Snapper
Excellent
Fish are thinner inshore. Work the deeper structure and the channel edges with baits on the bottom, and pick the tide change.
Torquay Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The start of the Great Ocean Road: surf beaches, the Point Danger platforms and the small estuaries, beside the Point Addis Marine National Park.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Next tide
High 11:34 am model
Air / High
14 °C / 19 °C
Wind
ENE 8 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Torquay has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. Today brings a mixed sky, wind ENE around 8 km/h, steady pressure near 1017 hPa and a high of 19 °C. Tides: high 11:34 am, low 5:47 am and 5:27 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 11:30 PM-1:30 AM and 11:58 AM-1:58 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: 11:30 PM-1:30 AM, 11:58 AM-1:58 PM, 5:07 AM-6:07 AM. Warmer at 24 °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 Torquay today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:06), sunset (20:06), 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 11:30 PM-1:30 AM and 11:58 AM-1:58 PM; minor 5:07 AM-6:07 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
LOW5:47 am-0.49 m
HIGH11:34 am0.33 m
LOW5:27 pm-0.95 m
Tue
HIGH12:37 am0.83 m
LOW6:37 am-0.41 m
HIGH12:18 pm0.50 m
LOW6:16 pm-0.99 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp14 °C
High / Low19 °C / 10 °C
WindENE 8 km/h, gusts 13 km/h
Pressure1017.3 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain59% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:06 / 20:06
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 Torquay
The best day on Torquay this week looks like Thursday 12 Nov, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.
Best day this week: Thursday, 12 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
- 11:30 PM-1:30 AM and 11:58 AM-1:58 PM
- Minor period
- 5:07 AM-6:07 AM
- Sun
- 06:06 to 20:06
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Partly cloudy, 19 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Torquay: 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 Torquay 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 Torquay 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 21 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 31 km/h.
Fri, Nov 6
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Snapper led the card at excellent. High of 19 °C, wind to 26 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
At Torquay the Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence applies unless you are exempt; see our Victoria page for the fees.
About this water
Torquay is a coastal town in Victoria, Australia, covered from the Victoria reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Torquay: the full guide
Torquay and the surf coast
Torquay is the surf town at the eastern end of the Great Ocean Road, with Front Beach and Fishermans Beach in the sheltered bay, the surf beaches running towards Jan Juc, the rock platforms at Point Danger and Point Impossible, and the small estuaries of Spring Creek and, a little to the west, the Anglesea River. Between Torquay and Anglesea lies the Point Addis Marine National Park, 4,420 hectares of sandy beach, limestone cliff and intertidal platform that takes in Bells Beach; Parks Victoria describes it as a highly protected park on a high-energy stretch of Bass Strait shoreline. The swell that made this coast famous for surfing is the thing every angler reads first. The report here is calculated for Torquay’s own coordinates.
Species and seasons
Australian salmon are the fish of the surf coast, running the beaches and the rocks in the cooler months, often in big schools; King George whiting feed over the sand and weed of the bay off Front Beach and Fishermans Beach from spring to autumn; squid hunt the weed and the reef edges in spring and autumn; and flathead and gummy shark take baits on the sandy bottom of the bay through the warmer months. Snapper come onto the reefs off the points in spring and summer, bream fish the Anglesea and Spring Creek estuaries, and the platforms give salmon, sweep and the odd kingfish to rock anglers who respect the swell.
Reading this report here
The swell decides the day: a south-westerly drives it onto the beaches and the rocks and closes them, while a northerly flattens the bay and the beaches and is the day to fish. On the surf coast, pressure and sky feed the score and the planner shows the next calm window. The tide panel is a modelled curve for these coordinates, labelled as a model; on this open coast the direction of the tide is what helps, and the Bureau of Meteorology has the official times.
Licence and access
At Torquay the Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence applies unless you are exempt; see our Victoria page for the fees. The beaches, the platforms and the estuary banks are public, with a ramp at Fishermans Beach. Before casting anywhere between Torquay and Anglesea, check the boundary of the Point Addis Marine National Park on the Parks Victoria page, and wear a lifejacket on the rocks; the VFA limits are on the pages in the sources.
Common questions
What can I catch at Torquay?
Salmon on the beaches and rocks in the cooler months, whiting and squid in the bay, flathead and gummy shark on the sand, and snapper on the reefs in spring and summer.
Can I fish at Bells Beach?
Bells Beach lies inside the Point Addis Marine National Park, a highly protected area; check Parks Victoria’s rules and boundary before fishing anywhere between Torquay and Anglesea.
Is fishing good at Torquay 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.