Yellowtail kingfish
Excellent
Prime. Cast stickbaits and poppers at surface activity, jig the deeper reefs, and keep a live bait out under a balloon.
Terrigal Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Central Coast’s resort beach: the Skillion and its rocks, Terrigal Haven and its new wire-trace ban, the lagoon and the beach gutters.
4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Next tide
Low 2:44 pm model
Air / High
13 °C / 18 °C
Wind
WSW 9 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Terrigal is fishing in its best temperature window, with the bite spread across the day. Today brings cloud cover, wind WSW around 8 km/h, rising pressure near 1020 hPa and a high of 18 °C. Tides: high 8:12 am and 8:39 pm, low 1:43 am and 2:44 pm: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 20 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:52 PM-1:52 AM and 11:28 AM-1:28 PM: the windows to build the day around.
Tailor
Good
Rock ledges and beach gutters on the rising tide; metals cast and retrieved fast, or a whole pilchard drifted through the wash.
Mulloway
Good
Fish the deep holes and the rock walls through a tide change after dark; live mullet, yellowtail or a large soft plastic worked slowly.
Australian salmon
Fair
Look for birds and surface splashes along the beaches and in the bays; cast metals, plastics or ganged pilchards into the school.
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: 11:52 PM-1:52 AM, 11:28 AM-1:28 PM, 4:49 AM-5:49 AM. Warmer at 22 °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 tailor here? Check the size and bag limits with DPIRD NSW before you keep anything; the Tailor page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Terrigal today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:48), sunset (19:28), 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 11:52 PM-1:52 AM and 11:28 AM-1:28 PM; minor 4:49 AM-5:49 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
LOW1:43 am-0.32 m
HIGH8:12 am0.96 m
LOW2:44 pm-0.37 m
HIGH8:39 pm0.53 m
Tue
LOW2:16 am-0.32 m
HIGH8:49 am0.90 m
LOW3:22 pm-0.44 m
HIGH9:19 pm0.39 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp13 °C
High / Low18 °C / 11 °C
WindWSW 9 km/h, gusts 17 km/h
Pressure1019.6 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain62% cloud, 86%
Sunrise / Sunset05:48 / 19:28
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~20 °C est.
Why the tide matters here: tides and fishing in Australia.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Terrigal
The best day on Terrigal this week looks like Thursday 12 Nov, at 5 out of 5, against 4 today.
Best day this week: Thursday, 12 Nov — excellent at 5/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
Today, 9 Nov — Good
Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
- Solunar majors
- 11:52 PM-1:52 AM and 11:28 AM-1:28 PM
- Minor period
- 4:49 AM-5:49 AM
- Sun
- 05:48 to 19:28
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 24 km/h
- Rain chance
- 86%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Terrigal: seasons written for the southern year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
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.
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.
Yellowtail kingfish
Best: December to April
The hardest-pulling fish within reach of the shore. Headlands, harbour markers, offshore reefs and the warm current in summer. Prime. Cast stickbaits and poppers at surface activity, jig the deeper reefs, and keep a live bait out under a balloon.
Australian salmon
Winter and spring on the southern beaches
Not a salmon at all: a hard-fighting schooling fish of the surf and the bays, from WA around to NSW. Great on light gear, poor on the plate. Look for birds and surface splashes along the beaches and in the bays; cast metals, plastics or ganged pilchards into the school.
When to come: the Terrigal 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
Tailor
Mulloway
Yellowtail kingfish
Australian salmon
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 20 °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 Terrigal 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. Yellowtail kingfish led the card at good. High of 17 °C, wind to 32 km/h.
Sat, Nov 7
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Yellowtail kingfish led the card at good. High of 28 °C, wind to 34 km/h.
Fri, Nov 6
5/5 Excellent. Go now. Everything lines up: pressure, wind and light are in your favor. Yellowtail kingfish led the card at excellent. High of 21 °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, from A$7 for three days; our New South Wales licence page has the other durations.
About this water
Terrigal is a coastal town in New South Wales, Australia, covered from the New South Wales reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Terrigal: the full guide
Terrigal and its coast
Terrigal is the resort town of the New South Wales Central Coast, north of Sydney, on a long beach that ends at the Skillion, the grassy headland whose rock platforms are the town’s best-known fishing mark. Terrigal Haven and its boat ramp sit in the lee of the headland, the lagoon lies behind the beach, and Wamberal and Avoca are either side. It fishes from the sand, the platforms and the Haven, and from boats launched at the Haven for the reefs offshore when the swell allows. The report on this page is scored for Terrigal’s coordinates.
Species and seasons
Tailor and salmon run the beach gutters and the Skillion in the cooler months at dawn and dusk; bream work the rocks, the Haven and the lagoon all year; whiting feed along the beach in summer; and drummer and luderick hold in the washes along the platforms in winter. Kingfish come to the headland and the reefs in summer, squid hunt the weed off the Haven, mulloway are the night fish of the beach gutters, and the reefs outside give the boats snapper in the cooler months. Grey nurse sharks, which are critically endangered, are regularly seen inside the Haven, and that is the reason for the closure described below.
Reading this report here
The beach faces east: a southerly or an easterly swell closes it and the Skillion, and a westerly flattens the coast and opens the platforms; the wind row tells you which. The Terrigal score leans on pressure and cloud cover, and the planner picks out the calmer mornings. The tide panel is a modelled curve for these coordinates, labelled as a model, and the beach tends to fish on the rising tide at first and last light, with the Bureau of Meteorology for the exact times.
Licence, access and rules
The NSW Recreational Fishing Fee applies, from A$7 for three days; our New South Wales licence page has the other durations. Since 26 August 2026 a DPIRD closure, in force for five years, bans lines with a wire or chain trace in all of Terrigal Haven, from the rock pool by the boardwalk to Terrigal Point, to protect grey nurse sharks; other lawful methods are still allowed, and fines start at A$500. The whole Central Coast council area is declared under the Rock Fishing Safety Act, so a lifejacket is compulsory on the Skillion platforms, for children and helpers too. The beach, the headland and the Haven are public.
Common questions
Can I use a wire trace in Terrigal Haven?
No. A DPIRD closure from 26 August 2026, running five years, bans wire and chain traces throughout the Haven to protect grey nurse sharks; other lawful methods remain allowed.
Do I need a lifejacket on the Skillion?
Yes. The Central Coast is a declared area under the NSW Rock Fishing Safety Act, so everyone rock fishing there, children and helpers included, must wear an approved lifejacket.
Is fishing good at Terrigal right now?
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
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.