Barramundi
Excellent
Dawn, dusk and the run-off drains and creek mouths on the falling tide; hardbodies and soft vibes cast tight to snags and rock bars.
Coral Bay Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Ningaloo reef from the beach: Bills Bay and the lagoon, the Maud Sanctuary Zone and the outer reef, with the spangled emperor, the trevally and the mackerel of the reef edge.
2/5
Slow. The wind owns today.39 km/h gusts make boat control the real battle.
Next tide
Low 2:45 pm model
Air / High
22 °C / 28 °C
Wind
SW 33 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Coral Bay runs hot and bright: the fish feed early, late and deep. Today brings cloud cover, wind SW around 32 km/h, steady pressure near 1013 hPa and a high of 28 °C. Tides: high 10:03 am and 9:03 pm, low 3:43 am and 2:45 pm: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 29 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:27 PM-1:27 AM and 11:03 AM-1:03 PM: plan around them and beat the heat.
Spanish mackerel
Fair
Troll rigged garfish or lures over the reef edges and shoals at first light; float-line a live bait through the middle of the day.
Tie on: Soft plastic, 3 to 5 inch paddle tail · Pilchard on ganged hooks · Metal slug, 20 to 40 g · Surface walker at first light. Prime windows: 11:27 PM-1:27 AM, 11:03 AM-1:03 PM, 4:44 AM-5:44 AM. Cooler at 25 °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 (05:35), sunset (18:42), 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 11:27 PM-1:27 AM and 11:03 AM-1:03 PM; minor 4:44 AM-5:44 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
LOW3:43 am-0.28 m
HIGH10:03 am0.49 m
LOW2:45 pm0.18 m
HIGH9:03 pm0.91 m
Tue
LOW4:18 am-0.33 m
HIGH10:39 am0.51 m
LOW3:20 pm0.20 m
HIGH9:39 pm0.94 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp22 °C
High / Low28 °C / 18 °C
WindSW 33 km/h, gusts 59 km/h
Pressure1012.5 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain89% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset05:35 / 18:42
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~29 °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 Tuesday 10 Nov, at 3 out of 5, against 2 today.
Best day this week: Tuesday, 10 Nov — fair at 3/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.
Today, 9 Nov — Tough
39 km/h gusts make boat control the real battle.
- Solunar majors
- 11:27 PM-1:27 AM and 11:03 AM-1:03 PM
- Minor period
- 4:44 AM-5:44 AM
- Sun
- 05:35 to 18:42
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 39 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
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. Dawn, dusk and the run-off drains and creek mouths on the falling tide; hardbodies and soft vibes cast tight to snags and rock bars.
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. Troll rigged garfish or lures over the reef edges and shoals at first light; float-line a live bait through the middle of the day.
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 29 °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 dataSun, Nov 8
3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Barramundi led the card at excellent. High of 28 °C, wind to 35 km/h.
Sat, Nov 7
3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Barramundi led the card at excellent. High of 28 °C, wind to 32 km/h.
Fri, Nov 6
3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Barramundi led the card at excellent. High of 26 °C, wind to 31 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 powered boat needs the Recreational Fishing from 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 are stalked on the flats by fly fishers where the zoning allows; and the Maud Sanctuary Zone beside the settlement is no-take. The reef edge is the place and the lagoon is the shelter.
Where to fish it
Paradise Beach, south of Bills Bay, is where DBCA allows shore-based fishing for finfish only, in a special purpose zone, and the passages through the reef outside the sanctuary zone are the spangled emperor and mackerel marks for the boats. The boat ramp is about 2.5 kilometres south of 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 powered boat needs the Recreational Fishing from Boat Licence; our Western Australia page has the fees. The beaches and the lagoon are public, with the boat ramp south of the settlement; the Ningaloo Marine Park zoning, with the Maud Sanctuary Zone beside 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 Maud Sanctuary Zone. DBCA allows shore-based fishing for finfish only along Paradise Beach, south of Bills Bay; check the Ningaloo zoning map before fishing anywhere else.
Do I need a licence at Coral Bay?
No licence for shore fishing; a powered boat on Ningaloo needs the Recreational Fishing from 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: Slow. The wind owns today. 39 km/h gusts make boat control the real battle.
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.