Spanish mackerel
Excellent
Prime. Trolled baits and hardbodies over structure on the tide change, or high-speed metals cast at surface schools.
Coral Bay Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Ningaloo reef from the beach: Bills Bay and the lagoon, the sanctuary zones and the outer reef, with the spangled emperor, the trevally and the mackerel of the reef edge.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Next tide
Low 2:57 pm model
Air / High
23 °C / 28 °C
Wind
SSW 22 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Coral Bay has the water in the comfortable band where most of its fish feed through the day. Today brings clear skies, wind SSW around 23 km/h, steady pressure near 1019 hPa and a high of 28 °C. Tides: high 8:39 am and 9:10 pm, low 2:45 am and 2:57 pm: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 26 °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.
Barramundi
Fair
Work the colour changes and the snags on the run-out; larger swimbaits and slow-rolled plastics in the impoundments.
Tie on: Soft plastic on a 1/4 oz jighead · Small hardbody, shallow diver · Squid jig, size 3.0 · Fresh pipi or worm on a small hook. Prime windows: 10:25 AM-12:25 PM, 10:25 PM-12:25 AM, 4:55 AM-5:55 AM. Similar at 28 °C. 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 barramundi here? Check the size and bag limits with DPIRD WA before you keep anything; the Barramundi page has the seasons and the tactics.
Fishing times for Coral Bay today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:11), sunset (18:21), 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
LOW2:45 am0.15 m
HIGH8:39 am0.62 m
LOW2:57 pm-0.01 m
HIGH9:10 pm0.67 m
Sat
LOW3:15 am0.03 m
HIGH9:23 am0.69 m
LOW3:18 pm0.03 m
HIGH9:30 pm0.79 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp23 °C
High / Low28 °C / 18 °C
WindSSW 22 km/h, gusts 38 km/h
Pressure1018.6 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:11 / 18:21
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~26 °C est.
Why the tide matters here: tides and fishing in Australia.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Coral Bay
The best day on Coral Bay this week looks like Sunday 27 Sept, at 5 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 — excellent at 5/5, 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
- 06:11 to 18:21
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Partly cloudy, 27 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Coral Bay: seasons written for the southern year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.
Barramundi
Run-off (March to May) and build-up (October to November) in the north; check the closed season on the Queensland east coast
The north's fish. Tidal rivers, run-off creeks, rock bars and the stocked impoundments. Warm water, moving water and a barometer on the way down. Work the colour changes and the snags on the run-out; larger swimbaits and slow-rolled plastics in the impoundments.
Spanish mackerel
Winter and spring in the north; summer in NSW
The narrow-barred Spanish mackerel: a speedster of the headlands, reefs and shoals from Queensland around to northern WA, and a summer visitor to NSW. Prime. Trolled baits and hardbodies over structure on the tide change, or high-speed metals cast at surface schools.
When to come: the Coral Bay 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
Barramundi
Spanish mackerel
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 26 °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 Coral Bay 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. Spanish mackerel led the card at excellent. High of 28 °C, wind to 26 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Spanish mackerel led the card at excellent. High of 28 °C, wind to 29 km/h.
Tue, Sep 22
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Spanish mackerel led the card at excellent. High of 28 °C, wind to 32 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 at Coral Bay is not among Western Australia’s licensed activities; fishing from a boat needs the boat licence; our Western Australia page has the fees.
About this water
Coral Bay is a coastal town in Western Australia, Australia, covered from the Western Australia reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Coral Bay: the full guide
Coral Bay and the lagoon
Coral Bay is the small resort settlement on the Ningaloo coast south of Exmouth, with Bills Bay and the coral gardens in front of the settlement, the lagoon running north and south inside the reef, the sanctuary zones of the Ningaloo Marine Park along the shore, the passages through the reef to the outer edge and the beaches of the coast either side. It is a reef settlement inside a marine park, and the report on this page is scored for the settlement’s coordinates. Exmouth has its own page.
Species and seasons
Spangled emperor fish the lagoon and the reef edge all year and are the reef’s fish; giant and golden trevally work the passages and the flats; Spanish mackerel run the outer reef from winter into spring; coral trout and red emperor fish the reef for the boats; queenfish work the flats; whiting fish the lagoon sand; bonefish and permit are stalked on the flats by the fly fishers; and the sanctuary zones in front of the settlement are no-take, with fishing in the general-use zones to the north and south. The reef edge is the place and the lagoon is the shelter.
Where to fish it
The beach north of the settlement past the sanctuary zone boundary at Point Maud and the flats of Maud’s Landing are the whiting, trevally and bonefish water for wading and small boats on the calm mornings, and the passages through the reef north and south of the settlement are the spangled emperor and mackerel marks for the boats; the beach south of Bills Bay is the other general-use water. The ramp is at the settlement.
Reading this report here
The lagoon is sheltered by the reef and the passages and the outer edge are open to the south-westerly, so the wind row decides which; the winter easterlies are the calm season and the summer sea breeze comes in most afternoons. The tide panel is a modelled curve for the coordinates of Coral Bay, labelled as a model, and the flats and the passages run on it. Pressure and sky build the score at Coral Bay; the planner shows the day.
Licence, access and rules
Line fishing from the shore at Coral Bay is not among Western Australia’s licensed activities; fishing from a boat needs the boat licence; our Western Australia page has the fees. The beaches and the lagoon are public, with a ramp at the settlement; the Ningaloo Marine Park zoning, with its sanctuary zones in front of the settlement, the Gascoyne demersal rules and the DPIRD limits are in the sources.
Common questions
Can I fish at Coral Bay?
Yes, outside the Ningaloo Marine Park’s sanctuary zones, which cover the water in front of the settlement; the general-use zones to the north and south are the fishing, and the zoning map is linked in the sources.
Do I need a licence at Coral Bay?
Not for line fishing from the shore; fishing from a boat needs the Western Australian boat licence.
Is fishing good at Coral Bay 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.