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.
Port Macquarie Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Hastings River, its breakwalls and the beaches either side: a mid-north coast town that fishes the estuary, the walls and the surf in one day.
2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Next tide
High 6:30 pm model
Air / High
18 °C / 23 °C
Wind
N 18 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Port Macquarie has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. Today brings clear skies, wind N around 18 km/h, rising pressure near 1030 hPa and a high of 23 °C. Tides: high 6:26 am and 6:30 pm, low 12:18 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 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM: 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: 10:25 AM-12:25 PM, 10:25 PM-12:25 AM, 4:55 AM-5:55 AM. Similar at 23 °C. 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 Port Macquarie today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:34), sunset (17:46), 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 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM; minor 4:55 AM-5:55 AM. Full Moon, 99% 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.
Fri
HIGH6:26 am0.53 m
LOW12:18 pm-0.50 m
HIGH6:30 pm0.77 m
Sat
LOW12:55 am-0.67 m
HIGH7:04 am0.64 m
LOW12:58 pm-0.56 m
HIGH7:10 pm0.81 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp18 °C
High / Low23 °C / 17 °C
WindN 18 km/h, gusts 33 km/h
Pressure1029.9 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset05:34 / 17:46
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~18 °C est.
Why the tide matters here: tides and fishing in Australia.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Port Macquarie
The best day on Port Macquarie this week looks like Saturday 26 Sept, at 3 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: Saturday, 26 Sept — fair at 3/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.
Today, 25 Sept — Tough
Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
- Solunar majors
- 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM
- Minor period
- 4:55 AM-5:55 AM
- Sun
- 05:34 to 17:46
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 27 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Port Macquarie: 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 Port Macquarie 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 Port Macquarie today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataThu, 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 22 °C, wind to 26 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 22 °C, wind to 27 km/h.
Tue, Sep 22
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Tailor led the card at excellent. High of 21 °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
New South Wales charges its Recreational Fishing Fee here as everywhere in the state, A$7 for three days and A$35 for a year, with the full table on our New South Wales licence page.
About this water
Port Macquarie is a coastal town in New South Wales, Australia, covered from the New South Wales reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Port Macquarie: the full guide
Port Macquarie and the Hastings
Port Macquarie sits at the mouth of the Hastings River on the New South Wales mid-north coast, and the river is the town’s fishery: a long tidal estuary with rock walls, sand flats and oyster leases, opening to the sea between two breakwalls that are the town’s best-known marks. Around them are the beaches, from Town Beach and Flynns to Lighthouse Beach and the long run south, and the rock platforms at Tacking Point and the headlands. Lake Cathie and the Camden Haven are a short drive south; Crowdy Head is north.
Species by season
Flathead and bream are the river’s fish, the flathead on the flats and drop-offs from spring to autumn and the bream on the leases and walls all year with a winter run to the entrance; whiting fish the flats and the beaches in summer; luderick work the walls in winter. Tailor and salmon run the walls and the beaches in the cooler months, mulloway are the night fish of the walls and the river holes, kingfish visit the walls and the headlands in summer, and the reefs off the town give snapper in winter and pelagics in summer for the boats.
Reading this report here
The wind row decides between the river and the coast: a southerly or a big swell closes the beaches and the walls and puts the fishing in the river, a westerly flattens the coast. Pressure and sky build the score and the planner shows the day; the tide panel is a modelled curve for these coordinates, labelled as a model, and the Hastings runs on the tide, so use the curve for the direction and the Bureau of Meteorology page for the exact times.
Licence, access and rules
New South Wales charges its Recreational Fishing Fee here as everywhere in the state, A$7 for three days and A$35 for a year, with the full table on our New South Wales licence page. The breakwalls, the town wharf, the river foreshores, the beaches and the headlands are public, with ramps in the river at Settlement Point, Westport Park and the town. The DPIRD limits are on the page in the sources.
Common questions
What can I catch from the Port Macquarie breakwall?
Bream and luderick, tailor and salmon in the cooler months, mulloway at night and kingfish in summer.
Do I need a fishing licence in Port Macquarie?
Yes. The NSW Recreational Fishing Fee applies, from A$7 for three days.
Is fishing good at Port Macquarie 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.