Carnarvon (Town Beach / Babbage Island / Quobba)
Sat 09 May 2026 · Australia/Perth
Bite Compass is showing a high fish activity bite score on 9 May 2026. Wind is around E at 19 km/h. Solunar feeding windows are listed below.
Local Knowledge
Carnarvon is the working town at the mouth of the Gascoyne River, ten hours from Perth, and the fishing is split between the sheltered Fascine and Babbage Island flats and the exposed cliffs north at Quobba. The famous One Mile Jetty was destroyed by Cyclone Seroja in 2021 and is being partially restored — but the current restoration is essentially a heritage boardwalk that does not extend back to fishable water, so write that one off as a land-based option. Town Beach jetty is the working land-based platform now. Quobba, an hour north, is one of the wildest and most productive cliff fisheries in the country if you treat it with respect.
Town Beach and Town Beach jetty: light gear and bait or small lures for whiting, tarwhine, skippy, bream and squid year-round. Fascine and Babbage Island flats: wade or kayak the seagrass and sand edges for yellowfin whiting on surface lures and the odd flathead or trevally. Beach fishing along Pelican Point and Bush Bay south of town: ganged mulies for tailor and after-dark soaks for mulloway. Quobba cliffs: heavy gear with float-rigged garfish or whole baits for tailor, mulloway, jumbo spangled emperor and the chance of Spanish mackerel and shark mackerel in summer.
Whiting (yellowfin and sand), tailor, mulloway, skippy, tarwhine, squid and the occasional snapper through town and the flats. Quobba adds spangled emperor, shark mackerel and Spanish mackerel in summer, plus mangrove jack and queenfish at the warm end of the year. Cobia and longtail tuna show up off the cliffs when the warm push is on.
Don't plan a One Mile Jetty session — it isn't the fishery it was, and the restored section won't reach fishable water. Town Beach jetty and the foreshore do the land-based work in town now. Quobba rewards local advice; the swell windows are short and the rocks are unforgiving. The beach south of town is hard to access without a 4WD and tyre deflation.
Access & Conditions
Sealed road in via the North West Coastal Highway, around 10 hours from Perth. Carnarvon has fuel, supermarkets, a tackle shop, hospital and accommodation. Town Beach has a sealed car park, toilets and lighting. The Fascine foreshore is fully sealed and walkable. Babbage Island access is via a sealed causeway. Pelican Point and the southern beaches require 4WD beyond the bitumen. Quobba Station is around 75km north of Carnarvon — sealed most of the way then unsealed station road, with camping and basic accommodation on the station.
The town flats and Fascine are sheltered and fish in almost any weather; the seabreeze is strong in the afternoon and shifts most plans to dawn and dusk. Quobba is exposed Indian Ocean and gets the full unfiltered swell — 2m+ days make the lower ledges unworkable. Tidal range is bigger than Perth (around 1.5–2m) which moves bait around the flats reliably. The Leeuwin Current pushes warm water down this coast through autumn and winter and brings the tropical strays.
Quobba's 'King Waves Kill' sign is not a tourist gimmick — the cliffs have killed many anglers and the swell can lift a set without warning. Wear a life jacket on rock platforms, fish with a partner, and walk away from doubtful conditions. Sharks are active off the cliffs and around hooked fish, particularly when shark mackerel are running. Sun and remoteness compound any problem — the nearest hospital is in Carnarvon itself, but Quobba is well outside town. There are no crocodiles this far south.
Gear & Rigs
Whiting and bread-and-butter: 7ft 4–8lb spin with #6 long-shanks on prawn, mulie strip or small surface poppers. Tailor and mulloway from beaches: 11–13ft rod, 25–40lb braid, 40lb leader, ganged 5/0 hooks on whole mulies. Quobba cliffs: 24kg overhead or heavy spin with wire trace, float-rigged garfish or large stickbaits, plus a gaff or rope landing setup. Pink snapper and samson around the bay: 8–10kg spin with paternoster and fresh whole squid.
Seasons
Whiting and the bread-and-butter species fish year-round with summer the peak for surface whiting. Tailor are around all year but autumn schools through the beaches are the headline. Quobba mackerel runs are summer and into autumn. Mulloway are year-round with the cooler-months nights producing the biggest fish. Carnarvon sits in the Gascoyne Coast Bioregion, so the West Coast demersal closure does not apply here — Gascoyne bag and size limits do, including a 5-fish demersal mixed bag with emperors capped at 3.
If this spot's blown out
- Coral Bay (South Ningaloo) — Drive 2.5 hours north for sheltered Ningaloo lagoon and tropical species.
- Denham (Shark Bay) — Drive 3 hours south for sheltered Shark Bay flats and snapper.
- Exmouth (North Ningaloo / North West Cape) — Drive 4 hours north for the full Ningaloo and Exmouth Gulf fishery.
Frequently Asked
No. The jetty was destroyed in Cyclone Seroja in 2021 and the current restoration project is a heritage boardwalk of around 200 metres at the original width — it does not reach fishable water. A buoy marks the original end roughly 1,450 metres offshore. Town Beach jetty and the Fascine are the working land-based options now.
Treated with respect, yes. Treated casually, no — the cliffs have a long history of fatalities. Fish with a partner, wear a life jacket, watch the sets for several minutes before committing to a low ledge, and accept that some days are not fishable. The reward is one of the best wild rock fisheries in WA.
No. Saltwater crocodile range in WA starts north of here, around Onslow and into the Pilbara and Kimberley. Sharks are the relevant predator at Quobba and along the beaches.
No — Carnarvon is in the Gascoyne Coast Bioregion. The closure that runs from Augusta to Kalbarri stops at Kalbarri. Gascoyne demersal rules apply here, with a 5-fish mixed demersal bag and emperors capped at 3 per day. Verify current DPIRD rules before a trip.