Updated Mon, 9 Nov 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.
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Coffin Bay is in its cool-water rhythm: slower presentations and the warmest hours of the day. Today brings clear skies, wind NW around 14 km/h, steady pressure near 1009 hPa and a high of 31 °C. Tides: high 12:20 pm, low 6:45 am and 5:21 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 11:37 PM-1:37 AM and 12:04 PM-2:04 PM: the windows to build the day around.
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, which runs from the southern Fleurieu Peninsula to the Victorian border and includes the south coast of Kangaroo Island (the island's north coast is in the closed Gulf St Vincent/Kangaroo Island zone). No catch and release in the closed zones.
Southern calamari may not be targeted, taken or possessed in the Spencer Gulf and Gulf St Vincent/Kangaroo Island fishing zones since 1 May 2026; PIRSA has published no reopening date.
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: 11:37 PM-1:37 AM, 12:04 PM-2:04 PM, 5:22 AM-6:22 AM. Cooler at 17 °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 (06:19), sunset (20:04), the moon and today's score, with the modelled tide changes in the panel below. Tap a bar to see why.
Solunar majors 11:37 PM-1:37 AM and 12:04 PM-2:04 PM; minor 5:22 AM-6:22 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 Coffin Bay this week looks like Tuesday 10 Nov, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.
Best day this week: Tuesday, 10 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 Coffin Bay: seasons written for the southern year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
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, which runs from the southern Fleurieu Peninsula to the Victorian border and includes the south coast of Kangaroo Island (the island's north coast is in the closed Gulf St Vincent/Kangaroo Island zone). No catch and release in the closed zones. 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.
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.
Closed Southern calamari may not be targeted, taken or possessed in the Spencer Gulf and Gulf St Vincent/Kangaroo Island fishing zones since 1 May 2026; PIRSA has published no reopening date. Rule as read from PIRSA on 2026-09-27.
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.
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 23 °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 19 °C, wind to 21 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 21 °C, wind to 23 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 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.
Coffin Bay is a coastal town in South Australia, Australia, covered from the South Australia reports and listed in all Australia 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, to the east, has its own page.
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 may not be taken or targeted here until 30 June 2027 under the PIRSA closure; flathead lie on the flats; squid work the jetty weed; and the ocean beaches are fished at night for sharks. Yellowtail kingfish run the bay in summer for the boats.
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. Boats launch in the town; National Parks SA warns that the four-wheel-drive track from Yangie Bay to Morgans Landing has deep ruts and soft sand, and that high tides can flood parts of it.
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.
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 charges a vehicle entry fee, paid before you arrive, and its beaches need a four-wheel drive.
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.
No licence is needed in Coffin Bay, as anywhere in South Australia; PIRSA’s limits and the snapper closure apply.
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.