Southern calamari
Excellent
Spring and autumn are the seasons: the weed beds on the rising tide, slow sinking jigs.
Portland Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
Victoria’s deep-water port on the far west coast: tuna season off the shelf, snapper and whiting in the bay, salmon on the beaches.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Next tide
Low 6:30 pm model
Air / High
13 °C / 17 °C
Wind
SE 7 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Portland rewards patience today, with cool water and short feeding windows. Today brings cloud cover, wind SE around 8 km/h, rising pressure near 1027 hPa and a high of 17 °C. Tides: high 11:56 am and 11:54 pm, low 5:30 am and 6:30 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
Victoria requires a fishing licence for most fishing, from A$10.00. Victoria fishing licence: cost, rules and where to buy →
Chasing snapper here? Check the size and bag limits with VFA before you keep anything; the Snapper page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Portland today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:19), sunset (18:32), 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
LOW5:30 am-0.27 m
HIGH11:56 am0.25 m
LOW6:30 pm-0.29 m
HIGH11:54 pm0.04 m
Sat
LOW6:04 am-0.39 m
HIGH12:00 pm0.11 m
LOW6:30 pm-0.45 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp13 °C
High / Low17 °C / 13 °C
WindSE 7 km/h, gusts 15 km/h
Pressure1026.8 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 88%
Sunrise / Sunset06:19 / 18:32
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 Portland
The best day on Portland 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
- 06:19 to 18:32
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 16 km/h
- Rain chance
- 88%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Portland: 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
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 Portland 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 Portland 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 24 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 15 °C, wind to 16 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 13 °C, wind to 14 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
This is Victorian water: the Recreational Fishing Licence applies to everyone not exempt, from A$10 for three days, with the schedule on our Victoria licence page.
About this water
Portland is a coastal town in Victoria, Australia, covered from the Victoria reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Portland: the full guide
Portland and its coast
Portland is the deep-water port of Victoria’s far south-west, on Portland Bay with the Southern Ocean beyond, and its fishing is a mix of a sheltered bay, a working harbour with breakwaters and a wharf, the surf beaches toward Narrawong and Nelson, the rock platforms of Cape Bridgewater and Cape Nelson, and the shelf, which is close enough to make Portland the tuna town of Victoria. The report on this page is scored for the town’s coordinates and reads the bay and the harbour first; the offshore fishery depends on the swell and the weather windows more than on anything a daily score can hold.
Species through the year
Southern bluefin tuna are the fish Portland is known for, on the shelf in autumn and winter when the weather allows the run; kingfish appear in summer. In the bay, snapper in spring and summer, King George whiting over the weed and sand from spring to autumn, squid off the breakwaters and the wharf in spring and autumn, and flathead and gummy shark on the sand and in the channels. Australian salmon run the beaches in the cooler months, tailor and salmon fish the harbour walls, and the capes give salmon, sweep and the odd kingfish to rock anglers who respect the swell.
Reading this report for Portland
This is Southern Ocean coast and the wind row is the whole story on most days: a south-westerly brings swell into the bay and closes the capes, a northerly flattens the bay and makes the harbour and the beaches fishable. Pressure and sky finish the score, and the planner is the answer to which day to go. The tide panel is a modelled curve for these coordinates, labelled as a model; tides are small here and the curve is for the direction of the flow, with the Bureau of Meteorology prediction for the times.
Licence and access
This is Victorian water: the Recreational Fishing Licence applies to everyone not exempt, from A$10 for three days, with the schedule on our Victoria licence page. The harbour breakwaters, the wharf, the beaches and the capes are public, with ramps in the harbour that serve the bay and the shelf. The VFA limits, including those for tuna, are on the page in the sources; rock fishing on the capes has its own safety rules.
Common questions
When is the tuna season in Portland?
Southern bluefin tuna are on the shelf off Portland in autumn and winter, weather permitting; the species cards on this page rate the bay species, and the offshore run depends on the swell.
Do I need a licence to fish in Portland?
Yes, unless exempt: Victoria’s Recreational Fishing Licence applies.
Is fishing good at Portland 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.