Spanish mackerel
Excellent
Prime. Trolled baits and hardbodies over structure on the tide change, or high-speed metals cast at surface schools.
Dampier Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Dampier Archipelago: forty-two islands off the Pilbara port, with mackerel, trevally, queenfish, coral trout and the mangrove creeks, and the tides that rule everything.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Next tide
Low 4:00 pm model
Air / High
27 °C / 34 °C
Wind
W 16 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Dampier sits in the warm band: moving baits, moving tides and fish on the edges. Today brings clear skies, wind W around 16 km/h, steady pressure near 1016 hPa and a high of 34 °C. Tides: high 9:49 am and 10:06 pm, low 3:48 am and 4:00 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 36 °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 Dampier today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:00), sunset (18:09), 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
LOW3:48 am-0.58 m
HIGH9:49 am1.59 m
LOW4:00 pm-0.84 m
HIGH10:06 pm1.78 m
Sat
LOW4:12 am-0.92 m
HIGH10:17 am1.87 m
LOW4:25 pm-0.98 m
HIGH10:29 pm2.03 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp27 °C
High / Low34 °C / 25 °C
WindW 16 km/h, gusts 31 km/h
Pressure1015.8 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:00 / 18:09
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 Dampier
Today is the pick of the week on Dampier, at 3 out of 5. 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: today, 25 Sept — fair at 3/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.
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
- 06:00 to 18:09
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 19 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Dampier: 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 Dampier 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 Dampier today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataThu, Sep 24
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Spanish mackerel led the card at excellent. High of 36 °C, wind to 18 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 33 °C, wind to 26 km/h.
Tue, Sep 22
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Spanish mackerel led the card at excellent. High of 34 °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 at Dampier is not among Western Australia’s licensed activities; fishing from a boat needs the boat licence and the crab rules apply; our Western Australia page has the fees.
About this water
Dampier is a coastal town in Western Australia, Australia, covered from the Western Australia reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Dampier: the full guide
Dampier and the archipelago
Dampier is the port town on the Pilbara coast west of Karratha, with the Hampton Harbour ramp and the foreshore, the forty-two islands of the Dampier Archipelago from Rosemary to the Burrup, the mangrove creeks of the Burrup Peninsula, the reefs and the deep channels between the islands and the iron ore and gas port behind the town. It is an islands town on a working coast, and the report on this page is scored for the town’s coordinates. Port Hedland has its own page.
Species and seasons
Spanish mackerel run the islands from winter into spring and are the archipelago’s fish; giant trevally and queenfish work the island points and the channels all year; coral trout, red emperor and spangled emperor fish the reefs for the boats; mangrove jack and barramundi fish the Burrup creeks in the warm season; mud crabs work the creeks under the pot rules; and the harbour walls give bream and the odd fingermark at night. The archipelago has marine park sanctuary zones.
Where to fish it
The Hampton Harbour ramp and the foreshore put a boat into the archipelago, and the island points from East Lewis to Rosemary and the channels between them are the mackerel, trevally and queenfish water at dawn and on the change of the tide; the Burrup creeks at Withnell Bay and Cowrie Cove are the jack, barra and crab water for small boats on the run-out, and the harbour walls are the bream and fingermark marks at night.
Reading this report here
The islands give shelter in every wind and the afternoon south-westerly chops the open channels; the winter easterlies are the calm season at Dampier. The tide panel is a modelled curve for the coordinates of Dampier, labelled as a model, and it rules the archipelago, with a range that empties the creeks and makes the channels run. Pressure and sky build the score at Dampier, and the cyclone season from November to April is the thing to watch; the planner shows the day.
Licence, access and rules
Line fishing from the shore at Dampier is not among Western Australia’s licensed activities; fishing from a boat needs the boat licence and the crab rules apply; our Western Australia page has the fees. The foreshore and the ramp at Hampton Harbour are public and the islands are a boat; the Dampier Archipelago marine park zoning, the Pilbara demersal rules and the DPIRD limits are in the sources.
Common questions
What can I catch in the Dampier Archipelago?
Mackerel off the islands from winter into spring, trevally and queenfish at the points, coral trout and red emperor on the reefs, mangrove jack and mud crabs in the Burrup creeks.
Do I need a licence at Dampier?
Not for line fishing from the shore; fishing from a boat needs the Western Australian boat licence.
Is fishing good at Dampier 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.