Snapper
Excellent
Fish are thinner inshore. Work the deeper structure and the channel edges with baits on the bottom, and pick the tide change.
Port MacDonnell Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
South Australia’s far south-east corner: the crayfish port’s breakwater, the reefs and the beaches, with salmon, whiting, sweep and the Southern Ocean.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Next tide
High 11:06 am model
Air / High
16 °C / 23 °C
Wind
ENE 7 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Port MacDonnell rewards patience today, with cool water and short feeding windows. Today brings a mixed sky, wind ENE around 6 km/h, steady pressure near 1014 hPa and a high of 23 °C. Tides: high 11:06 am, low 6:40 am and 4:56 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 11:15 PM-1:15 AM and 11:43 AM-1:43 PM: the windows to build the day around.
Southern calamari
Excellent
Spring and autumn are the seasons: the weed beds on the rising tide, slow sinking jigs.
Flathead
Good
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.
Australian salmon
Slow
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: 11:15 PM-1:15 AM, 11:43 AM-1:43 PM, 4:53 AM-5:53 AM. Similar at 24 °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 MacDonnell today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:52), sunset (19:50), 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 11:15 PM-1:15 AM and 11:43 AM-1:43 PM; minor 4:53 AM-5:53 AM. New Moon, 0% 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.
Mon
LOW6:40 am-0.29 m
HIGH11:06 am-0.09 m
LOW4:56 pm-0.47 m
Tue
HIGH12:23 am0.47 m
LOW7:10 am-0.19 m
HIGH11:18 am0.00 m
LOW5:30 pm-0.45 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp16 °C
High / Low23 °C / 7 °C
WindENE 7 km/h, gusts 13 km/h
Pressure1013.7 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain47% cloud, 21%
Sunrise / Sunset05:52 / 19:50
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~17 °C est.
Why the tide matters here: tides and fishing in Australia.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Port MacDonnell
The best day on Port MacDonnell 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.
Today, 9 Nov — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 11:15 PM-1:15 AM and 11:43 AM-1:43 PM
- Minor period
- 4:53 AM-5:53 AM
- Sun
- 05:52 to 19:50
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 19 km/h
- Rain chance
- 21%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Port MacDonnell: 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
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.
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 MacDonnell 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 17 °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 MacDonnell today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataSun, Nov 8
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Snapper led the card at excellent. High of 16 °C, wind to 21 km/h.
Sat, Nov 7
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Snapper led the card at excellent. High of 13 °C, wind to 26 km/h.
Fri, Nov 6
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 32 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 Port MacDonnell; 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.
About this water
Port MacDonnell is a coastal town in South Australia, Australia, covered from the South Australia reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Port MacDonnell: the full guide
Port MacDonnell and the cape
Port MacDonnell is the crayfish port on the Southern Ocean south of Mount Gambier, with the breakwater and the harbour, the reefs and the rock platforms of the coast, the beaches running east toward the Victorian border and west to Cape Northumberland and its lighthouse, and the crayfish grounds offshore. It is a harbour-and-reef town on a wild coast, and the report on this page is scored for the town’s coordinates. Portland across the border has its own page.
Species and seasons
Australian salmon run the beaches and the platforms in the cooler months, big ones, and are the coast’s fish; King George whiting fish the harbour and the sand in summer; sweep and trevally work the breakwater and the reefs; squid work the harbour weed; mulloway are the night fish of the beaches; snapper come to the reefs, and here in the South East zone they may be taken under PIRSA’s bag, boat and reporting rules; and the reefs give the odd kingfish. Gummy shark fish the Port MacDonnell beaches at night.
Where to fish it
The breakwater and the harbour walls are the walk-on marks for sweep, trevally, whiting and squid, fished on a south-westerly when the coast is closed, and the beaches east toward the border and west to Cape Northumberland are the salmon and mulloway sand; the platforms at the cape are the exposed rocks for salmon on a calm day. Boats launch inside the harbour.
Reading this report here
The coast faces the Southern Ocean and a south-westerly closes the platforms and the beaches while the harbour and the breakwater stay fishable; the wind row tells you which. The tide panel is a modelled curve for the coordinates of Port MacDonnell, labelled as a model, small on this coast. Pressure and sky build the score at Port MacDonnell; the planner shows the day. The platforms face the open Southern Ocean: fish them only on a small swell, with a lifejacket on and an eye on the sets.
Licence, access and rules
South Australia needs no fishing licence at Port MacDonnell; 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 breakwater, the harbour and the beaches are public, with a ramp in the harbour.
Common questions
What can I catch at Port MacDonnell?
Salmon on the beaches and the platforms in the cooler months, whiting in the harbour in summer, sweep and trevally on the breakwater, squid over the weed, mulloway at night.
Do I need a licence at Port MacDonnell?
No. Port MacDonnell is licence-free; PIRSA’s limits apply, including the South East snapper rules.
Is fishing good at Port MacDonnell 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
- Pages checked
- 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.