Bream
Good
Prime bream weather. Cast small vibes, crankbaits and 2 to 3 inch plastics at every piece of structure on the rising tide.
Iluka Fishing Report
Updated Tue, 10 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The northern side of the Clarence mouth: the Iluka breakwall, the bluff and the Bundjalung beaches, quieter than Yamba across the water.
2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Next tide
Low 2:07 am model
Air / High
16 °C / 25 °C
Wind
WSW 7 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Iluka has the water in the comfortable band where most of its fish feed through the day. Today brings clear skies, wind WSW around 6 km/h, rising pressure near 1020 hPa and a high of 26 °C. Tides: high 8:48 am and 8:55 pm, low 2:07 am and 3:18 pm: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 22 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:41 PM-1:41 AM and 12:08 PM-2:08 PM: the windows to build the day around.
Flathead
Good
The best of it. Drift the sand and weed edges, bounce plastics or a strip of bait along the bottom, and cover ground until you find the school.
Mulloway
Fair
Fish the deep holes and the rock walls through a tide change after dark; live mullet, yellowtail or a large soft plastic worked slowly.
Tailor
Fair
Rock ledges and beach gutters on the rising tide; metals cast and retrieved fast, or a whole pilchard drifted through the wash.
Tie on: Soft plastic on a 1/4 oz jighead · Small hardbody, shallow diver · Squid jig, size 3.0 · Fresh pipi or worm on a small hook. Prime windows: 11:41 PM-1:41 AM, 12:08 PM-2:08 PM, 5:27 AM-6:27 AM. Warmer at 30 °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 Iluka today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:46), sunset (19:15), 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 11:41 PM-1:41 AM and 12:08 PM-2:08 PM; minor 5:27 AM-6:27 AM. New Moon, 1% 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.
Tue
LOW2:07 am-0.37 m
HIGH8:48 am1.11 m
LOW3:18 pm-0.30 m
HIGH8:55 pm0.55 m
Wed
LOW2:39 am-0.38 m
HIGH9:26 am1.03 m
LOW4:00 pm-0.38 m
HIGH9:39 pm0.39 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp16 °C
High / Low25 °C / 15 °C
WindWSW 7 km/h, gusts 12 km/h
Pressure1019.7 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain6% cloud, 13%
Sunrise / Sunset05:46 / 19:15
MoonNew Moon, 1%
Water temp (seasonal)~22 °C est.
Why the tide matters here: tides and fishing in Australia.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Iluka
The best day on Iluka this week looks like Friday 13 Nov, at 5 out of 5, against 2 today.
Best day this week: Friday, 13 Nov — excellent at 5/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
Today, 10 Nov — Tough
Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
- Solunar majors
- 11:41 PM-1:41 AM and 12:08 PM-2:08 PM
- Minor period
- 5:27 AM-6:27 AM
- Sun
- 05:46 to 19:15
- Moon
- New Moon, 1% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 26 km/h
- Rain chance
- 13%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Iluka: 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. Prime bream weather. Cast small vibes, crankbaits and 2 to 3 inch plastics at every piece of structure on the rising tide.
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. The best of it. Drift the sand and weed edges, bounce plastics or a strip of bait along the bottom, and cover ground until you find the school.
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. Fish the deep holes and the rock walls through a tide change after dark; live mullet, yellowtail or a large soft plastic worked slowly.
Tailor
Autumn and winter on the east coast; the run reaches K'gari (Fraser Island) in late winter, where the east beach from Waddy Point to Indian Head is closed to all fin fish from 1 August to 29 September
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. Rock ledges and beach gutters on the rising tide; metals cast and retrieved fast, or a whole pilchard drifted through the wash.
When to come: the Iluka 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 22 °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 Iluka today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataMon, Nov 9
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Bream led the card at excellent. High of 22 °C, wind to 21 km/h.
Sun, Nov 8
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Bream led the card at excellent. High of 21 °C, wind to 31 km/h.
Sat, Nov 7
5/5 Excellent. Go now. Everything lines up: pressure, wind and light are in your favor. Bream led the card at excellent. High of 29 °C, wind to 19 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, from A$7 for three days, is required at Iluka; the New South Wales licence page here lists every option.
About this water
Iluka is a coastal town in New South Wales, Australia, covered from the New South Wales reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Iluka: the full guide
Iluka and the wall
Iluka is the village on the northern side of the Clarence River mouth, facing Yamba across the entrance, with the northern breakwall running out from the village, rock platforms at Iluka Bluff and long beaches running north into Bundjalung National Park. It fishes much of the same water as Yamba with fewer people on it: estuary fish in the lower river, and surf and rock fishing along the coast. The report on this page is scored for the village’s coordinates, with a modelled tide curve for the same point.
Species and seasons
Mulloway visit the northern wall at night, most often around the tide changes from spring to autumn. Bream are an all-year fish of the wall and the lower river; tailor and Australian salmon run the beaches in the cooler months; luderick and drummer feed around the bluff’s rocks in winter; and flathead hold on sandy edges inside the river through the warmer months. Summer brings whiting to the beach and estuary sand.
Where to fish it
The northern breakwall is the main land-based spot, fished for luderick and bream on the run-in and for mulloway after dark, and the bluff and the beaches beyond it suit tailor and drummer when the sea is calm enough. Upriver, the Clarence River Recreational Fishing Haven includes a 300-metre stretch on the eastern side of the North Arm, between Arris Island and Saltwater Inlet near Iluka, set aside for recreational fishing. Woody Head campground, run by NSW National Parks in Bundjalung National Park, is a camping base north of the village.
Reading this report here
A southerly or easterly swell washes the wall and makes the bluff dangerous; a westerly usually calms the coast. The modelled tide curve gives the direction of flow through the entrance, and the Bureau of Meteorology has the official times. Watch the rain row as well: after heavy rain upstream, the colour in the river can push baitfish and predators toward the mouth.
Licence, access and rules
The NSW Recreational Fishing Fee, from A$7 for three days, is required at Iluka; the New South Wales licence page here lists every option. The Clarence Valley has no declared lifejacket areas for rock fishing, but a lifejacket is still the safest choice on the bluff’s platforms. DPIRD’s bag and size limits apply to everything you keep.
Common questions
What can I catch at Iluka?
Mulloway and bream on the northern wall, tailor and salmon on the beaches in the cooler months, luderick and drummer on the rocks in winter, and flathead and whiting inside the river.
Is there camping near Iluka?
Yes. Woody Head campground in Bundjalung National Park, north of the village, is run by NSW National Parks.
Is fishing good at Iluka 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
- Pages checked
- 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.