Southern calamari
Excellent
Spring and autumn are the seasons: the weed beds on the rising tide, slow sinking jigs.
Coffin Bay Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The oyster town on the Eyre Peninsula: King George whiting in the bay, salmon on the national park beaches, with the flats, the channels and Point Avoid.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Next tide
Low 5:37 pm model
Air / High
15 °C / 24 °C
Wind
SE 9 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Coffin Bay has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. Today brings a mixed sky, wind SE around 10 km/h, rising pressure near 1025 hPa and a high of 24 °C. Tides: high 11:03 am and 11:17 pm, low 4:56 am and 5:37 pm: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 13 °C for the season (estimated). With the full moon, the solunar majors run 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM: the windows to build the day around.
Australian salmon
Good
The main season. Beach gutters, rock platforms and bay edges on the rising tide; metals, surf poppers and bait all work.
Snapper
Fair
Fish are thinner inshore. Work the deeper structure and the channel edges with baits on the bottom, and pick the tide change.
Flathead
Fair
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.
Tie on: Blade or vibe, slow hops · Lightly weighted plastic · Whole pilchard or squid on the bottom · Suspending hardbody. Prime windows: 10:25 AM-12:25 PM, 10:25 PM-12:25 AM, 4:55 AM-5:55 AM. Cooler at 16 °C with likely rain: fish ahead of the front. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
Before you go
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.
Fishing times for Coffin Bay today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:13), sunset (18:26), the moon and today's score, with the modelled tide changes in the panel below. Tap a bar to see why.
Bite planner
Solunar majors 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM; minor 4:55 AM-5:55 AM. Full Moon, 99% lit.
Water and weather
A modelled tide curve for these coordinates and the forecast for the day.
Tides (modelled)
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.
Fri
LOW4:56 am-0.31 m
HIGH11:03 am0.38 m
LOW5:37 pm-0.40 m
HIGH11:17 pm0.18 m
Sat
LOW5:17 am-0.53 m
HIGH11:23 am0.18 m
LOW5:43 pm-0.64 m
HIGH11:36 pm0.07 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp15 °C
High / Low24 °C / 14 °C
WindSE 9 km/h, gusts 19 km/h
Pressure1025.4 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain34% cloud, 89%
Sunrise / Sunset06:13 / 18:26
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~13 °C est.
Why the tide matters here: tides and fishing in Australia.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Coffin Bay
The best day on Coffin Bay this week looks like Sunday 27 Sept, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today. Every day is scored by the same engine as the report above: pressure trend first, then wind, sky and season. Pick a species and the plan for that day changes with it.
Best day this week: Sunday, 27 Sept — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.
Today, 25 Sept — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM
- Minor period
- 4:55 AM-5:55 AM
- Sun
- 06:13 to 18:26
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 11 km/h
- Rain chance
- 89%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Coffin Bay: seasons written for the southern year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Snapper
Best: October to January in the southern bays
Closed now Reopens 1 July 2027. Closed in the West Coast, Spencer Gulf and Gulf St Vincent/Kangaroo Island zones until 30 June 2027; open only in the South-East zone. No catch and release in the closed zones. Rule as read from PIRSA on 2026-09-23.
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.
King George whiting
Best: December to May in SA; spring and summer in Port Phillip
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
Spring and autumn peaks in the southern bays
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.
Australian salmon
Winter and spring on the southern beaches
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.
Flathead
Best: November to April
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.
When to come: the Coffin Bay calendar
Activity by species and month for the southern year, and how the water warms and cools. Tap any cell.
Species activity by month
1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted. January is midsummer here.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Snapper
King George whiting
Southern calamari
Australian salmon
Flathead
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 13 °C (estimated, not a reading).
Angler reports
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.
No angler reports yetBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Coffin Bay today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataThu, Sep 24
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Southern calamari led the card at excellent. High of 27 °C, wind to 21 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Southern calamari led the card at excellent. High of 26 °C, wind to 14 km/h.
Tue, Sep 22
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Southern calamari led the card at excellent. High of 20 °C, wind to 16 km/h.
Before you go
Licence
South Australia has no general recreational fishing licence; the limits and closures do. Details and where to buy →
Regulations
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.
Access
South Australia needs no fishing licence at Coffin Bay; the size, bag and boat limits, the snapper closure and the national park rules apply, published by PIRSA and linked from this page.
About this water
Coffin Bay is a coastal town in South Australia, Australia, covered from the South Australia reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Coffin Bay: the full guide
Coffin Bay and its waters
Coffin Bay is the town on the sheltered bay of the same name at the southern tip of the Eyre Peninsula west of Port Lincoln, with the oyster leases and the channels of the inner bay, the town jetty and the ramps, the sand flats and weed of Kellidie and Mount Dutton bays, and the Coffin Bay National Park with its Southern Ocean beaches at Almonta, Gunyah and Point Avoid. It is a bay town with an ocean coast behind it, and the report on this page is scored for the town’s coordinates. Port Lincoln has its own page.
Species and seasons
King George whiting fish the weed edges and the sand of the bay from spring to autumn and are the town’s fish; Australian salmon run the national park beaches in the cooler months, big ones; garfish and tommy ruff fish the jetty and the flats; snapper come to the bay’s deeper channels in summer, under the state closure to 2027; flathead lie on the flats; squid work the jetty weed; and the ocean beaches give mulloway at night and sharks for the beach fishers. Yellowtail kingfish run the bay in summer for the boats.
Where to fish it
The town jetty on the Esplanade is the walk-on mark for whiting, garfish and squid, fished on the rising tide and at night, and the flats of Kellidie Bay and the channels toward the oyster leases are the whiting water for wading and small boats; Almonta and Gunyah beaches in the national park are the salmon sand, four-wheel drive from the park gate. The ramps are at the town and the Yangie Bay end.
Reading this report here
The inner bay is sheltered from most winds and the national park beaches face the Southern Ocean, so the wind row decides which: a south-westerly closes the beaches and the bay fishes, a northerly the reverse. The tide panel is a modelled curve for the coordinates of Coffin Bay, labelled as a model, and the channels run on it. Pressure and sky build the score at Coffin Bay; the planner shows the day.
Licence, access and rules
South Australia needs no fishing licence at Coffin Bay; the size, bag and boat limits, the snapper closure and the national park rules apply, published by PIRSA and linked from this page. The jetty, the flats and the beaches are public, with ramps in the town; the park beaches need a four-wheel drive and a park pass.
Common questions
What can I catch in Coffin Bay?
King George whiting on the weed edges from spring to autumn, garfish and tommy ruff at the jetty, squid on the weed, salmon on the national park beaches in the cooler months.
Do I need a licence at Coffin Bay?
No. South Australia has no general recreational fishing licence; the PIRSA limits and the snapper closure still apply.
Is fishing good at Coffin Bay right now?
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.
Nearby waters
Where this page's numbers come from
- Tide curve (modelled)
- Open-Meteo Marine, sea level height including tides
- Open-Meteo forecast model
- https://open-meteo.com/
- Moon and solunar windows
- Calculated on this site
- The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
Readings 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.