Southern calamari
Excellent
Spring and autumn are the seasons: the weed beds on the rising tide, slow sinking jigs.
Hopetoun Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The jetty and the beaches of the Fitzgerald coast: Hopetoun’s herring, whiting and salmon, the Culham Inlet and the granite of the national park.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Next tide
Low 4:13 pm model
Air / High
12 °C / 16 °C
Wind
SE 23 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Hopetoun is in its cool-water rhythm: slower presentations and the warmest hours of the day. Today brings cloud cover, wind SE around 23 km/h, steady pressure near 1029 hPa and a high of 16 °C. Tides: high 9:45 am and 9:56 pm, low 3:20 am and 4:13 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 14 °C with likely rain: fish ahead of the front. 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 Hopetoun today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (05:45), sunset (17:57), 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
LOW3:20 am-0.13 m
HIGH9:45 am0.40 m
LOW4:13 pm-0.22 m
HIGH9:56 pm0.21 m
Sat
LOW4:00 am-0.29 m
HIGH10:13 am0.23 m
LOW4:21 pm-0.31 m
HIGH10:13 pm0.17 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp12 °C
High / Low16 °C / 12 °C
WindSE 23 km/h, gusts 41 km/h
Pressure1028.7 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain99% cloud, 100%
Sunrise / Sunset05:45 / 17:57
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 Hopetoun
The best day on Hopetoun this week looks like Thursday 1 Oct, 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: Thursday, 1 Oct — 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
- 05:45 to 17:57
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 29 km/h
- Rain chance
- 100%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Hopetoun: 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
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 Hopetoun 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 Hopetoun 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 21 °C, wind to 19 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 17 °C, wind to 16 km/h.
Tue, Sep 22
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. West Australian dhufish led the card at excellent. High of 21 °C, wind to 26 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 Hopetoun 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
Hopetoun is a coastal town in Western Australia, Australia, covered from the Western Australia reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Hopetoun: the full guide
Hopetoun and the Fitzgerald coast
Hopetoun is the small town on the south coast between Bremer Bay and Esperance, with the jetty and the foreshore, the beaches running east toward Starvation Bay and west into the Fitzgerald River National Park, the Culham Inlet and its bar behind the western beaches and the granite of East Mount Barren above the coast. It is a jetty-and-beach town on a remote coast, and the report on this page is scored for the town’s coordinates. Esperance has its own page.
Species and seasons
Herring and garfish fish the jetty and the beaches all year and are the town’s fish; Australian salmon run the beaches and the granite in autumn, big ones; King George whiting fish the sand off the jetty in summer; squid work the jetty weed; black bream fish the Culham Inlet when it holds water; tailor run the beaches in the cooler months; skippy and sweep fill the granite; and the reef gives dhufish and snapper for the boats under the south coast rules. Mulloway are taken on the Hopetoun beaches at night.
Where to fish it
Hopetoun jetty on the foreshore is the walk-on mark for herring, garfish and squid, fished at night under the lights and on the rising tide, and the town beach either side of it is the whiting sand; the beaches east to Starvation Bay and Mason Bay and west into the national park at Four Mile are the salmon and mulloway sand, and the Culham Inlet behind the western beaches is the bream water when it holds water. The ramp is at the town.
Reading this report here
The coast faces south and a south-westerly closes the beaches and the granite, while the jetty in the town’s lee keeps fishing on most days; the wind row tells you which. The tide panel is a modelled curve for the coordinates of Hopetoun, labelled as a model, small on this coast. Pressure and sky build the score at Hopetoun; the planner shows the day. The granite is exposed and rock fishing off Hopetoun has its own safety rules.
Licence, access and rules
Line fishing from the shore at Hopetoun is not among Western Australia’s licensed activities; fishing from a boat needs the boat licence; our Western Australia page has the fees. The jetty and the beaches are public, with a ramp at the town; the Fitzgerald River National Park rules and the DPIRD limits are in the sources.
Common questions
What can I catch at Hopetoun?
Herring and garfish at the jetty all year, salmon on the beaches in autumn, whiting off the jetty in summer, squid over the weed, skippy and sweep on the granite.
Do I need a licence at Hopetoun?
Not for line fishing from the shore; fishing from a boat needs the Western Australian boat licence.
Is fishing good at Hopetoun 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.