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 Stephens Fishing Report
Updated Sat, 26 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
A drowned river valley north of Newcastle: flathead flats, bream on the leases, kingfish at the heads and the game grounds beyond.
2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Next tide
Low 12:57 am model
Air / High
13 °C / 32 °C
Wind
NNE 8 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Port Stephens has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. Today brings clear skies, wind NNE around 8 km/h, rising pressure near 1026 hPa and a high of 32 °C. Tides: high 7:08 am and 7:16 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 19 °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 Port Stephens 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-0.55 m
HIGH7:16 pm0.77 m
Sun
LOW1:27 am-0.62 m
HIGH7:43 am0.76 m
LOW1:44 pm-0.55 m
HIGH7:52 pm0.73 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp13 °C
High / Low32 °C / 13 °C
WindNNE 8 km/h, gusts 15 km/h
Pressure1026.0 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 Port Stephens
The best day on Port Stephens this week looks like Tuesday 29 Sept, at 4 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: Tuesday, 29 Sept — good at 4/5, 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, 23 km/h
- Rain chance
- 4%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Port Stephens: 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 Stephens 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 Stephens today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataFri, Sep 25
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Tailor led the card at excellent. High of 29 °C, wind to 16 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 26 °C, wind to 19 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 24 °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
You need the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee receipt on you, whether it is the three-day one at A$7 or the year at A$35; the New South Wales licence page lists every duration and the exemptions.
About this water
Port Stephens is a bay or coastal water in New South Wales, Australia, covered from the New South Wales reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Port Stephens: the full guide
The port and its waters
Port Stephens is a large natural harbour on the New South Wales mid-north coast, a drowned valley with the heads at Tomaree and Yacaaba, the towns of Nelson Bay and Shoal Bay on the southern shore, the sand islands and oyster leases of the western reaches, and the Myall and Karuah rivers feeding it from the north and west. Inside, it is one of the state’s great estuaries for flathead, bream and whiting; at the heads, a kingfish and squid fishery; and outside, Broughton Island and the shelf, which give Port Stephens its game fishing reputation. This page is scored for the harbour’s coordinates.
Species by season
Flathead are the harbour’s fish, on the sand flats and the drop-offs from spring through autumn, with the western reaches and the bay edges the classic ground. Bream are year-round on the leases, the rock walls and the wharves, whiting fish the flats in summer, and squid work the weed and the marina lights. Kingfish hold at the heads and the islands in summer, tailor and salmon run the beaches outside in the cooler months, mulloway are the night fish of the harbour and the Karuah, and snapper come onto the reefs and Broughton Island in winter. The DPIRD rules include the marine park zoning of the whole port, which is the first map to check.
Reading this report for the port
The port is sheltered enough that most days fish somewhere; the wind row tells you which shore. A nor’-easter roughs up the southern bays in the afternoon, a westerly flattens the port and a southerly change closes the heads. Pressure and sky build the score and the planner picks the day. The tide panel is a modelled curve for these coordinates, labelled as a model; the port runs hard at the heads and gently in the western reaches, so use the curve for the run and the Bureau of Meteorology page for the exact times.
Licence, access and rules
You need the NSW Recreational Fishing Fee receipt on you, whether it is the three-day one at A$7 or the year at A$35; the New South Wales licence page lists every duration and the exemptions. The wharves at Nelson Bay and Shoal Bay, the beaches and the rock platforms are public, with ramps at Nelson Bay, Soldiers Point, Salamander Bay, Lemon Tree Passage and Karuah. The Port Stephens-Great Lakes Marine Park zoning and the DPIRD limits are on the pages in the sources.
Common questions
Do I need a fishing licence in Port Stephens?
Yes. The NSW Recreational Fishing Fee applies, from A$7 for three days.
Are there no-fishing zones in Port Stephens?
Yes. The port is inside the Port Stephens-Great Lakes Marine Park, with sanctuary zones where fishing is not allowed; the zoning map is linked from the sources.
What is the best fish to target in Port Stephens?
Flathead on the flats from spring to autumn is the everyday answer, kingfish at the heads in summer the exciting one; the species cards rate both by month and today’s conditions.
Is fishing good at Port Stephens 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.