What can you catch at Duke of Orleans Bay and Wharton Beach?

Australian salmon most of the year off Wharton Beach, with herring, skippy, snook, garfish and squid off the island rocks in the bay, King George and sand whiting over the sand and seagrass, and flathead on the drop-offs. Gummy sharks show after dark and western blue groper hold the headland rocks.

Do you need a 4WD to fish Wharton Beach?

Not to get there — the car parks at both Wharton Beach and the Duke of Orleans Bay foreshore are reachable in a 2WD, and you can walk onto the sand from there. You only need a 4WD to drive on the beach itself, and that's soft-sand work all the way: drop tyre pressures and follow the harder sand low on the tide.

When is the best time for salmon at Wharton Beach?

Salmon hang around the Esperance coast most of the year, unlike the short autumn run further west. The weeks around Easter are the classic peak, with a second productive window through September and October. Clear water helps — walk the beach and look for the dark schools before casting.

Where do you actually fish at Duke of Orleans Bay?

The locals' spot is the small island at the end of the narrow sand strip on the bay side — most of the land-based fishing is done from its rock, for herring, skippy, snook, garfish and squid. Wharton Beach handles the salmon and surf side, and the sheltered bay corners cover whiting and calm-day sessions. Watch the tide on the strip so you don't get cut off.

How far is Duke of Orleans Bay from Esperance?

About 85km east — just over an hour's drive via Fisheries Road and Condingup. The Duke of Orleans Bay Caravan Park at Wharton townsite is the base for staying out there; otherwise it's a comfortable day trip from Esperance. Stock up on bait, fuel and supplies in town before heading out.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Duke of Orleans Bay / Wharton Beach (Condingup)

Tue 21 Jul 2026 · Australia/Perth

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21 Jul

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Today Tomorrow Sat 25 Jul

📍 Duke of Orleans Bay / Wharton Beach (Condingup)

first quarter · 39%

Weather: Rainy Wind: W 261° · 25 km/h Swell: 1.0 m @ 8 s SW Water: 16.9 °C

★★★☆☆

Medium Fish Activity

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 5:30 pm

Solunar Major window

Time of day Dusk

Tide Turning

Wind SW 22 km/h

Moon first quarter all day

Water temp 16.9 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

4:30 pm → 7:00 pm

2h 30m

Good

6:00 am → 7:30 am

1h 30m

First light

6:23 am

Last light

5:29 pm

Sunrise

6:49 am

Sunset

5:02 pm

Moonrise

10:42 am

Moonset

11:26 pm

High tide

1:10 am

Low tide

6:30 am

High tide

11:10 am

Low tide

6:30 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

☀️

9°

↑︎

351°

10 km/h

1am

☀️

9°

↑︎

349°

12 km/h

2am

☀️

9°

↑︎

349°

13 km/h

3am

☀️

9°

↑︎

341°

13 km/h

4am

☀️

9°

↖︎

333°

13 km/h

5am

☀️

9°

↖︎

326°

14 km/h

6am

☀️

9°

↖︎

319°

15 km/h

7am

☀️

9°

↖︎

313°

15 km/h

8am

☀️

10°

↖︎

311°

15 km/h

9am

☀️

12°

↖︎

305°

15 km/h

10am

☀️

14°

↖︎

295°

17 km/h

11am

☀️

15°

←︎

279°

18 km/h

12pm

🌧️

15°

←︎

261°

25 km/h

1pm

🌧️

14°

↙︎

220°

24 km/h

2pm

🌧️

14°

↙︎

216°

27 km/h

3pm

🌧️

14°

↙︎

221°

24 km/h

4pm

☁️

14°

↙︎

225°

23 km/h

5pm

☁️

13°

↙︎

226°

22 km/h

6pm

☁️

13°

↙︎

228°

23 km/h

7pm

☁️

13°

↙︎

221°

20 km/h

8pm

☁️

13°

↙︎

221°

17 km/h

9pm

☁️

13°

↙︎

217°

17 km/h

10pm

☁️

12°

↙︎

213°

18 km/h

11pm

☁️

12°

↙︎

212°

18 km/h

Water Temp (°C)

→ steady around 16.9°

Sat

18 Jul

16.8°

Sun

19 Jul

16.8°

Mon

20 Jul

16.9°

Tue

21 Jul

16.9°

Wed

22 Jul

17.0°

Thu

23 Jul

17.0°

Fri

24 Jul

17.0°

Sat

25 Jul

16.9°

Sun

26 Jul

16.7°

Mon

27 Jul

16.6°

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 25 km/h W (261°).

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

Open in the full fishing map (beta) →

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

4:30 pm → 7:00 pm

2h 30m

Good

6:00 am → 7:30 am

1h 30m

First light

6:23 am

Last light

5:29 pm

Sunrise

6:49 am

Sunset

5:02 pm

Moonrise

10:42 am

Moonset

11:26 pm

High tide

1:10 am

Low tide

6:30 am

High tide

11:10 am

Low tide

6:30 pm

Species at this spot

Weekly Bite Forecast

Duke of Orleans Bay / Wharton Beach (Condingup) + nearby Perth spots. Thursday 6pm — top windows, conditions, what's biting.

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