Southern calamari
Excellent
Spring and autumn are the seasons: the weed beds on the rising tide, slow sinking jigs.
Bunbury Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
Koombana Bay, the Leschenault Estuary and the Cut: Bunbury fishes a harbour, an estuary and a coast from the middle of town.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Next tide
Low 3:04 pm model
Air / High
13 °C / 18 °C
Wind
SE 23 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Bunbury rewards patience today, with cool water and short feeding windows. Today brings clear skies, wind SE around 23 km/h, steady pressure near 1028 hPa and a high of 18 °C. Tides: high 8:00 am and 8:45 pm, low 1:50 am and 3:04 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 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.
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.
West Australian dhufish
Good
A good time on the mid-depth reef on the calm days; jigs and baits, slow.
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. Similar at 17 °C with likely rain: fish ahead of the front. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
Before you go
Western Australia requires a fishing licence for most fishing, from A$40.00. Western Australia fishing licence: cost, rules and where to buy →
Chasing west australian dhufish here? Check the size and bag limits with DPIRD WA before you keep anything; the West Australian dhufish page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Bunbury today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:03), sunset (18:15), 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
LOW1:50 am-0.03 m
HIGH8:00 am0.19 m
LOW3:04 pm-0.25 m
HIGH8:45 pm-0.03 m
Sat
LOW2:40 am-0.24 m
HIGH9:00 am0.07 m
LOW2:56 pm-0.22 m
HIGH9:20 pm0.09 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp13 °C
High / Low18 °C / 11 °C
WindSE 23 km/h, gusts 47 km/h
Pressure1028.0 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain21% cloud, 6%
Sunrise / Sunset06:03 / 18:15
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~17 °C est.
Why the tide matters here: tides and fishing in Australia.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Bunbury
The best day on Bunbury this week looks like Saturday 26 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: Saturday, 26 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
- 06:03 to 18:15
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 32 km/h
- Rain chance
- 6%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Bunbury: seasons written for the southern year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
West Australian dhufish
Year-round demersal fishery with a closed season on the West Coast; check DPIRD
Closed Boat-based fishing for demersal scalefish in the West Coast bioregion is closed until spring 2027; DPIRD has published no reopening date. Land-based line fishing is allowed, except spearfishing for dhufish. Rule as read from DPIRD WA on 2026-09-23.
WA's prize demersal. Lives on limestone reef and lumps in 20 to 100 metres from Kalbarri to Augusta; slow-growing and tightly managed. A good time on the mid-depth reef on the calm days; jigs and baits, slow.
Samson fish
Best: summer and autumn off WA
The big amberjack of the west: bruising fights on jigs over the deep reef and around the offshore aggregations in summer. Fewer fish, deeper; jig the wrecks and the deeper lumps on the calm days.
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.
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 Bunbury 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
West Australian dhufish
Samson fish
King George whiting
Southern calamari
Tailor
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 Bunbury 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 18 °C, wind to 16 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Southern calamari led the card at excellent. High of 18 °C, wind to 18 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 18 °C, wind to 19 km/h.
Before you go
Licence
Western Australian recreational fishing licences, from A$40.00, 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 DPIRD WA and change: confirm the current rules on the agency page linked from the Western Australia licence page before you keep anything.
Access
Line fishing from the shore is not among Western Australia’s licensed activities, but fishing from a boat needs the boat licence and the crab and demersal rules apply; our Western Australia licence page has the fees.
About this water
Bunbury is a coastal town in Western Australia, Australia, covered from the Western Australia reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Bunbury: the full guide
Bunbury and its water
Bunbury is the port city of Western Australia’s south-west, on Koombana Bay with the Leschenault Estuary behind it, and its fishing is the bay, the estuary, the Cut that joins them and the coast of beaches and reef that runs south toward Busselton. The Leschenault is a long, shallow estuary fed by the Collie and Preston rivers, the Cut is a rock-walled channel to the sea, the harbour has breakwaters and jetties, and Back Beach and the reef platforms give the ocean side. Most Bunbury searches are for the tide, and this page shows a modelled curve for these coordinates, labelled as a model, with the Bureau of Meteorology prediction linked. The report is scored for the town’s coordinates.
Species by season
Bream fish the estuary and the rivers all year around the snags and the walls, flathead and whiting the estuary sand in the warmer months, and blue swimmer crabs the estuary through summer and autumn with the DPIRD rules to check. Tailor and herring are the beach and jetty fish, tailor best at dusk in the warmer months; Australian salmon run the beaches in the cooler months; mulloway are the night fish of the Cut and the estuary; squid work the weed off the breakwaters; and the offshore reef fishes for dhufish and pink snapper under the West Coast demersal rules.
Reading this report here
The sea breeze runs this coast in summer, so the wind row decides whether the afternoon is worth it; a strong south-westerly makes the ocean side rough and the estuary the place to be. Pressure and sky build the score and the planner shows the day; the tide panel matters most at the Cut, which runs hard, and in the estuary, which follows slowly, so use the curve for the direction and the official prediction for the minute.
Licences and access
Line fishing from the shore is not among Western Australia’s licensed activities, but fishing from a boat needs the boat licence and the crab and demersal rules apply; our Western Australia licence page has the fees. The harbour walls, the Cut, the estuary foreshores and the beaches are public, with ramps in the harbour, at the Cut and on the estuary.
Common questions
Do I need a licence to fish in Bunbury?
Not for line fishing from the shore; fishing from a boat needs the boat licence. See our Western Australia page.
Is fishing good at Bunbury 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.