Sydney Harbour cheat sheet
Every fish, the fee and the limits, the three rigs and the two outfits that fish them, and the rule about eating fish west of the bridge. One page to take to the water.
Sydney Harbour
Summer is the kingfish window. Winter is the bream, squid and salmon season. Flathead and bream fish all year at dawn and dusk.
Licence
You need the NSW recreational fishing fee (covers salt and fresh). Buy it from Service NSW or a tackle shop. 3-day A$7, 1-month A$14, 1-year A$35, 3-year A$85 (2026). Carry proof while you fish.
Size and bag limits
Kingfish 65 cm, bag 5; dusky flathead 36 – 70 cm slot, bag 5; bream 25 cm, bag 10; mulloway 70 cm, bag 2. Release flathead outside the slot. Limits change, so check the current NSW DPI saltwater limits.
Eating your catch (the dioxin rule)
No fish caught west of the Sydney Harbour Bridge should be eaten. East of the bridge, eat no more than 150 g a month (NSW Food Authority). Keep eating fish east of the bridge, within the limits; treat the west as release-only for the table.
Bank vs boat · season · time → rig
| Fish | Land-based | From a boat | Best time | Rig |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yellowtail kingfish | Possible off deep rock ledges (Middle Head, Bradleys Head) on live bait or a jig | Yes, the real edge: the reefs and the heads | Summer; first and last light; a moving tide | Live bait under a balloon, jigging rig or popper and stickbait rig |
| Dusky flathead | Yes, off the sandier bays and channel edges you can reach | Yes, the flats and drop-offs | All year; dawn and dusk; the run-out tide | Light lure on a jigging rig (scaled down) or inshore bait rig (running sinker) |
| Bream | Yes, the main land-based fish, off rocks, wharves and moorings | Yes, around the moorings and structure | All year, strong in winter; low light, moving tide | Light lure, or inshore bait rig (running sinker, small hook, light leader) |
| Squid | Yes, off rock ledges and wharves | Yes | Low light, often best in winter and spring | A squid jig on light tackle (and your kingfish bait) |
Land-based is a real trip: bream, flathead and squid, plus a kingfish chance off a deep ledge. A boat adds the kingfish reefs off the heads.
The rigs
Heavy braid (30 – 50 lb) → FG knot → heavy leader (40 – 80 lb) → metal jig (kingfish); or light braid → light leader → light jighead and soft plastic (flathead, bream)
FG knot (braid to leader) · Palomar (jig/jighead)Heavy braid → FG knot → heavy leader → surface stickbait, heavy spin gear
FG knot (braid to leader) · non-slip loop or Palomar at the lureMain line → sliding ball sinker → bead → swivel → light fluoro leader → snelled bait hook (bream, flathead); a glow bead is a useful touch
Snell (bait hook) · Palomar (swivel)What you need
Bream and flathead are one light outfit and a small box. Kingfish add the heavy outfit, heavy leader, jigs or stickbaits and the balloons.
The knots
| Knot | Ties | Used by |
|---|---|---|
| FG knot | Braid to a heavy leader; thin and strong through the guides. | Kingfish (jigging, stickbaits) |
| Palomar | Hook, swivel, jighead; strong on braid and fluoro, the workhorse. | Every rig |
| Snell knot | A bait hook, laying the line down the shank for a clean hold. | Inshore bait rig |
Learn the FG knot for kingfish (braid to a heavy leader) and the Palomar for everything else. Wet every knot before you pull it tight.
This one page is the printable I take to the water.
Give me an email and I will show it to you, ready to print. A one-page reference: what's on by month, the licence and rules, a rig for every fish, the shared tackle box and the knots.
I'll send you the cheat sheet, and email you when I add a new place to fish. Nothing else.