OCEAN CONDITIONS

Arrows show current direction and speed. Strong, consistent flow pushes bait into predictable areas. Look for where two currents converge — bait piles up at these collision points and predators sit just downstream.

The EAC flows south along the NSW coast, breaking off eddies that spread warm water offshore. Peak strength is summer. Bluewater species like marlin and yellowfin follow its edges — find where it separates from the coast.

Where current hits a shelf edge or headland, cold deep water is pushed up. Upwellings are nutrient-rich and attract massive bait schools. Look for colour changes (cold blobs inshore) combined with strong currents at the shelf edge.

Work the downstream side of any obstruction — headlands, reefs, FADs. Deploy lures in the current direction. Trolling with the current is faster but less effective; across or against current keeps bait in the strike zone longer.

A 2m swell with a 14-second period is a long, smooth roller — fishable in a tinny. A 2m swell with a 6-second period is steep and dangerous. Windy shows wave height; check the forecast panel for period. Always check both before heading out.

Larger swell stirs up shallow water, reducing clarity and moving bait off structure. Post-swell, as conditions settle, nutrients are churned up and fish feed aggressively. Often the best fishing is 1–2 days after a blow.

Arrows show the direction waves are travelling (not coming from). Swell from the south wraps around headlands differently to north swell — use this to find protected water on the lee side of points and islands.

Light onshore wind pushes surface bait into coves and bays — predators follow. Wind lanes (streaks of foam on the surface) concentrate floating bait and attract surface-feeding species. Always fish along, not across, a wind lane.

Check the wind 3 days out and compare to wave forecast. Wind typically takes 12–24 hours to generate significant swell. A dying wind day after 2–3 days of blow can be the best fishing of the week — flat calm, churned-up water and hungry fish.

Most Australian coasts get a daily sea breeze in the afternoon (11am–3pm). Early mornings are usually calm. Fish early in summer, especially in WA where the "Fremantle Doctor" comes in strong by lunchtime and makes afternoon fishing dangerous.

Steep depth changes — where the bottom drops from 80m to 300m over a short distance — are fish highways. Bait gets pushed up against these walls by current, and predators stack on the deeper side waiting. The 200m contour line is the magic number offshore.

Isolated deep holes surrounded by shallower water hold fish year-round. Snapper and jewfish sit on the bottom in these depressions during the day and move up to feed at night. Zoom in on the depth map to find localised holes close to shore.

Bathymetry from GEBCO (General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans). Nautical overlays from OpenSeaMap — depth soundings, contour lines, reefs and wrecks appear at zoom 10 and above. Zoom in on the coast to see the detail.

For high-resolution sonar charts and depth soundings, Navionics is the industry standard. Used by charter captains and tournament fishermen worldwide — free to view in browser.