Southern calamari
Excellent
Spring and autumn are the seasons: the weed beds on the rising tide, slow sinking jigs.
Dunsborough Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
Geographe Bay’s western corner: the Dunsborough beaches, the Quindalup ramp and Cape Naturaliste, with whiting, herring, squid, salmon and the dhufish grounds.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Next tide
Low 3:06 pm model
Air / High
12 °C / 17 °C
Wind
SE 25 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Dunsborough is in its cool-water rhythm: slower presentations and the warmest hours of the day. Today brings clear skies, wind SE around 24 km/h, steady pressure near 1029 hPa and a high of 17 °C. Tides: high 8:10 am and 9:00 pm, low 2:00 am and 3:06 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 16 °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 Dunsborough today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:05), sunset (18:17), 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
LOW2:00 am0.00 m
HIGH8:10 am0.20 m
LOW3:06 pm-0.18 m
HIGH9:00 pm0.00 m
Sat
LOW2:30 am-0.18 m
HIGH9:30 am0.08 m
LOW3:10 pm-0.13 m
HIGH9:30 pm0.11 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp12 °C
High / Low17 °C / 11 °C
WindSE 25 km/h, gusts 45 km/h
Pressure1028.8 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain4% cloud, 2%
Sunrise / Sunset06:05 / 18:17
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 Dunsborough
The best day on Dunsborough 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
- 06:05 to 18:17
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 31 km/h
- Rain chance
- 2%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Dunsborough: 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 Dunsborough 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 Dunsborough 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 18 °C, wind to 18 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 18 °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 at Dunsborough 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
Dunsborough is a coastal town in Western Australia, Australia, covered from the Western Australia reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Dunsborough: the full guide
Dunsborough and the cape
Dunsborough is the town in the western corner of Geographe Bay south-west of Busselton, with the sheltered beaches and the weed of the bay, the Quindalup ramp, Meelup and Eagle Bay toward the cape, Cape Naturaliste and its lighthouse at the corner and the Indian Ocean coast of Sugarloaf and Yallingup beyond it. It is a bay town with an ocean cape behind it, and the report on this page is scored for the town’s coordinates. Busselton has its own page.
Species and seasons
Whiting fish the bay sand and the weed edges all year and are the town’s fish; herring and garfish fish the beaches and the weed; squid work the weed and are the bay’s everyday catch; Australian salmon run the cape and the ocean beaches in autumn, and the bay’s beaches with them; tailor run the beaches in the cooler months; dhufish, pink snapper and baldchin groper fish the reef off the cape for the boats out of Quindalup, under the West Coast demersal closure; and the cape’s platforms give salmon, skippy and sweep. Snapper come into the bay in winter.
Where to fish it
The Dunsborough town beach and the weed beds either side of the Quindalup ramp are the whiting, herring and squid water for wading and small boats on the calm mornings, and Meelup and Eagle Bay toward the cape are the whiting and salmon sand; the Cape Naturaliste platforms at Bunker Bay and Sugarloaf Rock are the exposed rocks for salmon and skippy. The ramp is at Quindalup, and the reef off the cape is a short run.
Reading this report here
The bay faces north and is sheltered from the south-westerly that closes the ocean coast, so the wind row decides which; a northerly chops the bay. The summer sea breeze comes in most afternoons. The tide panel is a modelled curve for the coordinates of Dunsborough, labelled as a model, small on this coast. Pressure and sky build the score at Dunsborough; the planner shows the day.
Licence, access and rules
Line fishing from the shore at Dunsborough 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, the cape tracks and the ramp at Quindalup are public; the Ngari Capes Marine Park zoning, the DPIRD limits and the West Coast demersal closure are in the sources.
Common questions
What can I catch at Dunsborough?
Whiting on the bay sand, herring and squid over the weed, salmon off the cape in autumn, tailor on the beaches in the cooler months, dhufish and snapper off the cape for the boats.
Do I need a licence at Dunsborough?
Not for line fishing from the shore; fishing from a boat needs the Western Australian boat licence.
Is fishing good at Dunsborough 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.