Spanish mackerel
Excellent
Prime. Trolled baits and hardbodies over structure on the tide change, or high-speed metals cast at surface schools.
Onslow Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
The Pilbara coast between Exmouth and Dampier: Onslow’s beaches, creeks and the Mackerel Islands, with mackerel, trevally, mangrove jack, mud crabs and the reef.
4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Next tide
Low 3:50 pm model
Air / High
28 °C / 35 °C
Wind
WSW 15 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Onslow is fishing in its best temperature window, with the bite spread across the day. Today brings cloud cover, wind WSW around 14 km/h, steady pressure near 1017 hPa and a high of 34 °C. Tides: high 9:39 am and 9:54 pm, low 3:38 am and 3:50 pm: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 26 °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.
Barramundi
Good
Work the colour changes and the snags on the run-out; larger swimbaits and slow-rolled plastics in the impoundments.
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: 10:25 AM-12:25 PM, 10:25 PM-12:25 AM, 4:55 AM-5:55 AM. Similar at 33 °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 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 Onslow today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:06), sunset (18:16), 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
LOW3:38 am-0.09 m
HIGH9:39 am0.97 m
LOW3:50 pm-0.26 m
HIGH9:54 pm1.07 m
Sat
LOW4:05 am-0.29 m
HIGH10:13 am1.14 m
LOW4:15 pm-0.25 m
HIGH10:21 pm1.26 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp28 °C
High / Low35 °C / 22 °C
WindWSW 15 km/h, gusts 27 km/h
Pressure1016.6 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain68% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:06 / 18:16
MoonFull Moon, 99%
Water temp (seasonal)~26 °C est.
Why the tide matters here: tides and fishing in Australia.
7-day fishing forecast: which day to fish Onslow
Today is the pick of the week on Onslow, at 4 out of 5. 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: today, 25 Sept — good at 4/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.
Today, 25 Sept — Good
Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
- Solunar majors
- 10:25 AM-12:25 PM and 10:25 PM-12:25 AM
- Minor period
- 4:55 AM-5:55 AM
- Sun
- 06:06 to 18:16
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Partly cloudy, 19 km/h
- Rain chance
- 0%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Onslow: 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. Work the colour changes and the snags on the run-out; larger swimbaits and slow-rolled plastics in the impoundments.
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. Prime. Trolled baits and hardbodies over structure on the tide change, or high-speed metals cast at surface schools.
When to come: the Onslow 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 26 °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 Onslow 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. Spanish mackerel led the card at excellent. High of 35 °C, wind to 19 km/h.
Wed, Sep 23
2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Spanish mackerel led the card at excellent. High of 36 °C, wind to 23 km/h.
Tue, Sep 22
4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Spanish mackerel led the card at excellent. High of 34 °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 at Onslow is not among Western Australia’s licensed activities; fishing from a boat needs the boat licence and the crab rules apply; our Western Australia page has the fees.
About this water
Onslow is a coastal town in Western Australia, Australia, covered from the Western Australia reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Onslow: the full guide
Onslow and the Mackerel Islands
Onslow is the small town on the Pilbara coast between Exmouth and Karratha, with the Beadon Creek harbour and its ramp, the town beach and the salt flats, the mangrove creeks of the Ashburton delta to the south, the Mackerel Islands and their reefs offshore and the gas plants of the coast. It is a creek-and-islands town on a hot coast, and the report on this page is scored for the town’s coordinates. Exmouth has its own page.
Species and seasons
Spanish mackerel run the Mackerel Islands and the reef from winter into spring and are the coast’s fish; giant trevally and queenfish work the islands and the creek mouths; mangrove jack fish the creek snags in the warm season; mud crabs work the creeks under the pot rules; barramundi are taken in the creeks and the delta in the warm season; whiting fish the beach; bream fish the harbour walls; and the reef gives coral trout and red emperor for the boats out of Beadon Creek. The tides here are large and the creeks empty.
Where to fish it
Beadon Creek harbour and its walls are the walk-on marks for bream, mangrove jack and trevally, fished at night under the lights and on the run-in, and the creeks of the Ashburton delta south of the town are the barra, jack and crab water for small boats on the run-out; the town beach and the Four Mile Creek sand are the whiting water, and the Mackerel Islands are a short run from the harbour for the mackerel boats. The ramp is at Beadon Creek.
Reading this report here
The coast faces north-west and the south-westerly of the afternoon chops the open water while the creeks stay fishable; the winter easterlies are the calm season at Onslow. The tide panel is a modelled curve for the coordinates of Onslow, labelled as a model, and the creeks and the flats depend on it, with a large range. Pressure and sky build the score at Onslow, and the cyclone season from November to April is the thing to watch; the planner shows the day.
Licence, access and rules
Line fishing from the shore at Onslow is not among Western Australia’s licensed activities; fishing from a boat needs the boat licence and the crab rules apply; our Western Australia page has the fees. The harbour, the beach and the creeks are public, with a ramp at Beadon Creek; the Pilbara demersal rules, the DPIRD limits and the crocodile warnings are in the sources.
Common questions
What can I catch at Onslow?
Mackerel off the Mackerel Islands from winter into spring, trevally and queenfish at the islands and the creek mouths, mangrove jack and mud crabs in the creeks, reef fish for the boats.
Do I need a licence at Onslow?
Not for line fishing from the shore; fishing from a boat needs the Western Australian boat licence.
Is fishing good at Onslow right now?
Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
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.