Sydney beaches

[Kiduk]

Hi guys, I have a genuine curiosity about the reasons why most of our Sydney beaches usually have rougher conditions compared to the coastal beaches further up north and the south.

I see a lot of youtubers fish top water lures in calmer waters and have an easier time catching worms but where im from where the beaches I usually traverse are between Palm Beach all the way down to Cronulla, the beaches here usually don't have those consistent conditions where swells are low and waves are calmer for allowing more top water fishing in the beach and easy worming.

Does anyone know any good coastal areas that fit this criteria? The only places I've seen are bays like dolls point or the opposite end of palm beach and where narrabeen lagoon is..

[noelm]

All beaches are the same, yet different, some are steep, some are very flat a long way out, some have coarse sand, some have fine sand, some have lots of gutters and rips, some are just the same the entire length of the beach. Then we get a big swell and it all changes.....For Worms, I prefer fine sand, not gritty coarse sand, and a flat section of beach at low tide. 

[noelm]

Just to add, almost all bleachers are curved, so, usually one end will be protected from swell and wind, making it "calm" unless you're there early before the wind comes up, then rough conditions are just a fact of life.

[Rebel]

I fished on the Nth. Beaches on & off for over 20 years.

Avalon, Dy, Collaroy, Freshwater all good beaches to fish.

[DerekD]

On 7/15/2022 at 7:55 PM, Kiduk said:

I see a lot of youtubers fish top water lures in calmer waters and have an easier time catching worms but where im from where the beaches I usually traverse are between Palm Beach all the way down to Cronulla, the beaches here usually don't have those consistent conditions where swells are low and waves are calmer for allowing more top water fishing in the beach and easy worming.

I have to ask.... Could it be simply that the Youtubers only post the videos in which the conditions were right/perfect and everything came together?

Most surf beaches will have similar conditions with the wave layout being impacted by the same factors (e.g. swell size and direction, shape of sand underwater, etc.) so I'd expect to see Youtubers having the same issues that you are depending on the day they head out.

Edited May 2, 2023 by DerekD

[XD351]

Depends on how the beach is oriented, direction and size of swells ( yes there are typically two and from different directions) and how the sand bars have formed up . I generally find Mona vale and curl curl to be rougher than the others , Narrabeen is a funny one and depending on which direction the swell has been coming from may have no real gutters at all along the majority of the beach - just the odd hole and this horrible shore dump . Collaroy is usually fairly calm down near the pipe . General rule is fish the same end as where the main swell is coming from - NE swell fish the north end if you want calmer water . The southern end of Pittwater,Deewhy and Avalon can be fairly smooth especially in a SE swell , north Steyne near the pipe is another spot that I have seen in the past as being calm enough for surface lures also have a look at freshwater  . I use the Surfline app to check out conditions on the beaches -it used to be free but only showed about one minute of live footage and many beaches were locked , now I pay a yearly subscription - around $70 a year and see all the ones they have cameras on and for as long as I want to watch -as much as I detest paying for it it does save me a lot of time and effort as I can see whether the beaches are fishable without spending an hour in the car to do it .

Edited May 2, 2023 by XD351

[XD351]

Had a look on Surfline at 11.30 am- 3/5/23 -with a low at 12.30 pm and a small 1.2m swell ( from Deckee) there are plenty of beaches that look good for a surface lure fish - mid palmie to south palmie ,south Avalon , south deewhy , manly, nth and sth steyne all have sandbars that are still submerged but still deep enough to walk out on and there are a few gutters/ holes  around them . Once the tide runs in it will turn into a shore dump and fishing a lure right in behind the shore dump is the go . It is a bit breezy - Deckee is showing 16.7kph WNW at midday but it is at your back which helps casting distance . I think that this is what the guys in the videos you are watching are doing - fishing the submerged sand bars at near low tide with a small swell ,the Deckee app shows all this info and a whole lot more - it is a must have imho and it is free !