 °C / 29 °C
Wind
NE 12 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Hawks Nest rewards patience today, with cool water and short feeding windows. Today brings clear skies, wind NE around 13 km/h, rising pressure near 1027 hPa and a high of 29 °C. Tides: high 7:08 am and 7:13 pm, low 12:57 am and 1:02 pm: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 18 °C for the season (estimated). With the full moon, the solunar majors run 11:16 PM-1:16 AM and 11:16 AM-1:16 PM: the windows to build the day around.
Bream
Fair
Slow the retrieve right down: blades and lightly weighted plastics along the deeper rock walls and drop-offs, or unweighted bait drifted into the snags.
Flathead
Fair
Fish the deeper channels and the last of the run-out; slower hops with a heavier jighead, and a bait on the bottom as back-up.
Mulloway
Fair
The estuary fish move to the deeper reaches. Long, quiet sessions on the bottom with fresh bait across the top of the tide.
Tie on: Blade or vibe, slow hops · Lightly weighted plastic · Whole pilchard or squid on the bottom · Suspending hardbody. Prime windows: 11:16 PM-1:16 AM, 11:16 AM-1:16 PM, 5:46 AM-6:46 AM. Cooler at 20 °C with likely rain: fish ahead of the front. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
Before you go
New South Wales requires a fishing licence for most fishing, from A$7.00. New South Wales fishing licence: cost, rules and where to buy →
Chasing bream here? Check the size and bag limits with DPIRD NSW before you keep anything; the Bream page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Hawks Nest today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:36), sunset (17:50), the moon and today's score, with the modelled tide changes in the panel below. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 11:16 PM-1:16 AM and 11:16 AM-1:16 PM; minor 5:46 AM-6:46 AM. Full Moon, 100% lit.
Water and weather
A modelled tide curve for these coordinates and the forecast for the day.
Tides (modelled)
Modelled sea level curve from Open-Meteo Marine for these coordinates, datum mean sea level. Fish the moving water either side of each change.
A model, not the official prediction: times can drift by tens of minutes inside bays and estuaries. Check the Bureau of Meteorology tide predictions for the exact times before you rely on them.
Sat
LOW12:57 am-0.69 m
HIGH7:08 am0.60 m
LOW1:02 pm-0.56 m
HIGH7:13 pm0.77 m
Sun
LOW1:26 am-0.60 m
HIGH7:43 am0.78 m
LOW1:41 pm-0.54 m
HIGH7:51 pm0.75 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp16 °C
High / Low29 °C / 13 °C
WindNE 12 km/h, gusts 26 km/h
Pressure1027.1 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 4%
Sunrise / Sunset05:36 / 17:50
MoonFull Moon, 100%
Water temp (seasonal)~18 °C est.
Why the tide matters here: tides and fishing in Australia.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Hawks Nest
The best day on Hawks Nest this week looks like Thursday 1 Oct, at 5 out of 5, against 2 today. Every day is scored by the same engine as the report above: pressure trend first, then wind, sky and season. Pick a species and the plan for that day changes with it.
Best day this week: Thursday, 1 Oct — excellent at 5/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
Today, 26 Sept — Tough
Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
- Solunar majors
- 11:16 PM-1:16 AM and 11:16 AM-1:16 PM
- Minor period
- 5:46 AM-6:46 AM
- Sun
- 05:36 to 17:50
- Moon
- Full Moon, 100% lit
- Sky and wind
- Partly cloudy, 21 km/h
- Rain chance
- 4%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Hawks Nest: seasons written for the southern year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Bream
Year-round; summer and autumn in the estuaries, winter at the mouths
Yellowfin bream on the east coast, black bream in the southern estuaries. Structure fish: rock walls, jetty piles, oyster racks, snags and pontoons. Slow the retrieve right down: blades and lightly weighted plastics along the deeper rock walls and drop-offs, or unweighted bait drifted into the snags.
Flathead
Best: November to April
Dusky flathead in the eastern estuaries, sand flathead in the southern bays. An ambush predator lying on sand and mud edges waiting for whatever the tide brings. Fish the deeper channels and the last of the run-out; slower hops with a heavier jighead, and a bait on the bottom as back-up.
Mulloway
Best: summer and autumn, especially after rain
Jewfish. The big silver prize of the estuaries, breakwalls and surf beaches: nocturnal, tide-driven and unforgiving of noise. The estuary fish move to the deeper reaches. Long, quiet sessions on the bottom with fresh bait across the top of the tide.
Tailor
Autumn and winter on the east coast; August to September on Fraser Island
The surf and rock fish of the east coast, running north in autumn and winter. Fast, toothy and best at dawn, dusk and into the dark. The main run. Fish the gutters and headlands into the evening; ganged pilchards, metals, and a wire-free trace only if you accept the bite-offs.
When to come: the Hawks Nest calendar
Activity by species and month for the southern year, and how the water warms and cools. Tap any cell.
Species activity by month
1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted. January is midsummer here.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Bream
Flathead
Mulloway
Tailor
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 18 °C (estimated, not a reading).
Angler reports
Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. Nothing here is copied from a shop or a charter. The water log below tracks each day automatically.
No angler reports yetBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Hawks Nest today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataFri, Sep 25
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Tailor led the card at excellent. High of 27 °C, wind to 19 km/h.
Thu, Sep 24
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Tailor led the card at excellent. High of 24 °C, wind to 23 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Tailor led the card at excellent. High of 23 °C, wind to 21 km/h.
Before you go
Licence
NSW Recreational Fishing Fee, from A$7.00, the same for residents and visitors. Details and where to buy →
Regulations
Size and bag limits, closed seasons and marine park zones are set by DPIRD NSW and change: confirm the current rules on the agency page linked from the New South Wales licence page before you keep anything.
Access
The NSW Recreational Fishing Fee applies at Hawks Nest from A$7 for three days; our New South Wales licence page has the fees.
About this water
Hawks Nest is a coastal town in New South Wales, Australia, covered from the New South Wales reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Hawks Nest: the full guide
Hawks Nest and the Myall
Hawks Nest is the village on the northern side of the Port Stephens entrance, across the water from Nelson Bay, between the Myall River and Bennetts Beach, with Jimmys Beach on the sheltered port side, the Singing Bridge over the Myall to Tea Gardens, Yacaaba headland at the entrance and the long ocean beach running north into Myall Lakes National Park. It is a village of three waters, port, river and ocean, and the report on this page is scored for the village’s coordinates. Port Stephens has its own page.
Species and seasons
Whiting fish Jimmys Beach and the port sand in summer and are the village’s everyday fish; bream fish the Myall River, the bridge and the port rocks all year; flathead lie on the port flats and the river sand from spring to autumn; tailor and salmon run Bennetts Beach in the cooler months at dawn and dusk; mulloway are the night fish of the beach gutters and the river; luderick fish the bridge and the rocks in winter; and the Yacaaba rocks give tailor, drummer and, in summer, kingfish. The Myall Lakes above have their own bream and flathead fishery.
Where to fish it
Jimmys Beach on the port side is the whiting and flathead water, fished on the run-in from the sand, and the Singing Bridge over the Myall is the bream and luderick mark; Bennetts Beach on the ocean side takes the tailor and salmon in the cooler months, with Yacaaba’s platforms at the entrance for drummer and, in summer, the kingfish. The ramps are at Jimmys Beach and the Myall.
Reading this report here
The port side is sheltered from an easterly and the ocean beach is open to it, so the wind row decides which side of the village to fish; a westerly flattens Bennetts. The tide panel is a modelled curve for the coordinates of Hawks Nest, labelled as a model, useful for the run at the bridge and the entrance, with the Bureau of Meteorology for the minute. Pressure and sky build the score at Hawks Nest; the planner shows the day.
Licence, access and rules
The NSW Recreational Fishing Fee applies at Hawks Nest from A$7 for three days; our New South Wales licence page has the fees. Jimmys Beach, the bridge and Bennetts Beach are public, with ramps on the Myall and at Jimmys Beach; the Port Stephens-Great Lakes Marine Park zoning and the DPIRD limits are in the sources.
Common questions
What can I catch at Hawks Nest?
Whiting on Jimmys Beach in summer, bream in the Myall and at the bridge, flathead on the port flats, tailor and salmon on Bennetts Beach in the cooler months, mulloway at night.
Do I need a licence at Hawks Nest?
Yes: the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee, from A$7 for three days.
Is fishing good at Hawks Nest right now?
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Nearby waters
Where this page's numbers come from
- Tide curve (modelled)
- Open-Meteo Marine, sea level height including tides
- Open-Meteo forecast model
- https://open-meteo.com/
- Moon and solunar windows
- Calculated on this site
- The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on How our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.