Best time to fish in Nambucca Heads
Today, Friday, October 30, 2026 · local time (GMT+11) · New South Wales, Australia Today, Fri, Oct 30 · GMT+11- High tides
- 11:52 am
- Major periods
- 2:50–4:50 am and 3:23–5:23 pm
- Solunar activity
- Medium
- Sun
- 5:55 am–7:09 pm
Today, Friday, October 30, the best time to fish in Nambucca Heads is 6:40 pm to 7:30 pm, with the 6:42 pm low tide, sunset and a light onshore breeze. It's a good day (7/10). The best day this week is Sunday, November 1, at 7/10.
Your day in Nambucca Heads at a glance
The strip runs from midnight to midnight, local time. Night in gray, daylight in yellow; the blue curve is the tide; below, the solunar periods and the best windows.
Fishing forecast for the next 7 days
| Day | Rating | Best times | High tides | Moon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Today | 7good day | 6:40–7:30 pm5:30–6:10 am | ▲ 11:52 am | Waning gibbous |
| Sat 31 | 7good day | 5:00–6:30 am6:50–7:40 pm | ▲ 12:28 am ▲ 12:51 pm | Waning gibbous |
| Sun 1 | 7good day | 5:30–7:00 am6:40–7:20 pm | ▲ 1:42 am ▲ 1:57 pm | Waning gibbous |
| Mon 2 | 6average day | 6:40–7:40 pm5:50–8:50 am | ▲ 3:03 am ▲ 3:07 pm | Last quarter |
| Tue 3 | 5average day | 3:20–5:20 pm7:50–10:50 am | ▲ 4:18 am ▲ 4:16 pm | Waning crescent |
| Wed 4 | 5average day | 5:20–6:20 am7:30–9:30 am | ▲ 5:19 am ▲ 5:17 pm | Waning crescent |
| Thu 5 | 5average day | 5:20–6:20 am5:10–7:10 pm | ▲ 6:10 am ▲ 6:09 pm | Waning crescent |
Each day's rating comes from the tide, the solunar periods, the light and, when we have the forecast, the weather.
What can you catch in Nambucca Heads?
Sport fishing species with the most records within about 62 mi of Nambucca Heads: Australasian snapper, bluefish, yellowtail amberjack, John Dory and striped mullet. October is one of the months when these are seen most: Australasian snapper and John Dory.
- Australasian snapper Pagrus auratus · fish · 42 records Photo: Gary Brooks · CC BY 4.0 · GBIF
- JanJ
- FebF
- MarM
- AprA
- MayM
- JunJ
- JulJ
- AugA
- SepS
- OctO
- NovN
- DecD
- Bluefish Pomatomus saltatrix · fish · 38 records Photo: SEFSC Pascagoula Laboratory; Collection of Brandi Noble, NOAA/NMFS/SEFSC. · public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Too few sightings to tell the months
- Yellowtail amberjack Seriola lalandi · fish · 32 records Photo: Nholtzha · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- JanJ
- FebF
- MarM
- AprA
- MayM
- JunJ
- JulJ
- AugA
- SepS
- OctO
- NovN
- DecD
- John Dory Zeus faber · fish · 27 records Photo: de:Benutzer:Kleines.Opossum · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- JanJ
- FebF
- MarM
- AprA
- MayM
- JunJ
- JulJ
- AugA
- SepS
- OctO
- NovN
- DecD
- Striped mullet Mugil cephalus · fish · 27 records Photo: Roberto Pillon · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Too few sightings to tell the months
- Skipjack tuna Katsuwonus pelamis · fish · 9 records Photo: Wikimedia Commons · public domain
Too few sightings to tell the months
- Almaco jack Seriola rivoliana · fish · 8 records Photo: Kare · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Too few sightings to tell the months
- Shortfin mako Isurus oxyrinchus · shark · 6 records Photo: Mark Conlin, SWFSC Large Pelagics Program · public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Too few sightings to tell the months
These are sightings and catches recorded since 1970 (reports from divers and anglers, scientific surveys and museum collections), not a promise that you will catch them. The months come from sightings only, adjusted for how many there are each month; hatched months have too few to tell.
Source: GBIF.org, which also gathers OBIS data. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY 4.0, from 1,130 datasets (retrieved October 24, 2026). Where the data comes from
Photos: each species' image on Wikidata (Wikimedia Commons) or, if there isn't one, one from GBIF; only licences that allow this use, each with its author and licence.
Piers, ramps and tackle shops nearby
Map: OpenFreeMap · © OpenMapTiles · © OpenStreetMap contributors
- Jetty 1.5 mi
- Wellington Drive Boat Ramp Facilities: High tide only · 1 lane · up to 10 trailer spaces · free · in poor condition 0.1 mi
- Gordon Park Boat Ramp Facilities: Shallow at times · 2 lanes · up to 10 trailer spaces · restrooms · fish-cleaning table · lighting · free 0.3 mi
- RSL Boat Ramp Facilities: 2 lanes · up to 10 trailer spaces · fish-cleaning table · free · in poor condition 0.4 mi
- Shelly Beach Boat Ramp Facilities: 2 lanes · up to 10 trailer spaces · restrooms · fish-cleaning table · free · in poor condition 0.6 mi
- Stuart Island - Nambucca Heads Facilities: 2 lanes · 23 trailer spaces · restrooms · fish-cleaning table · dock · lighting · free 1.2 mi
- Valla Reserve Boat Ramp Facilities: High tide only · 1 lane · 21–50 trailer spaces · restrooms · fish-cleaning table · free 2.5 mi
- Boultons Crossing Boat Ramp Facilities: Shallow at times · 1 lane · up to 10 trailer spaces · restrooms · fee 4.7 mi
- Belmore Channel - South Nambucca Facilities: Shallow at times · 1 lane · fuel · free · in poor condition 4.8 mi
- Nursery Road Boat Ramp 5.9 mi
- Newee Creek - Macksville Facilities: Shallow at times · 1 lane · free · in poor condition 6.1 mi
- Inner Harbour 0.3 mi
Within 9.3 mi. A spot may be missing or closed. Open the map on OpenStreetMap · Missing one? Add it to OpenStreetMap
Spots: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Overture Maps. Boat ramp facilities: Transport for NSW (CC BY 4.0).
How we work out the best time
We score every moment of the day, every 10 minutes, with simple rules anglers have used for decades:
- Tide: 2 to 3.5 points in the hour before and the hour after each high and low tide. Spring tides (high coefficient) score more, because the water moves faster.
- Solunar: 2.5 points in the major periods (moon overhead or underfoot) and 1.5 in the minor ones (moonrise and moonset).
- Light: 2 points at dawn and dusk, from first light to the end of the morning golden hour and from the evening golden hour to the end of twilight.
- Weather: falling pressure adds 1 point and rising pressure takes 1 away; wind takes points away from force 4 (about 12 mph), up to 5 points in a gale; waves of 1.6 ft to 4.9 ft add half a point (they stir up the water) and from 8.2 ft they take points away (up to 4).
- Best windows: the stretches of 40 minutes to 3 hours with the most points, at least an hour apart.
- Day's rating out of 10: the best window (up to 5), the moon (up to 2, near new or full moon), the tide coefficient (up to 2) and whether a solunar period lines up with sunrise or sunset (1). Without a tide, we score out of 8 and scale it to 10. Good weather adds up to 1 point and bad weather pulls it down.
Today: best window 3.5 of 5, moon 1 of 2, coefficient 1.5 of 2 and lineup 0 of 1; the weather adds 0.5.
It's a guide, not a guarantee: fish don't read tide tables. Always check the sea conditions and local fishing rules before you go.
Learn more
Fishing rules in Nambucca Heads
Licenses, size limits, bag limits and closed seasons are set by the authorities and change often. We don't copy them here: check the official website before you go.
Questions about fishing in Nambucca Heads
What's the best time to fish in Nambucca Heads today?
6:40 pm to 7:30 pm, with the 6:42 pm low tide, sunset and a light onshore breeze. Also 5:30 am to 6:10 am and 10:50 am to 12:50 pm. Today's rating: 7/10 (good day).
What about tomorrow? When's the best time to fish in Nambucca Heads?
Tomorrow, Saturday, October 31: 5:00 am to 6:30 am, with a rating of 7/10.
Which day this week is best for fishing in Nambucca Heads?
Sunday, November 1, at 7/10. Its best window is 5:30 am to 7:00 am.
What can you catch in Nambucca Heads?
Sport fishing species with the most records within about 62 mi of Nambucca Heads: Australasian snapper, bluefish, yellowtail amberjack, John Dory and striped mullet. October is one of the months when these are seen most: Australasian snapper and John Dory. These are sightings and catches recorded in GBIF and OBIS, not a promise that you will catch them.
When are the solunar periods in Nambucca Heads today?
Major: 2:50–4:50 am and 3:23–5:23 pm. Minor: 8:20–9:20 am and 11:24 pm–12:24 am. Solunar activity today: medium.
Does the tide affect fishing in Nambucca Heads?
Yes. Today high tide is at 11:52 am and low tide at 5:08 am and 6:42 pm, with a tide coefficient of 77 (average tides). The hours around each tide change tend to fish best, because moving water carries food.
How is the rating worked out?
From the tide, the solunar periods, the light at dawn and dusk, the moon phase and, when we have the forecast, the pressure, the wind and the waves. Each factor gives a fixed number of points and the rating sums them up out of 10.
Does it take the weather into account?
Yes. During today's best window: steady pressure (30.21 inHg) and light onshore wind (5 mph). Strong wind and big waves lower the rating; falling pressure raises it a little.
What are the fishing rules in Nambucca Heads?
Recreational fishing rules in Nambucca Heads (licenses, size limits, bag limits and closed seasons) are set by the authorities: NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. They change often: check the official website before you go.
More about Nambucca Heads today
Our own calculation: tide from Coffs Harbour (TICON-4), sun and moon with astronomy-engine and, when available, weather and sea from Open-Meteo (ECMWF, NOAA GFS and Copernicus Marine, CC BY 4.0). Slackwater database (https://github.com/openwatersio/slackwater-database). Source: Hart-Davis, M., Dettmering, D., Seitz, F. (2025), TICON-4: TIdal CONstants based on GESLA-4 sea-level records, SEANOE, https://doi.org/10.17882/109129. Licensed CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Modified: see https://github.com/openwatersio/slackwater-database#modifications-to-source-data