Southern calamari
Excellent
Spring and autumn are the seasons: the weed beds on the rising tide, slow sinking jigs.
Kangaroo Island Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
A big island off the Fleurieu with a coast for every wind: whiting and squid in the sheltered bays, salmon on the southern beaches, snapper on the reefs.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Next tide
Low 5:38 pm model
Air / High
13 °C / 20 °C
Wind
SSE 12 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Kangaroo Island rewards patience today, with cool water and short feeding windows. Today brings cloud cover, wind SSE around 13 km/h, rising pressure near 1027 hPa and a high of 21 °C. Tides: high 10:43 am and 10:56 pm, low 4:39 am and 5:38 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 13 °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 Kangaroo Island today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:07), sunset (18:19), 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
LOW4:39 am-0.29 m
HIGH10:43 am0.35 m
LOW5:38 pm-0.37 m
HIGH10:56 pm0.14 m
Sat
LOW5:20 am-0.43 m
HIGH11:06 am0.18 m
LOW5:39 pm-0.55 m
HIGH11:18 pm0.06 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp13 °C
High / Low20 °C / 13 °C
WindSSE 12 km/h, gusts 21 km/h
Pressure1026.8 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 97%
Sunrise / Sunset06:07 / 18:19
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 Kangaroo Island
The best day on Kangaroo Island 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
- 06:07 to 18:19
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Storms, 14 km/h
- Rain chance
- 97%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Kangaroo Island: 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 Kangaroo Island 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 Kangaroo Island 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 22 °C, wind to 19 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Southern calamari led the card at excellent. High of 19 °C, wind to 19 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 16 °C, wind to 14 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; the size, bag and boat limits, the snapper closure and the marine park zones around the island apply, published by PIRSA and linked from this page.
About this water
Kangaroo Island is a bay or coastal water in South Australia, Australia, covered from the South Australia reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Kangaroo Island: the full guide
The island
Kangaroo Island lies across Backstairs Passage from the Fleurieu Peninsula, reached by ferry from Cape Jervis to Penneshaw, and it is big enough to have a coast for every wind: the sheltered north coast of bays and jetties from Penneshaw to Emu Bay, the wild south coast of surf beaches and cliffs from Pennington Bay to Vivonne Bay, the American River inlet on the east and the Bay of Shoals near Kingscote. It is a whiting, squid and salmon island with snapper on the reefs, fished from the jetties at Kingscote, Penneshaw, Emu Bay and Vivonne Bay, from the beaches and from boats in the bays. The report on this page is scored for the island’s coordinates.
Species and seasons
King George whiting fish the sand-and-weed of the north coast bays and the Bay of Shoals from spring to autumn; squid work the weed off every jetty in spring and autumn; garfish and tommy ruff are jetty fish all year; and Australian salmon run the southern beaches, Vivonne Bay and Pennington Bay in the cooler months in big schools. Snapper come onto the reefs and into the bays in spring and summer, with the PIRSA closures to check, flathead and gummy shark fish the sand of the bays and the inlet, and the American River inlet gives bream and whiting in calm water.
Reading this report here
The island’s advantage is that some shore is always in the lee: the wind row tells you whether the north coast or the south coast fishes today, and the swell decides whether the southern beaches are safe at all. Pressure and sky build the score and the planner shows the day; the tide panel is a modelled curve for these coordinates, labelled as a model, and South Australian tides are irregular, so read it for the direction and take the times from the Bureau of Meteorology.
Rules and access
South Australia needs no fishing licence; the size, bag and boat limits, the snapper closure and the marine park zones around the island apply, published by PIRSA and linked from this page. The jetties, the beaches and the bays are public, with ramps at Kingscote, Penneshaw, Emu Bay, American River and Vivonne Bay; much of the south coast is national park with its own rules.
Common questions
Do I need a fishing licence on Kangaroo Island?
No. South Australia has no recreational fishing licence; PIRSA’s limits, closures and the island’s marine park zones apply.
What can I catch from the Kangaroo Island jetties?
Squid, garfish, tommy ruff and King George whiting in season from Kingscote, Penneshaw, Emu Bay and Vivonne Bay, with salmon on the southern beaches in the cooler months.
Is fishing good at Kangaroo Island 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.