Southern calamari
Excellent
Spring and autumn are the seasons: the weed beds on the rising tide, slow sinking jigs.
Rockingham Fishing Report
Updated Fri, 25 Sept 2026 from live weather and tide data
Cockburn Sound and the Shoalwater islands: the Rockingham beaches and jetties, Garden Island and Penguin Island, with whiting, herring, squid, snapper and the pink snapper closure.
3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Next tide
Low 2:45 pm model
Air / High
14 °C / 20 °C
Wind
SE 21 km/h
Sources: modelled tide curve, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.
Today's Fishing Report
Rockingham is in its cool-water rhythm: slower presentations and the warmest hours of the day. Today brings clear skies, wind SE around 21 km/h, steady pressure near 1026 hPa and a high of 21 °C. Tides: high 8:00 am and 8:15 pm, low 1:42 am and 2:45 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. Cooler at 18 °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 Rockingham today
Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today from sunrise (06:03), sunset (18:15), 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
LOW1:42 am0.03 m
HIGH8:00 am0.24 m
LOW2:45 pm-0.10 m
HIGH8:15 pm0.06 m
Sat
LOW2:15 am-0.14 m
HIGH9:00 am0.10 m
LOW2:30 pm-0.10 m
HIGH9:15 pm0.18 m
Right now
Latest readings
Air temp14 °C
High / Low20 °C / 12 °C
WindSE 21 km/h, gusts 43 km/h
Pressure1025.9 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain22% cloud, 59%
Sunrise / Sunset06:03 / 18:15
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 Rockingham
The best day on Rockingham 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
- 06:03 to 18:15
- Moon
- Full Moon, 99% lit
- Sky and wind
- Showers, 31 km/h
- Rain chance
- 59%
Scores are a planning aid built from forecast data, not a promise.
Species guide
The species that matter on Rockingham: 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. 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 Rockingham 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 Rockingham 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 19 °C, wind to 14 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 19 °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 19 °C, wind to 16 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 Rockingham 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
Rockingham is a coastal town in Western Australia, Australia, covered from the Western Australia reports and listed in all Australia waters.
Fishing Rockingham: the full guide
Rockingham and the sound
Rockingham is the city on Cockburn Sound south of Fremantle, with the foreshore and the Palm Beach jetty on the sound, the naval base on Garden Island across the water, the Shoalwater islands and Penguin Island to the south, the Point Peron platforms and the beaches of Safety Bay and Warnbro Sound beyond. It is a sound-and-islands city, and the report on this page is scored for the city’s coordinates. Perth and Mandurah have their own pages.
Species and seasons
Whiting fish the sound’s sand and the beaches all year and are the city’s fish; herring and garfish fish the jetty and the foreshore; squid work the jetty weed and the lights; pink snapper spawn in the sound in spring and summer and are protected there by the DPIRD closure from October to January; tailor run the beaches in the cooler months; skippy and sweep fill Point Peron; yellowtail kingfish come to the sound in summer; and the Shoalwater islands have marine park sanctuary zones. Blue swimmer crabs work the sound in summer under their rules.
Where to fish it
Palm Beach jetty on the Rockingham foreshore is the walk-on mark for herring, squid and whiting, fished at night under the lights, and the sound’s sand from the foreshore to Point Peron is the whiting and crab water for wading and small boats; the Point Peron platforms are the skippy and sweep rocks, and the Safety Bay and Warnbro beaches south of the point are the tailor and whiting sand. The ramps are on the sound at the foreshore and Point Peron.
Reading this report here
The sound is sheltered from the south-westerly by Garden Island and the open beaches to the south are not, so the wind row decides which; the summer sea breeze comes in most afternoons. The tide panel is a modelled curve for the coordinates of Rockingham, labelled as a model, small on this coast. Pressure and sky build the score at Rockingham; the planner shows the day.
Licence, access and rules
Line fishing from the shore at Rockingham 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 jetty, the foreshore and the beaches are public, with ramps on the sound; the Cockburn Sound pink snapper closure, the Shoalwater Islands Marine Park zoning, the DPIRD limits and the West Coast demersal closure are in the sources.
Common questions
Can I catch pink snapper in Cockburn Sound?
Not from October to January, when the DPIRD spawning closure protects them in the sound; the rest of the year, under the West Coast demersal rules, and the closure dates are in the sources.
Do I need a licence in Rockingham?
Not for line fishing from the shore; fishing from a boat needs the Western Australian boat licence.
Is fishing good at Rockingham 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.