Southern calamari
Excellent
Spring and autumn are the seasons: the weed beds on the rising tide, slow sinking jigs.
Queenscliff Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
At the heads of Port Phillip: the harbour, the pier, the Rip and the Bellarine whiting grounds, where the bay meets Bass Strait.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Next tide
Low 3:20 pm model
Air / High
13 °C / 21 °C
Wind
S 5 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Queenscliff is in its cool-water rhythm: slower presentations and the warmest hours of the day. Today brings cloud cover, wind S around 5 km/h, rising pressure near 1026 hPa and a high of 21 °C. Tides: high 9:35 am and 9:39 pm, low 2:30 am and 3:20 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 Queenscliff today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:06), sunset (18:20), 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
LOW2:30 am-0.58 m
HIGH9:35 am0.41 m
LOW3:20 pm-0.34 m
HIGH9:39 pm0.29 m
Sat
LOW3:44 am-0.61 m
HIGH10:22 am0.39 m
LOW4:26 pm-0.61 m
HIGH10:48 pm0.35 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp13 °C
High / Low21 °C / 13 °C
WindS 5 km/h, gusts 16 km/h
Pressure1026.0 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain72% cloud, 80%
Sunrise / Sunset06:06 / 18:20
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 Queenscliff
The best day on Queenscliff 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
- 06:06 to 18:20
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 23 km/h
- Rain chance
- 80%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Queenscliff: 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 Queenscliff 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 Queenscliff 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 19 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 16 °C, wind to 11 km/h.
Tue, Sep 22
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 14 °C, wind to 21 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 unless you are exempt; our Victoria page has the 2026/2027 fees.
About this water
Queenscliff is a coastal town in Victoria, Australia, covered from the Victoria reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Queenscliff: the full guide
Queenscliff and the heads
Queenscliff sits on the Bellarine Peninsula at the western side of the Port Phillip Heads, facing Point Nepean across the Rip, the narrow entrance where the whole bay drains and fills twice a day. It has a harbour with a modern marina and a breakwater, the historic pier, Swan Bay behind the town, the back beach on the ocean side and the Bellarine whiting grounds a short run north. The Rip itself is a serious piece of water and the harbour fishes on it. The report on this page is scored for the town’s coordinates.
Species and seasons
King George whiting fish the sand-and-weed grounds off Queenscliff and St Leonards from spring to autumn and are the town’s fish; snapper come through the heads in spring and hold off the Bellarine through summer; squid work the weed and the pier lights in spring and autumn; and garfish and silver trevally are pier fish all year. Australian salmon run the back beach and the heads in winter, gummy shark and flathead fish the sand in the channels, and the Rip and the reefs outside give kingfish in summer and snapper in winter for the boats that know the water.
Reading this report here
The Rip runs on the tide harder than anywhere else in the bay, and the tide panel, a modelled curve for these coordinates labelled as a model, is for the direction of the run; slack water at the heads is when it can be fished and the Bureau of Meteorology has the times. The wind row decides between the bay side and the back beach, a south-westerly roughing up the ocean side while the harbour stays calm. Pressure and sky build the score and the planner shows the day.
Licence and access
Victoria’s Recreational Fishing Licence applies unless you are exempt; our Victoria page has the 2026/2027 fees. The pier, the harbour breakwater, the back beach and the Swan Bay foreshore are public, with a ramp in the harbour; the marine park zones around the heads and Swan Bay and the VFA limits are on the pages in the sources.
Common questions
What can I catch from Queenscliff pier?
Squid under the lights, garfish, silver trevally and flathead, whiting in season and salmon in winter.
Do I need a licence to fish in Queenscliff?
Yes, unless exempt: the Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence applies.
Is fishing good at Queenscliff 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.