
Snapper
Fish are thinner inshore. Work the deeper structure and the channel edges with baits on the bottom, and pick the tide change.
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
A long jetty on the Limestone Coast: Beachport’s whiting, salmon and squid, Rivoli Bay and the Southern Ocean beaches.
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Beachport has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. Today brings clear skies, wind NNE around 10 km/h, steady pressure near 1013 hPa and a high of 23 °C. Tides: high 11:30 am, low 6:42 am and 4:50 pm: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 17 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:18 PM-1:18 AM and 11:46 AM-1:46 PM: the windows to build the day around.

Fish are thinner inshore. Work the deeper structure and the channel edges with baits on the bottom, and pick the tide change.

Spring and autumn are the seasons: the weed beds on the rising tide, slow sinking jigs.


Fish the deeper channels and the last of the run-out; slower hops with a heavier jighead, and a bait on the bottom as back-up.

The main season. Beach gutters, rock platforms and bay edges on the rising tide; metals, surf poppers and bait all work.
Tie on: Blade or vibe, slow hops · Lightly weighted plastic · Whole pilchard or squid on the bottom · Suspending hardbody. Prime windows: 11:18 PM-1:18 AM, 11:46 AM-1:46 PM, 4:57 AM-5:57 AM. Similar at 23 °C. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
South Australia has no general fishing licence, but rules and permits apply. South Australia fishing licence: cost, rules and where to buy →
Chasing snapper here? Check the size and bag limits with PIRSA before you keep anything; the Snapper page has the seasons and the tactics.
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:55), sunset (19:52), the moon and today's score, with the modelled tide changes in the panel below. Tap a bar to see why.
Solunar majors 11:18 PM-1:18 AM and 11:46 AM-1:46 PM; minor 4:57 AM-5:57 AM. New Moon, 0% lit.
A modelled tide curve for these coordinates and the forecast for the day.
Modelled sea level curve from Open-Meteo Marine for these coordinates, datum mean sea level. Fish the moving water either side of each change.
A model, not the official prediction: times can drift by tens of minutes inside bays and estuaries. Check the Bureau of Meteorology tide predictions for the exact times before you rely on them.
Latest readings
Why the tide matters here: tides and fishing in Australia.
The best day on Beachport this week looks like Wednesday 11 Nov, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.
Best day this week: Wednesday, 11 Nov — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
The species that matter on Beachport: seasons written for the southern year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Open all year This water is in the South-East fishing zone, which runs from the southern tip of the Fleurieu Peninsula to the Victorian border: the one zone where snapper may be taken until 30 June 2027, under the daily size, bag and boat limits, with every snapper reported to PIRSA Rule as read from PIRSA on 2026-09-27.
The southern headline fish. Runs into Port Phillip, Western Port, the gulfs and the WA sounds in spring to spawn; holds on reef and rubble the rest of the year. Fish are thinner inshore. Work the deeper structure and the channel edges with baits on the bottom, and pick the tide change.

The table fish of the south. Feeds over sand patches between weed and reef in 2 to 10 metres, mostly by day, mostly on the moving tide. Deeper sand patches and the middle of the day; slower bites, bigger fish.

Southern calamari over weed and sand in 2 to 10 metres of the bays and gulfs; a jig fishery at dawn, dusk and under the jetty lights. Spring and autumn are the seasons: the weed beds on the rising tide, slow sinking jigs.

Not a salmon at all: a hard-fighting schooling fish of the surf and the bays, from WA around to NSW. Great on light gear, poor on the plate. The main season. Beach gutters, rock platforms and bay edges on the rising tide; metals, surf poppers and bait all work.

Dusky flathead in the eastern estuaries, sand flathead in the southern bays. An ambush predator lying on sand and mud edges waiting for whatever the tide brings. Fish the deeper channels and the last of the run-out; slower hops with a heavier jighead, and a bait on the bottom as back-up.
Activity by species and month for the southern year, and how the water warms and cools. Tap any cell.
1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted. January is midsummer here.
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 17 °C (estimated, not a reading).
Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. Nothing here is copied from a shop or a charter. The water log below tracks each day automatically.
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Snapper led the card at excellent. High of 18 °C, wind to 19 km/h.
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Snapper led the card at excellent. High of 14 °C, wind to 26 km/h.
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Snapper led the card at excellent. High of 17 °C, wind to 34 km/h.
South Australia has no general recreational fishing licence; the limits and closures do. Details and where to buy →
Size and bag limits, closed seasons and marine park zones are set by PIRSA and change: confirm the current rules on the agency page linked from the South Australia licence page before you keep anything.
South Australia needs no fishing licence at Beachport; the size, bag and boat limits, the South East snapper rules and the rock lobster rules apply, published by PIRSA and linked from this page.
Beachport is a coastal town in South Australia, Australia, covered from the South Australia reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Beachport is the town on Rivoli Bay on the Limestone Coast between Robe and Millicent, with the long jetty, the sheltered bay and its beach, the Southern Ocean beaches and the salmon holes on the ocean side of the cape, the Pool of Siloam salt lake behind the town and the reefs and the crayfish grounds offshore. It is a jetty town with an ocean coast behind it, and the report on this page is scored for the town’s coordinates. Robe has its own page.
King George whiting fish the bay’s sand and weed and the jetty from spring to autumn and are the town’s fish; Australian salmon run the ocean beaches and the salmon holes in the cooler months, big ones; squid work the jetty weed; garfish and tommy ruff fish the jetty; mulloway are the night fish of the ocean beaches; flathead lie on the bay sand; snapper come to the reefs, and this is PIRSA’s South East zone, the one part of the state where snapper may be taken, under bag, boat and catch-reporting rules; and the reefs give the odd kingfish in summer for the boats. Sweep and trevally fill the jetty.
Beachport jetty is the walk-on mark for whiting, squid and garfish, fished at night under the lights and from the outer end at dawn, and the bay beach beside the town is the whiting and flathead sand; the salmon holes on the ocean side of the cape, reached by the Bowman Scenic Drive, are the salmon and mulloway water, and Beachport Conservation Park has its own back beach, reached by a two- and four-wheel-drive track. The ramp is at the town.
The bay is sheltered from the south-westerly that closes the ocean beaches, so the wind row decides which: the beaches on a northerly, the jetty and the bay on a south-westerly. The tide panel is a modelled curve for the coordinates of Beachport, labelled as a model, small on this coast. Pressure and sky build the score at Beachport; the planner shows the day.
South Australia needs no fishing licence at Beachport; the size, bag and boat limits, the South East snapper rules and the rock lobster rules apply, published by PIRSA and linked from this page. The jetty, the bay beach and the ocean beaches are public, with a ramp at the town; the conservation park’s track to the back beach is signposted for two- and four-wheel drives.
King George whiting from spring to autumn, squid over the weed, garfish and tommy ruff, sweep and trevally, salmon in the cooler months.
No. Beachport needs no licence; PIRSA’s limits apply, including the South East snapper bag and reporting rules.
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Pablo Ruiz QuinteroReadings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on How our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.