Beach fishing conditions

[RossW]

I am retired so can go fishing whenever. Live in Sydney so looking at places like Stockton or central coast for flathead, bream and tailor.

with regards to wind strength & direction. Tides and swell. When should I plan to go and when should I stay home and read Fishraider.

Thanks

[Koalaboi]

Hi Ross,

I reckon that you need to look at  google earth to see which way the beaches face. That way you'll know which swells and winds are going to give you grief. Take The Entrance Beach. At the southern end it's reasonably protected in a south swell while the very northern end is protected in a north swell. Same as the wind.

Off shore winds are good to fish in as they help you cast.I generally like to fish the last of the run up and the first of the run out.

The southern end of Terrigal can be fished in a large south swell whilst sheltered beaches like Umina can be fished in a big north swell.

KB

[Short]

Lots of factors, but in general;

- Swell above 3ft can be difficult unless you find a good gutter. Check a surf report for this, they are put out on a daily basis from a few surfing websites. As mentioned prior direction of swell and beach direction has an impact. We have a long range east swell in the water now until Friday which will get in almost anywhere, predominant swell direction from now until spring is S/SE

- After there has been a big swell event have a good look for seaweed, sometimes it can get pretty thick in the week or so following a big swell

- Onshore/cross shore wind above 15 knots can be unpleasant and makes casting tricky. You can still fish in it but makes things less comfortable and a bit more challenging. I find in winter if you get days and days of cold south westerlies then nothing bites.

- Generally high tide +/- 2 hrs is the go for fishing open beaches

A good trick is to check the surf cams on a few surfing websites. Most beaches in Sydney and a good number of Central Coast and Newcastle beaches have real time cameras on them you can view online from your PC or phone. I find this is a really good way to check conditions before you go and also scope out the gutters and banks at low tide before you get there at high tide.