Tailor
Excellent
The main run. Fish the gutters and headlands into the evening; ganged pilchards, metals, and a wire-free trace only if you accept the bite-offs.
Barwon Heads Fishing Report
Updated Sat, 26 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Barwon River mouth at the Bluff: bream and whiting in the river, salmon on Thirteenth Beach and the bluff’s rocks, with the Bellarine’s tide people search for.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Next tide
Low 3:44 am model
Air / High
12 °C / 14 °C
Wind
SSW 19 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Barwon Heads rewards patience today, with cool water and short feeding windows. Today brings cloud cover, wind SSW around 19 km/h, rising pressure near 1028 hPa and a high of 14 °C. Tides: high 10:22 am and 10:48 pm, low 3:44 am and 4:26 pm: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 18 °C for the season (estimated). With the full moon, the solunar majors run 11:16 PM-1:16 AM and 11:16 AM-1:16 PM: the windows to build the day around.
Bream
Fair
Slow the retrieve right down: blades and lightly weighted plastics along the deeper rock walls and drop-offs, or unweighted bait drifted into the snags.
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.
Mulloway
Fair
The estuary fish move to the deeper reaches. Long, quiet sessions on the bottom with fresh bait across the top of the tide.
Tie on: Blade or vibe, slow hops · Lightly weighted plastic · Whole pilchard or squid on the bottom · Suspending hardbody. Prime windows: 11:16 PM-1:16 AM, 11:16 AM-1:16 PM, 5:46 AM-6:46 AM. Similar at 14 °C. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
Before you go
Victoria requires a fishing licence for most fishing, from A$10.00. Victoria fishing licence: cost, rules and where to buy →
Chasing bream here? Check the size and bag limits with VFA before you keep anything; the Bream page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Barwon Heads today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:05), sunset (18:21), 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 11:16 PM-1:16 AM and 11:16 AM-1:16 PM; minor 5:46 AM-6:46 AM. Full Moon, 100% 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.
Sat
LOW3:44 am-0.60 m
HIGH10:22 am0.38 m
LOW4:26 pm-0.61 m
HIGH10:48 pm0.34 m
Sun
LOW4:53 am-0.78 m
HIGH11:13 am0.34 m
LOW5:13 pm-0.89 m
HIGH11:45 pm0.45 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp12 °C
High / Low14 °C / 11 °C
WindSSW 19 km/h, gusts 33 km/h
Pressure1027.5 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 97%
Sunrise / Sunset06:05 / 18:21
MoonFull Moon, 100%
Water temp (seasonal)~18 °C est.
Why the tide matters here: tides and fishing in Australia.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Barwon Heads
The best day on Barwon Heads 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, 26 Sept — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 11:16 PM-1:16 AM and 11:16 AM-1:16 PM
- Minor period
- 5:46 AM-6:46 AM
- Sun
- 06:05 to 18:21
- Moon
- Full Moon, 100% lit
- Sky and wind
- Storms, 26 km/h
- Rain chance
- 97%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Barwon Heads: seasons written for the southern year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Bream
Year-round; summer and autumn in the estuaries, winter at the mouths
Yellowfin bream on the east coast, black bream in the southern estuaries. Structure fish: rock walls, jetty piles, oyster racks, snags and pontoons. Slow the retrieve right down: blades and lightly weighted plastics along the deeper rock walls and drop-offs, or unweighted bait drifted into the snags.
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.
Mulloway
Best: summer and autumn, especially after rain
Jewfish. The big silver prize of the estuaries, breakwalls and surf beaches: nocturnal, tide-driven and unforgiving of noise. The estuary fish move to the deeper reaches. Long, quiet sessions on the bottom with fresh bait across the top of the tide.
Tailor
Autumn and winter on the east coast; August to September on Fraser Island
The surf and rock fish of the east coast, running north in autumn and winter. Fast, toothy and best at dawn, dusk and into the dark. The main run. Fish the gutters and headlands into the evening; ganged pilchards, metals, and a wire-free trace only if you accept the bite-offs.
When to come: the Barwon Heads 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
Bream
Flathead
Mulloway
Tailor
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 18 °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 Barwon Heads today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataFri, Sep 25
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Tailor led the card at excellent. High of 22 °C, wind to 18 km/h.
Thu, Sep 24
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Tailor led the card at excellent. High of 25 °C, wind to 14 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Tailor led the card at excellent. High of 16 °C, wind to 11 km/h.
Before you go
Licence
Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence (RFL), from A$10.00, the same for residents and visitors. Details and where to buy →
Regulations
Size and bag limits, closed seasons and marine park zones are set by VFA and change: confirm the current rules on the agency page linked from the Victoria licence page before you keep anything.
Access
Victoria’s Recreational Fishing Licence applies at Barwon Heads unless you are exempt; fees on our Victoria page.
About this water
Barwon Heads is a coastal town in Victoria, Australia, covered from the Victoria reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Barwon Heads: the full guide
Barwon Heads and the Bluff
Barwon Heads is the village at the mouth of the Barwon River on the Bellarine Peninsula, with the Bluff and its rock platforms at the river mouth, the river’s jetties and flats running back through the village to Lake Connewarre, the bridge across to Ocean Grove and Thirteenth Beach running west toward Breamlea. It is a river-mouth village on a tidal river, and most searches for it are for the tide; the panel on this page shows a modelled curve for the coordinates of Barwon Heads, labelled as a model, with the Bureau of Meteorology’s prediction linked. Ocean Grove has its own page.
Species and seasons
Black bream fish the river’s jetties, the bridge and the snags all year and are the village’s fish; King George whiting fish the river flats and the mouth sand in summer; flathead lie on the river sand from spring to autumn; Australian salmon run Thirteenth Beach and the Bluff in the cooler months; mulloway are taken in the river at night in summer; squid work the Bluff weed; estuary perch push up toward Connewarre; and the reef off the Bluff gives snapper for the boats through the mouth. Lake Connewarre above is a wildlife reserve with its own rules.
Where to fish it
The river jetties along Ewing Blyth Drive and the bridge to Ocean Grove are the bream marks, fished on the run-in and at night, and the flats upriver toward Lake Connewarre are the whiting and flathead water; the Bluff platforms at the mouth are the salmon and squid rocks, and Thirteenth Beach west of the Bluff is the salmon and gummy beach. The ramp is on the river at the village.
Reading this report here
The river runs hard on the tide and the modelled curve is for the direction, with the Bureau for the minute; the coast outside faces south and a south-westerly closes the beach and the Bluff while the river stays fishable. Pressure and sky build the score at Barwon Heads; the planner shows the day.
Licence, access and rules
Victoria’s Recreational Fishing Licence applies at Barwon Heads unless you are exempt; fees on our Victoria page. The jetties, the bridge and the Bluff are public, with a ramp on the river; the VFA limits and the Connewarre reserve rules are in the sources.
Common questions
What can I catch in the Barwon River?
Black bream all year at the jetties and the bridge, whiting on the flats in summer, flathead on the sand in the warm months, mulloway at night in summer.
Do I need a licence at Barwon Heads?
Yes, unless exempt: the Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence.
Is fishing good at Barwon Heads 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.