
Southern calamari
Spring and autumn are the seasons: the weed beds on the rising tide, slow sinking jigs.
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The port’s moles and the river mouth: the North and South moles, the fishing boat harbour and the Swan mouth, with tailor, herring, squid, mulloway and the kingfish of the harbour.
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Fremantle is in its cool-water rhythm: slower presentations and the warmest hours of the day. Today brings a mixed sky, wind SE around 19 km/h, steady pressure near 1026 hPa and a high of 21 °C. Tides: high 8:00 am and 8:18 pm, low 1:45 am and 2:50 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.

Spring and autumn are the seasons: the weed beds on the rising tide, slow sinking jigs.

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.

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. Cooler at 18 °C with likely rain: fish ahead of the front. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.
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.
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:03), sunset (18:14), the moon and today's score, with the modelled tide changes in the panel below. Tap a bar to see why.
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.
A modelled tide curve for these coordinates and the forecast for the day.
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.
Latest readings
Why the tide matters here: tides and fishing in Australia.
The best day on Fremantle 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.
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
The species that matter on Fremantle: seasons written for the southern year, and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.
Activity by species and month for the southern year, and how the water warms and cools. Tap any cell.
1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted. January is midsummer here.
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 17 °C (estimated, not a reading).
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.
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Southern calamari led the card at excellent. High of 19 °C, wind to 16 km/h.
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Southern calamari led the card at excellent. High of 19 °C, wind to 16 km/h.
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Southern calamari led the card at excellent. High of 19 °C, wind to 16 km/h.
Western Australian recreational fishing licences, from A$40.00, the same for residents and visitors. Details and where to buy →
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.
Line fishing from the shore at Fremantle is not among Western Australia’s licensed activities; fishing from a boat needs the boat licence; our Western Australia page has the fees.
Fremantle is a coastal town in Western Australia, Australia, covered from the Western Australia reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fremantle is the port city at the mouth of the Swan River, with the North and South moles running out either side of the harbour entrance, the fishing boat harbour and its walls, the river mouth under the traffic bridge, the beaches of Port, Leighton and South Beach, and the reef and the shipping channel out to Rottnest. It is a moles-and-river-mouth city, and the report on this page is scored for the city’s coordinates. Perth, the Swan River and Rottnest Island have their own pages.
Tailor run the moles and the beaches in the cooler months and are the moles’ fish; herring and garfish fish the moles and the harbour walls all year; squid work the harbour weed and the lights; mulloway are the night fish of the river mouth and the moles; yellowtail kingfish come to the harbour and the moles in summer; skippy and sweep fill the moles; whiting fish the beaches; Australian salmon run the moles in autumn; and the reef outside gives dhufish and snapper for the boats under the West Coast demersal closure. The traffic bridge fishes at night.
The North Mole, walked out from Port Beach, and the South Mole from the fishing boat harbour are the walk-on marks for tailor, herring, skippy and mulloway, fished at dawn and at night on the outer ends, and the fishing boat harbour walls are the squid and herring spots under the lights; the traffic bridge on the river is the mulloway and tailor mark at night. The ramps are on the river at East Fremantle and at the harbour.
The moles face the open sea and a south-westerly washes them and closes the beaches, while an easterly flattens the sea and the summer sea breeze comes in most afternoons; the wind row tells you which. The tide panel is a modelled curve for the coordinates of Fremantle, labelled as a model, small on this coast, and the river mouth runs on it. Pressure and sky build the score at Fremantle; the planner shows the day.
Line fishing from the shore at Fremantle is not among Western Australia’s licensed activities; fishing from a boat needs the boat licence; our Western Australia page has the fees. The moles, the harbour walls, the bridge and the beaches are public and walk-on, with ramps on the river and at the harbour; the DPIRD limits and the West Coast demersal closure are in the sources.
Tailor in the cooler months, herring and garfish all year, squid over the weed, skippy and sweep, mulloway at night, kingfish in summer, salmon in autumn.
Not for line fishing from the shore; fishing from a boat needs the Western Australian boat licence.
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.
Pablo Ruiz QuinteroReadings 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.