Can you fish at Hillarys Boat Harbour any time?

Mostly — public access to the breakwater walls and most of the foreshore is normally unrestricted, but while the 2026 works run, part of the southern breakwater sits inside a works exclusion zone (walk in from the car park west of AQWA) and the northern breakwater fishing platform is closed for replacement, due back by the end of the year. Some boardwalks adjacent to outdoor dining are signed no-fishing; stay off those and you're fine.

What's the best time for squid at Hillarys?

Late afternoon into evening from August through February. The lights along the foreshore concentrate squid after dark, especially on calm nights with a moving tide.

Is Hillarys Boat Harbour kid-friendly for fishing?

Yes — sealed paths, lighting, toilets, cafes, calm water and easy access to the walls make it one of the better family options in Perth's north. Light tackle and small hooks suit the resident herring and skippy.

Where do you fish for kingfish at Hillarys?

The entrance bowl is the spot when kingfish push through on hot summer days. They're inconsistent — fish dawn and dusk on heavy spin gear with live or fresh-dead bait, and don't expect them every session.

Do you need a fishing licence to fish at Hillarys Boat Harbour?

No — shore-based line fishing in WA doesn't need a recreational fishing licence, so the walls and jetties at Hillarys are licence-free. A Recreational Fishing from Boat Licence is only required if you're fishing from a powered boat, and separate licences cover rock lobster, abalone, marron, net and freshwater fishing. Standard size and bag limits still apply — check current DPIRD rules before you go.

Can you catch snapper at Hillarys Boat Harbour?

Pink snapper turn up from the deeper rock-wall and channel edges, but they're an incidental catch from shore here — it's mostly an offshore boat fishery. Usefully, the West Coast boat-based demersal closure that runs to spring 2027 does not apply to land-based anglers, so a snapper you land off the wall is yours to keep within the standard size and bag limits. Check current DPIRD rules before keeping one.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Hillarys Boat Harbour

Tue 20 Oct 2026 · Australia/Perth

Forecast updated 1:57am AWST

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20 Oct

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Today Tomorrow Sat 17 Oct

📍 Hillarys Boat Harbour

first quarter · 65%

Weather: Unavailable Swell: 2.0 m @ 10 s SW Water: 19.4 °C Faces south-west · Offshore: N, NE, E · Onshore: S, SW, W

★★★☆☆

Medium Fish Activity

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 7:00 pm

Solunar Major window

Time of day Dusk

Tide Slack

Moon first quarter all day

Water temp 19.4 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 5:07 am Last light 6:56 pm

High 12:30 am Low 12:30 pm

Drag or use arrow keys to explore

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

6:30 pm → 8:30 pm

Good

7:30 am → 9:00 am

1h 30m

Good

5:00 am → 6:00 am

Good

12:30 pm → 1:30 pm

First light

5:07 am

Last light

6:56 pm

Sunrise

5:32 am

Sunset

6:32 pm

Moonrise

12:43 pm

Moonset

1:58 am

High tide

12:30 am

Low tide

12:30 pm

Hourly Swell

Building 1.6 → 2.0 m SW

12am

1.6 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Moderate

1am

1.6 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Moderate

2am

1.6 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Moderate

3am

1.7 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Moderate

4am

1.7 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Moderate

5am

1.8 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Moderate

6am

1.8 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Moderate

7am

1.9 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Moderate

8am

1.9 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Moderate

9am

1.9 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Moderate

10am

2.0 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Moderate

11am

2.0 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Moderate

12pm

2.0 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Solid

1pm

2.0 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Solid

2pm

2.1 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Solid

3pm

2.1 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Solid

4pm

2.1 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Solid

5pm

2.1 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Solid

6pm

2.1 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Solid

7pm

2.1 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Solid

8pm

2.1 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Solid

9pm

2.1 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Solid

10pm

2.0 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Solid

11pm

2.0 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Solid

Water Temp (°C)

→ steady around 19.4°

Sat

17 Oct

19.5°

Sun

18 Oct

19.6°

Mon

19 Oct

19.4°

Tue

20 Oct

19.4°

Wed

21 Oct

19.4°

Thu

22 Oct

—

Fri

23 Oct

—

Sat

24 Oct

—

Sun

25 Oct

—

Mon

26 Oct

—

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Current wind summary unavailable — see the wind chart above the map.

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

6:30 pm → 8:30 pm

Good

7:30 am → 9:00 am

1h 30m

Good

5:00 am → 6:00 am

Good

12:30 pm → 1:30 pm

First light

5:07 am

Last light

6:56 pm

Sunrise

5:32 am

Sunset

6:32 pm

Moonrise

12:43 pm

Moonset

1:58 am

High tide

12:30 am

Low tide

12:30 pm

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