Bream
Good
Prime bream weather. Cast small vibes, crankbaits and 2 to 3 inch plastics at every piece of structure on the rising tide.
Port Macquarie Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 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
Low 2:38 pm model
Air / High
16 °C / 21 °C
Wind
SW 12 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Port Macquarie sits in the warm band: moving baits, moving tides and fish on the edges. Today brings clear skies, wind SW around 11 km/h, rising pressure near 1019 hPa and a high of 21 °C. Tides: high 8:11 am and 8:25 pm, low 1:41 am and 2:38 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 11:46 PM-1:46 AM and 11:22 AM-1:22 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: 11:46 PM-1:46 AM, 11:22 AM-1:22 PM, 4:48 AM-5:48 AM. Similar at 21 °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 (05:45), sunset (19:19), 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 11:46 PM-1:46 AM and 11:22 AM-1:22 PM; minor 4:48 AM-5:48 AM. New Moon, 0% 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.
Mon
LOW1:41 am-0.37 m
HIGH8:11 am1.05 m
LOW2:38 pm-0.31 m
HIGH8:25 pm0.62 m
Tue
LOW2:10 am-0.32 m
HIGH8:48 am1.06 m
LOW3:22 pm-0.35 m
HIGH9:05 pm0.47 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp16 °C
High / Low21 °C / 13 °C
WindSW 12 km/h, gusts 28 km/h
Pressure1019.3 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain2% cloud, 4%
Sunrise / Sunset05:45 / 19:19
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~22 °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 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, 9 Nov — Tough
Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
- Solunar majors
- 11:46 PM-1:46 AM and 11:22 AM-1:22 PM
- Minor period
- 4:48 AM-5:48 AM
- Sun
- 05:45 to 19:19
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 32 km/h
- Rain chance
- 4%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
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. 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 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 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 Port Macquarie today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataSun, Nov 8
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Bream led the card at good. High of 21 °C, wind to 35 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 26 °C, wind to 18 km/h.
Fri, Nov 6
5/5 Excellent. Go now. Everything lines up: pressure, wind and light are in your favor. Bream led the card at excellent. High of 23 °C, wind to 18 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
On the Hastings the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee is A$7 for three days or A$35 for a year, and our New South Wales licence page carries the other durations.
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. DPIRD lists the Hastings among the 30 Recreational Fishing Havens on the NSW coast, where commercial fishing gives way to anglers. Around the river 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; and DPIRD adds Australian bass in the upper tributaries of the Maria River and Limeburners Creek. 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 offshore artificial reef DPIRD built in 2016, 20 concrete modules in 46 metres of water, gives snapper, teraglin and pearl perch in the cooler months and mackerel and cobia in the warmer ones.
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
On the Hastings the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee is A$7 for three days or A$35 for a year, and our New South Wales licence page carries the other durations. The breakwalls, the town wharf, the river foreshores, the beaches and the headlands are public, and the Transport for NSW list has ramps at Westport Park, Buller Street and McInherney Park in town and further up the Hastings. 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 Hastings, the walls and the beaches all need the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee, 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
- 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.