Southern calamari
Excellent
Spring and autumn are the seasons: the weed beds on the rising tide, slow sinking jigs.
Busselton Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
Geographe Bay and the longest timber jetty in the southern hemisphere: whiting, squid and herring in the calm, and the Capes coast around the corner.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Next tide
Low 2:56 pm model
Air / High
12 °C / 17 °C
Wind
SE 22 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Busselton has cool water and fish holding a little deeper and slower. Today brings clear skies, wind SE around 23 km/h, steady pressure near 1029 hPa and a high of 17 °C. Tides: high 8:06 am and 8:45 pm, low 1:56 am and 2:56 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 a rain chance. 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 Busselton today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:04), sunset (18:16), 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
LOW1:56 am-0.04 m
HIGH8:06 am0.18 m
LOW2:56 pm-0.26 m
HIGH8:45 pm-0.03 m
Sat
LOW2:40 am-0.24 m
HIGH9:10 am0.06 m
LOW3:00 pm-0.20 m
HIGH9:30 pm0.07 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp12 °C
High / Low17 °C / 11 °C
WindSE 22 km/h, gusts 39 km/h
Pressure1028.7 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain15% cloud, 2%
Sunrise / Sunset06:04 / 18:16
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 Busselton
The best day on Busselton 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
- 06:04 to 18:16
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 29 km/h
- Rain chance
- 2%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Busselton: 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 Busselton 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 Busselton 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 19 °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 19 °C, wind to 18 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; fishing from a boat needs the boat licence, and the abalone and rock lobster fisheries of the cape have their own; our Western Australia page has the fees.
About this water
Busselton is a coastal town in Western Australia, Australia, covered from the Western Australia reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Busselton: the full guide
Busselton and Geographe Bay
Busselton sits on Geographe Bay in Western Australia’s south-west, a wide, shallow, north-facing bay sheltered by Cape Naturaliste from the Indian Ocean swell, and its fishing is defined by the Busselton Jetty, which runs almost two kilometres out over the seagrass and the sand and is one of the most fished structures in the state. Around it are the bay’s beaches from Wonnerup to Dunsborough, the Vasse and Wonnerup estuaries, and, beyond the cape, the surf and rock coast of the Margaret River region.
Species by season
Herring and whiting are the jetty and beach fish through the year, the whiting over the sand in the warmer months; squid work the seagrass and the jetty lights in spring and autumn; tailor fish the beaches and the jetty at dusk in the warmer months; and Australian salmon run the beaches and the cape in autumn and winter. Skippy, garfish and the occasional snapper come to the end of the jetty, flathead lie on the sand of the bay, and the deeper bay and the coast beyond the cape fish for dhufish and pink snapper under the West Coast demersal rules for the boats.
Reading this report here
Geographe Bay faces north, so a south-westerly is offshore and calm inside the bay while a northerly or a north-westerly roughs it up: the wind row tells you which. The summer sea breeze ends the afternoon on the jetty. Pressure and sky build the score and the planner shows the day; the tide panel is a modelled curve for these coordinates, labelled as a model, and tides here are small, so it is the direction of the flow that helps, with the Bureau of Meteorology for the times.
Licences and access
Line fishing from the shore is not among Western Australia’s licensed activities; fishing from a boat needs the boat licence, and the abalone and rock lobster fisheries of the cape have their own; our Western Australia page has the fees. The jetty is public with an entry arrangement its foundation publishes, the beaches are open, and ramps at Busselton, Dunsborough and Port Geographe serve the bay.
Common questions
What can I catch from Busselton Jetty?
Herring, whiting, squid, skippy and garfish through the year, tailor at dusk in summer and salmon in the cooler months.
Do I need a licence to fish in Busselton?
Not for line fishing from the shore; the boat licence and the species licences apply where they apply. See our Western Australia page.
Is fishing good at Busselton 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.