Southern calamari
Excellent
Spring and autumn are the seasons: the weed beds on the rising tide, slow sinking jigs.
Port Augusta Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The top of Spencer Gulf: a tidal creek city where the gulf narrows to a channel, with snapper, whiting, mulloway and blue swimmer crabs on a strong tide.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Next tide
High 5:48 pm model
Air / High
18 °C / 33 °C
Wind
S 13 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Port Augusta has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. Today brings a mixed sky, wind S around 13 km/h, steady pressure near 1023 hPa and a high of 33 °C. Tides: high 5:50 am and 5:48 pm, low 12:04 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 27 °C. 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 Port Augusta today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:05), sunset (18:17), 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
HIGH5:50 am0.67 m
LOW12:04 pm-0.88 m
HIGH5:48 pm1.02 m
Sat
LOW12:21 am-1.16 m
HIGH6:10 am0.84 m
LOW12:34 pm-1.15 m
HIGH6:18 pm1.00 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp18 °C
High / Low33 °C / 15 °C
WindS 13 km/h, gusts 24 km/h
Pressure1023.1 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain29% cloud, 12%
Sunrise / Sunset06:05 / 18:17
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 Port Augusta
The best day on Port Augusta this week looks like Saturday 26 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: Saturday, 26 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
- 06:05 to 18:17
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 23 km/h
- Rain chance
- 12%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Port Augusta: 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 Port Augusta 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 Port Augusta 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 32 °C, wind to 16 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 28 °C, wind to 11 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 24 °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; the size, bag and boat limits, the snapper closure, the crab rules and the upper gulf marine park zones apply, published by PIRSA and linked from this page.
About this water
Port Augusta is a coastal town in South Australia, Australia, covered from the South Australia reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Port Augusta: the full guide
Port Augusta and the gulf
Port Augusta sits at the very top of Spencer Gulf, where the gulf narrows to a channel of tidal creeks, mudflats and mangroves between the Flinders Ranges and the Eyre Peninsula, and the city straddles the water with bridges, wharves and a foreshore on both sides. It is warm, shallow, saline water with a strong tide for South Australia, and it fishes from the wharves, the bridges and the creek mouths, and from boats down the channel toward Whyalla. The report on this page is scored for the city’s coordinates.
Species and seasons
Snapper are the fish the upper gulf is known for, in the channel and the deeper water in spring and summer, with the PIRSA closure to check before anything else; King George whiting fish the sand-and-weed of the channel edges from spring to autumn; mulloway are the night fish of the bridges and the channel; and blue swimmer crabs are the summer and autumn fishery of the flats and the creeks. Yellowfin whiting fish the shallow flats in summer, garfish and tommy ruff the wharves, salmon trout and flathead the creek mouths, and the mangrove creeks give bream and the occasional black bream.
Reading this report here
The upper gulf is sheltered from the ocean and the wind row matters mainly on the open channel, which a southerly chops up; the tide runs harder here than almost anywhere in the state, so the tide panel, a modelled curve for these coordinates labelled as a model, is the thing to read for the flats and the creeks, with the Bureau of Meteorology for the times. Summer heat makes the water warm and the dawn the time; pressure and sky build the score and the planner shows the day.
Rules and access
South Australia needs no fishing licence; the size, bag and boat limits, the snapper closure, the crab rules and the upper gulf marine park zones apply, published by PIRSA and linked from this page. The wharves, the bridges and the foreshore are public, with ramps in the city and at the creeks.
Common questions
Do I need a fishing licence in Port Augusta?
No. South Australia has no recreational fishing licence; PIRSA’s limits, the snapper closure and the marine park zones apply.
What can I catch at Port Augusta?
Snapper in season, King George and yellowfin whiting, mulloway at night around the bridges, blue swimmer crabs in summer and autumn, and garfish and tommy ruff from the wharves.
Is fishing good at Port Augusta 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.