Go Fishing - Coffs Coast
Famed as an outstanding fishing destination offering an almost limitless array of angling options and targets, the NSW Mid North Coast is high on the list of hardcore sportfishermen and family fishos alike.
Coffs Harbour, a popular tourist destination famed for its iconic “Big Banana” and great beaches, is the central hub for what’s become known as the “Coffs Coast”, an expanse of highly fishy territory extending from Wooli in the north down to Nambucca in the south.
The Coffs Coast is also home to the oldest marine park in NSW, the Solitary Islands Marine Park (SIMP), which encompasses 71,000 ha and extends along 100 km of coast from Coffs Harbour up to Sandon River in the north.
Like all NSW marine parks, SIMP consists of special rules and zones. If you’re planning a fishing trip to this region with family or friends, it’s important to familiarise yourself with the rules before heading out and wetting a line. Penalties can apply for fishing in the wrong area.
Download the department’s free “FishSmart” app onto your smart phone or tablet. The Fishsmart app includes all NSW marine park maps so you can tell where you are in real time plus features local weather and tides, bag and size limit information and much more. You can also download a SIMP guide and map from the Solitary Islands Marine Park page.
The Coffs Coast offers plenty of great fishing and spearfishing options for locals and visitors like. Depending on the season, you can target Australian bass in the upper reaches of most of the local creeks and rivers and then work your way downstream for a chance at mangrove jack plus all the other popular estuary species. Then you’ve got mulloway off the rocks and beaches, snapper, kingfish and Spanish mackerel on the inshore reefs, tasty deep-water species including bar cod and hapuka out on the continental shelf line and pelagic speedsters in the form of blue marlin, wahoo and yellowfin tuna in the blue water. Taken all together, it’s not hard to see that Coffs really does offer it all!
Given it’s such a popular tourist destination, the Coffs region provides plenty of accommodation options to suit visiting anglers and their families with plenty to see and do when you’re not out on the water.
With year-round access and a diverse array of fishing options from the rivers to the ocean, Coffs is a great place for fishers of all skill levels to visit. Hopefully the info in this Coffs Coast Go Fishing guide will help you plan your trip to this amazing location!
Guide
Go Fishing - Coffs Coast (PDF, 3764.47 KB)
