Snapper
Excellent
Fish are thinner inshore. Work the deeper structure and the channel edges with baits on the bottom, and pick the tide change.
Portland Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 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
High 11:50 am model
Air / High
18 °C / 19 °C
Wind
NNE 12 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Portland has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. Today brings cloud cover, wind NNE around 11 km/h, steady pressure near 1014 hPa and a high of 19 °C. Tides: high 12:50 am and 11:50 am, low 7:30 am and 5:50 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 11:41 PM-1:41 AM and 12:09 PM-2:09 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: 11:41 PM-1:41 AM, 12:09 PM-2:09 PM, 5:18 AM-6:18 AM. Similar at 22 °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 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 (06:18), sunset (20:18), 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 11:41 PM-1:41 AM and 12:09 PM-2:09 PM; minor 5:18 AM-6:18 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
HIGH12:50 am0.29 m
LOW7:30 am-0.25 m
HIGH11:50 am-0.08 m
LOW5:50 pm-0.46 m
Tue
HIGH1:21 am0.46 m
LOW8:10 am-0.17 m
HIGH12:15 pm0.00 m
LOW6:21 pm-0.46 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp18 °C
High / Low19 °C / 8 °C
WindNNE 12 km/h, gusts 22 km/h
Pressure1014.3 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain60% cloud, 8%
Sunrise / Sunset06:18 / 20:18
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 Portland
The best day on Portland 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
- 11:41 PM-1:41 AM and 12:09 PM-2:09 PM
- Minor period
- 5:18 AM-6:18 AM
- Sun
- 06:18 to 20:18
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 23 km/h
- Rain chance
- 8%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
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 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 Portland 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 14 °C, wind to 27 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 27 km/h.
Fri, Nov 6
2/5 Slow. The wind owns today. 37 km/h gusts make boat control the real battle. Snapper led the card at excellent. High of 17 °C, wind to 37 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 the VFA says lies only 20 kilometres off Cape Bridgewater. The VFA’s guide adds that Portland has become known as ‘Tuna Town’ for its reliable tuna fishing. 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: the VFA describes deep water of 200 to 500 metres as productive early in the season, schools closer in from the 40-metre line from late May to July, and a summer inshore run that can bring fish in behind the breakers; kingfish are summer fish around Lawrence Rock, the North Shore and the reefs. 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, 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 cloud round out the score, and the seven-day planner shows the calmest window. 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, and the Boating Vic list has two ramps on Lee Breakwater Road in the harbour for the bay and the shelf, plus Narrawong and Nelson along the coast. 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?
The VFA describes bluefin in deep water early in the season, schools closer in from late May to July, and a summer inshore run; 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. Portland is Victorian water, so the Recreational Fishing Licence is needed unless you hold an exemption.
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
- 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.