Southern calamari
Excellent
Spring and autumn are the seasons: the weed beds on the rising tide, slow sinking jigs.
Whyalla Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The steel city on Spencer Gulf: the snapper capital of the state, with whiting on the flats, squid off the jetty and the cuttlefish of Point Lowly.
2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Next tide
High 5:17 pm model
Air / High
19 °C / 26 °C
Wind
SSW 8 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Whyalla is in its cool-water rhythm: slower presentations and the warmest hours of the day. Today brings clear skies, wind SSW around 8 km/h, rising pressure near 1023 hPa and a high of 26 °C. Tides: high 5:30 am and 5:17 pm, low 11:26 am and 11:48 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 22 °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 Whyalla 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
HIGH5:30 am0.53 m
LOW11:26 am-0.61 m
HIGH5:17 pm0.79 m
LOW11:48 pm-0.93 m
Sat
HIGH5:47 am0.63 m
LOW11:52 am-0.90 m
HIGH5:47 pm0.73 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp19 °C
High / Low26 °C / 16 °C
WindSSW 8 km/h, gusts 21 km/h
Pressure1023.2 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain9% cloud, 8%
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 Whyalla
The best day on Whyalla this week looks like Saturday 26 Sept, at 4 out of 5, against 2 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 — Tough
Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
- 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, 16 km/h
- Rain chance
- 8%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Whyalla: 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 Whyalla 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 Whyalla 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 14 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 26 °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 22 °C, wind to 13 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 cuttlefish closure at Point Lowly apply, published by PIRSA and linked from this page.
About this water
Whyalla is a coastal town in South Australia, Australia, covered from the South Australia reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Whyalla: the full guide
Whyalla and the gulf
Whyalla is the industrial city of the Eyre Peninsula’s eastern shore, on upper Spencer Gulf south of Port Augusta, with the marina and the jetty in the city, the foreshore and the beaches, Point Lowly and its lighthouse to the north-east where the giant cuttlefish gather each winter, and the deep water of the gulf channel in front. It is the snapper city of South Australia by reputation, and it fishes from the jetty and the marina walls, the beaches and the rocks, and from boats over the channel and the reefs. The report on this page is scored for the city’s coordinates.
Species and seasons
Snapper are the fish Whyalla is known for, in the gulf channel and around the reefs from spring through summer, with the PIRSA closure to check before you plan around them; King George whiting fish the sand-and-weed of the flats from spring to autumn; squid work the weed off the jetty and the marina in spring and autumn; and blue swimmer crabs are the summer and autumn fishery of the flats. Garfish and tommy ruff fish the jetty all year, yellowfin whiting the shallow flats in summer, mulloway are the night fish of the beaches and the marina, and the giant cuttlefish of Point Lowly are protected in their breeding area.
Reading this report here
The gulf is sheltered from the ocean and the wind row matters on the open water, which a southerly chops up; the tide runs strongly in the upper gulf and the tide panel, a modelled curve for these coordinates labelled as a model, is the thing to read for the flats, with the Bureau of Meteorology for the times. Summer heat makes 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 cuttlefish closure at Point Lowly apply, published by PIRSA and linked from this page. The jetty, the marina walls, the foreshore and the beaches are public, with ramps at the marina and the foreshore.
Common questions
Do I need a fishing licence in Whyalla?
No. South Australia has no recreational fishing licence; PIRSA’s limits, the snapper closure and the cuttlefish closure apply.
When is snapper season in Whyalla?
Spring through summer in the gulf channel, subject to the PIRSA snapper closure, which has changed in recent years; the species card rates the month and the PIRSA page is linked in the sources.
Is fishing good at Whyalla right now?
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
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.