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.
Exmouth Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Ningaloo coast: a gulf on one side, a World Heritage fringing reef on the other, and the deep water off the North West Cape.
3/5
Fair. Fish early or late.Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.
Next tide
High 10:53 am model
Air / High
26 °C / 33 °C
Wind
SW 26 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Exmouth runs hot and bright: the fish feed early, late and deep. Today brings cloud cover, wind SW around 26 km/h, steady pressure near 1011 hPa and a high of 33 °C. Tides: high 10:53 am and 10:27 pm, low 4:30 am and 4:21 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 11:25 PM-1:25 AM and 11:01 AM-1:01 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: 11:25 PM-1:25 AM, 11:01 AM-1:01 PM, 4:45 AM-5:45 AM. Similar at 31 °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 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 Exmouth today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:35), sunset (18:39), 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 11:25 PM-1:25 AM and 11:01 AM-1:01 PM; minor 4:45 AM-5:45 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
LOW4:30 am-0.66 m
HIGH10:53 am0.95 m
LOW4:21 pm-0.06 m
HIGH10:27 pm1.28 m
Tue
LOW5:01 am-0.76 m
HIGH11:30 am0.97 m
LOW4:54 pm-0.08 m
HIGH10:59 pm1.34 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp26 °C
High / Low33 °C / 20 °C
WindSW 26 km/h, gusts 43 km/h
Pressure1011.3 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain91% cloud, 6%
Sunrise / Sunset05:35 / 18:39
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 Exmouth
Today is the pick of the week on Exmouth, 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
- 11:25 PM-1:25 AM and 11:01 AM-1:01 PM
- Minor period
- 4:45 AM-5:45 AM
- Sun
- 05:35 to 18:39
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 31 km/h
- Rain chance
- 6%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
The species that matter on Exmouth: 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 Exmouth 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 Exmouth 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 35 °C, wind to 27 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 33 °C, wind to 27 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 36 °C, wind to 24 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 needs no licence in Western Australia; any fishing from a powered boat, including catch and release, needs the Recreational Fishing from Boat Licence, and our Western Australia licence page has the fees.
About this water
Exmouth is a coastal town in Western Australia, Australia, covered from the Western Australia reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Exmouth: the full guide
Exmouth and the cape
Exmouth sits near the tip of the North West Cape in Western Australia, with Exmouth Gulf on its eastern side and the Ningaloo Reef on the other. The Ningaloo Marine Park is World Heritage-listed, and the parks service describes it as one of the largest fringing reefs, home to hundreds of fish and coral species; the Commonwealth part of the park, further out, covers the continental slope and the open ocean, where trevally, tuna, mackerel, marlin and sailfish live. That gives the town two fisheries a short drive apart: the sheltered, muddy gulf of creeks, flats and mangroves, and the reef with its lagoon, its passages and the deep water close outside. Bundegi Beach is a popular fishing beach near town, the Tantabiddi boat ramp gives access to the northern part of the park, and the park’s sanctuary areas are the first map to read. The report on this page is calculated for the town of Exmouth.
Species and seasons
The gulf gives queenfish, trevally, mangrove jack, grunter and, in the creeks and on the flats, barramundi, along with the flats species that draw fly anglers; the reef lagoon gives spangled emperor and the other reef fish; and the passages and the deep water outside give Spanish mackerel, tuna, sailfish and marlin in their seasons. Barramundi in Western Australia must measure between 550 and 800 millimetres to be kept, with a daily bag of two. Squid hunt the weed of the gulf. The water is warm all year, and the seasonal curve on this page is an estimate for a tropical coast.
Reading this report here
The wind runs everything: the sea breeze and the winter easterlies decide whether the reef passages and the outside water are fishable, and the gulf is the fallback when they are not. Off the cape, pressure and sky round out the score and the planner shows the lighter-wind windows for the reef side. The tide panel is a modelled curve for these coordinates, labelled as a model, and the flats and the creeks of the gulf fish on the tide, so use the curve for the direction and the Bureau of Meteorology page for the times.
Licences and access
Line fishing from the shore needs no licence in Western Australia; any fishing from a powered boat, including catch and release, needs the Recreational Fishing from Boat Licence, and our Western Australia licence page has the fees. The Ningaloo Marine Park is free to enter; its sanctuary zones and gear rules are published by the parks service and DPIRD. The town beach, the gulf foreshore and the reef beaches are public, and the Tantabiddi ramp is the launching point for the northern part of the park.
Common questions
Do I need a licence to fish in Exmouth?
Not for line fishing from the shore. Fishing from a powered boat needs the boat licence, and the Ningaloo sanctuary zones apply; see our Western Australia page.
What size barramundi can I keep at Exmouth?
Between 550 and 800 millimetres, two a day, under the statewide DPIRD rule; fish outside that window must be released.
Is fishing good at Exmouth 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.