Southern calamari
Excellent
Prime. Drift the weed edges casting jigs, or a baited jig under a float from the piers.
Fremantle Fishing Report
Updated Mon, 9 Nov 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.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Next tide
High 7:30 pm model
Air / High
18 °C / 21 °C
Wind
SSW 24 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Fremantle is fishing in its best temperature window, with the bite spread across the day. Today brings clear skies, wind SSW around 24 km/h, steady pressure near 1018 hPa and a high of 21 °C. Tides: high 7:30 pm, low 5:50 am: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 19 °C for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:20 PM-1:20 AM and 10:56 AM-12:56 PM: the windows to build the day around.
King George whiting
Good
Peak season. Berley lightly, fish the sand holes on the making tide, and stay mobile: whiting are where the bait is, not where they were last week.
West Australian dhufish
Closed today
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.
Tailor
Fair
Rock ledges and beach gutters on the rising tide; metals cast and retrieved fast, or a whole pilchard drifted through the wash.
Blue swimmer crab
Closed today
Reopens 1 Dec 2026. All waters, including rivers, estuaries, man-made waterways and Cockburn Sound, from the Swan and Canning rivers to Rich Road, Minninup Beach (15 km south of Bunbury) are closed to all crab fishing from 1 September to 30 November.
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: 11:20 PM-1:20 AM, 10:56 AM-12:56 PM, 4:19 AM-5:19 AM. Warmer at 26 °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 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 Fremantle today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:13), sunset (18:49), 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 11:20 PM-1:20 AM and 10:56 AM-12:56 PM; minor 4:19 AM-5:19 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
LOW5:50 am-0.27 m
HIGH7:30 pm0.35 m
Tue
LOW6:00 am-0.31 m
HIGH8:30 pm0.34 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp18 °C
High / Low21 °C / 12 °C
WindSSW 24 km/h, gusts 59 km/h
Pressure1018.1 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset05:13 / 18:49
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~19 °C est.
Why the tide matters here: tides and fishing in Australia.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Fremantle
The best day on Fremantle this week looks like Tuesday 10 Nov, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.
Best day this week: Tuesday, 10 Nov — good at 4/5, rising pressure behind a front, typically the slowest.
Today, 9 Nov — Fair
A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
- Solunar majors
- 11:20 PM-1:20 AM and 10:56 AM-12:56 PM
- Minor period
- 4:19 AM-5:19 AM
- Sun
- 05:13 to 18:49
- Moon
- New Moon, 0% lit
- Sky and wind
- Overcast, 31 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out.
Species guide
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.
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.
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. Prime. Knife jigs and big plastics worked over the reef edges and the bait schools.
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. Peak season. Berley lightly, fish the sand holes on the making tide, and stay mobile: whiting are where the bait is, not where they were last week.
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. Prime. Drift the weed edges casting jigs, or a baited jig under a float from the piers.
Tailor
Autumn and winter on the east coast; the run reaches K'gari (Fraser Island) in late winter, where the east beach from Waddy Point to Indian Head is closed to all fin fish from 1 August to 29 September
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. Rock ledges and beach gutters on the rising tide; metals cast and retrieved fast, or a whole pilchard drifted through the wash.
Blue swimmer crab
December to May in the Perth and South West estuaries; closed 1 September to 30 November from the Swan River to Minninup Beach
Closed now Reopens 1 Dec 2026. All waters, including rivers, estuaries, man-made waterways and Cockburn Sound, from the Swan and Canning rivers to Rich Road, Minninup Beach (15 km south of Bunbury) are closed to all crab fishing from 1 September to 30 November. Rule as read from DPIRD Western Australia on 2026-09-29.
Blue manna crab to West Australians: it lives in sheltered estuaries and inshore bays, hides under the sand by day and moves about at night. DPIRD sets a 127 mm minimum across the carapace spikes, and undersize crabs and egg-carrying (berried) females must go straight back.
When to come: the Fremantle 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
Blue swimmer crab
SlowPeak
Water temperature through the year
Typical surface temperature for this water type in degrees Celsius; today is around 19 °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 Fremantle today.
Water log, last days
Auto-logged from live dataSun, Nov 8
3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Southern calamari led the card at excellent. High of 21 °C, wind to 27 km/h.
Sat, Nov 7
2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Southern calamari led the card at excellent. High of 22 °C, wind to 21 km/h.
Fri, Nov 6
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Samson fish led the card at excellent. High of 28 °C, wind to 21 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 Fremantle is not among Western Australia’s licensed activities; fishing from a powered boat needs the Recreational Fishing from Boat Licence; our Western Australia page has the fees.
About this water
Fremantle is a coastal town in Western Australia, Australia, covered from the Western Australia reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Fremantle: the full guide
Fremantle and the moles
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.
Species and seasons
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 dhufish and snapper on the reef outside are closed to boat fishing until spring 2027. The traffic bridge fishes at night.
Where to fish it
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. Fremantle Ports controls the moles and has closed them at times for works and storm damage, so check its notices before you go.
Reading this report here
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.
Licence, access and rules
Line fishing from the shore at Fremantle is not among Western Australia’s licensed activities; fishing from a powered boat needs the Recreational Fishing from Boat Licence; our Western Australia page has the fees. The moles are port land open to the public when Fremantle Ports allows, and the beaches are public; the DPIRD limits and the West Coast demersal closure are in the sources.
Common questions
What can I catch from the Fremantle moles?
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.
Do I need a licence in Fremantle?
Not on the moles or the beaches. Fishing from a powered boat off Fremantle needs the Recreational Fishing from Boat Licence.
Is fishing good at Fremantle 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
- 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.