Botany Bay Fishing
Botany Bay Fishing Guide
Botany Bay is one of the best places for recreational fishing, located 13 km south of the centre of Sydney and offering a range of fish such as flathead, bream, and kingfish. The best fishing times for flathead in Botany Bay are from late spring until autumn; bream are most active in late autumn and winter, and kingfish are generally more numerous from late spring to early autumn. Commercial fishing was stopped in the area in 2002, which has led to improved fish stocks and the overall condition of the ecosystem.
Popular Fishing Spots
Molineaux Point / Breakwall
Whether you are fishing from land or from a boat, Kurnell is a popular spot for salmon, bonito, kingfish, and snapper; it is the name given to the area on the southern headland of Botany Bay, providing anglers with accessible fishing spots on the shore and on the rocks.
The Shoreline and Oil Wharf are ideal for structural fishing and bring in bream, trevally, and squid from the shallow sand flats and seagrass beds. Both locations have nearby parking and can be reached on foot with ease. Facilities such as public toilets and picnic areas are available within walking distance. At Dolls Point it is possible to drift over sandy bottoms to catch large flathead, and there is convenient parking as well as easy access from the shore.
The Drums & Bay Markers
The structure is situated in the centre and includes kingfish, jewfish (mulloway), and tailor.
Target Species & Techniques
Common Species
The dusky flathead, yellowfin bream, silver trevally, Australian salmon, kingfish, and calamari squid.
Bait & Rigs
Bait made from live or fresh human-grade foods, for example slimy mackerel, yakkas and pilchards, is superior to ordinary frozen bait, which you can buy at local bait and tackle shops situated around Botany Bay, such as those in the suburbs of Mascot, Brighton-Le-Sands and Kurnell, all of which regularly carry live and fresh bait. The use of live baitfish may be subject to regulation, and if you are collecting bait locally, you will need an NSW recreational fishing licence as well as following the bag and size limits. Ball sinker rigs or paternoster setups are generally the most favoured. Regarding lures, soft plastics and hopping hard-body lures are very effective when targeting flathead and trevally.
Can Getfished tell if fish are biting at Botany Bay, today?
No. Because a forecast cannot truthfully guarantee whether fish are biting at a specific spot right now. Getfished shows the current fishing conditions instead: tide movement, solunar timing, weather, wind, pressure, marine conditions and fishing report derived species history.
Use this information to make informed decisions about where to fish, and to compare conditions across nearby locations. We hope you enjoy using Getfished to find your next great fishing spot!
✨Find out what we learned from analysing 20,000 fishing reports about moon times and fish told us.
