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.
Dampier Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Dampier Archipelago: the 42 islands of Murujuga off the Pilbara port, with mackerel, trevally, queenfish, coral trout and the Burrup creeks, and tides that rule everything.
3/5
Fair. Fish early or late.Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.
Next tide
Low 4:13 pm model
Air / High
29 °C / 36 °C
Wind
WSW 25 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Dampier is a dawn-and-dusk fishery today, with the middle of the day for moving spots. Today brings clear skies, wind WSW around 26 km/h, steady pressure near 1009 hPa and a high of 36 °C. Tides: high 10:22 am and 10:11 pm, low 4:13 am and 4:13 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 11:15 PM-1:15 AM and 10:51 AM-12:51 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: 11:15 PM-1:15 AM, 10:51 AM-12:51 PM, 4:37 AM-5:37 AM. Similar at 34 °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 (05:26), sunset (18:26), 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 11:15 PM-1:15 AM and 10:51 AM-12:51 PM; minor 4:37 AM-5:37 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
LOW4:13 am-1.30 m
HIGH10:22 am1.74 m
LOW4:13 pm-0.67 m
HIGH10:11 pm2.20 m
Tue
LOW4:46 am-1.39 m
HIGH10:55 am1.82 m
LOW4:47 pm-0.72 m
HIGH10:41 pm2.20 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp29 °C
High / Low36 °C / 27 °C
WindWSW 25 km/h, gusts 47 km/h
Pressure1009.0 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset05:26 / 18:26
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 Dampier
Today is the pick of the week on Dampier, at 3 out of 5.
Best day this week: today, 9 Nov — fair at 3/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.
Today, 9 Nov — Fair
Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.
- Solunar majors
- 11:15 PM-1:15 AM and 10:51 AM-12:51 PM
- Minor period
- 4:37 AM-5:37 AM
- Sun
- 05:26 to 18:26
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Partly cloudy, 31 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
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. 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 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 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 Dampier today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataSun, Nov 8
2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Barramundi led the card at excellent. High of 39 °C, wind to 24 km/h.
Sat, Nov 7
2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Barramundi led the card at excellent. High of 38 °C, wind to 21 km/h.
Fri, Nov 6
2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Barramundi led the card at excellent. High of 38 °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 a licensed activity in Western Australia; fishing from a powered boat needs the boat licence, and 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 its harbour and foreshore, the 42 islands of the Dampier Archipelago offshore, the mangrove creeks of the Burrup Peninsula, the reefs and deep channels between the islands, and the iron ore and gas port behind the town. The Burrup and the islands are Murujuga: Murujuga National Park, which DBCA manages jointly with the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation, and the Murujuga Cultural Landscape, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in July 2025. 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 fish most boats in the archipelago target; giant trevally and queenfish work the island points and the channels; coral trout, red emperor and spangled emperor fish the reefs for the boats; mangrove jack hold in the Burrup creeks in the warm season; mud crabs are taken in the creeks under the DPIRD crab rules; and the harbour walls give bream and the odd fingermark at night.
Where to fish it
The island points and the channels between them are the mackerel, trevally and queenfish water, best at dawn and on the change of the tide, and the mangrove creeks of the Burrup are jack and crab water for small boats on the run-out; the harbour walls are the night marks for bream and fingermark. Much of the Burrup is port land or national park, so fish from the public foreshore, keep clear of the industrial wharves and follow the park’s rules wherever you land.
Reading this report here
The islands give a lee in most winds, while a fresh afternoon sea breeze chops the open channels; the wind row shows when. The tide panel is a modelled curve for the coordinates of Dampier, labelled as a model, and it rules the archipelago, draining the creeks and setting the channels running. Pressure and sky build the score at Dampier; in the wet-season months, check the Bureau of Meteorology’s cyclone warnings before running out to the islands.
Licence, access and rules
Line fishing from the shore at Dampier is not a licensed activity in Western Australia; fishing from a powered boat needs the boat licence, and our Western Australia page has the fees. The island reserves and Murujuga National Park are managed by DBCA with the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation, so landing and camping follow the park rules; the DPIRD bag, size and North Coast demersal 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 powered 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 early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.
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.