When is the best time for salmon at Cape Le Grand?

Salmon are about year-round, and the run is best from February to May, with average fish of 2–5 kg stacking through the gutters at Lucky Bay and Le Grand Beach. Summer produces fewer but larger fish, averaging 5–8 kg. Change of light at both ends of the day is the best window.

Can I drive on the sand at Lucky Bay?

Yes, on the firmer wet sand only. Soft-sand bogs are common on the upper beach — deflate to around 18 psi, stay on the wet sand and avoid the dunes entirely. The kangaroos lie on the dry sand; give them space. Standard 4WD beach etiquette applies and DBCA rangers do patrol.

Does the West Coast demersal closure apply?

No. Cape Le Grand sits in the South Coast Bioregion, well east of the closure boundary. South Coast rules apply with their own size, bag and seasonal limits for pink snapper, dhufish and the broader demersal mixed bag. Verify current DPIRD South Coast rules before targeting demersals from the rocks or a boat.

Do I need a park pass?

Yes. Cape Le Grand is a DBCA-managed national park with a per-vehicle entry fee — pay at the park entry or use a DBCA annual pass. Camping at Lucky Bay and Le Grand campgrounds is bookable through the DBCA Park Stay system and fills out fast in the cooler months and over school holidays.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Cape Le Grand (Lucky Bay / Hellfire Bay / Thistle Cove)

Mon 12 Oct 2026 · Australia/Perth

Forecast updated Mon 12 Oct, 10:00pm AWST

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12 Oct

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Today Tomorrow Sat 17 Oct

📍 Cape Le Grand (Lucky Bay / Hellfire Bay / Thistle Cove)

new · 1%

Weather: Cloudy Wind: SE 144° · 12 km/h Swell: 1.4 m @ 11 s SW Water: 17.3 °C Pressure: 1026.2 hPa → steady Faces south · Offshore: NW, N, NE · Onshore: SE, S, SW · Forecast wind: onshore

★★★☆☆

Medium Fish Activity

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 5:00 am

Solunar Minor window

Time of day Dawn

Tide Turning

Wind S 8 km/h

Moon new all day

Water temp 17.3 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 4:49 am Last light 6:27 pm

Low 5:20 am High 10:30 am Low 3:42 pm High 10:30 pm

Drag or use arrow keys to explore

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

4:30 am → 6:30 am

Good

5:30 pm → 8:30 pm

Good

12:00 am → 2:00 am

Good

12:00 pm → 2:00 pm

First light

4:49 am

Last light

6:27 pm

Sunrise

5:14 am

Sunset

6:02 pm

Moonrise

5:41 am

Moonset

7:48 pm

Low tide

5:20 am

High tide

10:30 am

Low tide

3:42 pm

High tide

10:30 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

☁️

13°

↓︎

194°

12 km/h

1am

☁️

13°

↓︎

194°

12 km/h

2am

☁️

12°

↓︎

195°

11 km/h

3am

☁️

12°

↓︎

191°

9 km/h

4am

☁️

12°

↓︎

187°

9 km/h

5am

☁️

12°

↓︎

182°

8 km/h

6am

☁️

13°

↓︎

173°

8 km/h

7am

☁️

14°

↓︎

163°

9 km/h

8am

☁️

14°

↘︎

156°

4 km/h

9am

☁️

15°

↓︎

187°

4 km/h

10am

☁️

15°

↙︎

203°

5 km/h

11am

☁️

16°

↙︎

216°

6 km/h

12pm

☁️

15°

↙︎

212°

8 km/h

1pm

☁️

16°

↓︎

198°

9 km/h

2pm

☁️

16°

↓︎

186°

10 km/h

3pm

☁️

16°

↓︎

174°

11 km/h

4pm

☁️

15°

↓︎

162°

11 km/h

5pm

☁️

15°

↘︎

151°

10 km/h

6pm

☁️

14°

↘︎

137°

9 km/h

7pm

☀️

13°

↘︎

126°

9 km/h

8pm

☀️

13°

↘︎

129°

10 km/h

9pm

☀️

13°

↘︎

136°

10 km/h

10pm

☀️

13°

↘︎

144°

12 km/h

11pm

☀️

12°

↘︎

126°

10 km/h

Hourly Swell

Steady ~1.4 m SW

12am

1.4 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

1am

1.4 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

2am

1.4 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

3am

1.4 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

4am

1.4 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

5am

1.4 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

6am

1.4 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

7am

1.4 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

8am

1.4 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

9am

1.4 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

10am

1.4 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

11am

1.4 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

12pm

1.4 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

1pm

1.4 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

2pm

1.4 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

3pm

1.4 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

4pm

1.4 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

5pm

1.4 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

6pm

1.4 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

7pm

1.4 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

8pm

1.4 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

9pm

1.4 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

10pm

1.4 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

11pm

1.4 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

Water Temp (°C)

→ steady around 17.3°

Fri

9 Oct

17.3°

Sat

10 Oct

17.3°

Sun

11 Oct

17.2°

Mon

12 Oct

17.3°

Tue

13 Oct

17.2°

Wed

14 Oct

17.2°

Thu

15 Oct

17.2°

Fri

16 Oct

17.4°

Sat

17 Oct

17.7°

Sun

18 Oct

17.5°

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 12 km/h SE (144°).

Wind map data: ECMWF HRES (operational), updated every 6 hours. Not for navigation.

Open in the full fishing map →

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

4:30 am → 6:30 am

Good

5:30 pm → 8:30 pm

Good

12:00 am → 2:00 am

Good

12:00 pm → 2:00 pm

First light

4:49 am

Last light

6:27 pm

Sunrise

5:14 am

Sunset

6:02 pm

Moonrise

5:41 am

Moonset

7:48 pm

Low tide

5:20 am

High tide

10:30 am

Low tide

3:42 pm

High tide

10:30 pm

Nearby spots

Esperance (Esperance Jetty / Bandy Creek / Cape Le Grand / Twilight Beach) 27.2 km

Species at this spot

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