Can you fish at Hillarys Boat Harbour any time?

Yes — public access to the breakwater walls and most of the foreshore is unrestricted. 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

Sat 22 Aug 2026 · Australia/Perth

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22 Aug

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Today Tomorrow Sat 5 Sep

📍 Hillarys Boat Harbour

first quarter · 65%

Weather: Rainy Wind: E 77° · 10 km/h Swell: 2.0 m @ 12 s SW Water: 18.0 °C Pressure: 1017.7 hPa ↓ falling

★★☆☆☆

Low Fish Activity

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 6:30 am

Solunar Between windows

Time of day Dawn

Tide Slack

Wind E 13 km/h

Moon first quarter all day

Water temp 18.0 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

4:30 am → 7:30 am

Good

6:00 pm → 9:00 pm

First light

6:21 am

Last light

6:19 pm

Sunrise

6:45 am

Sunset

5:54 pm

Moonrise

12:22 pm

Moonset

2:32 am

High tide

4:30 am

Low tide

2:50 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

☀️

15°

→︎

109°

13 km/h

1am

☀️

14°

→︎

105°

13 km/h

2am

☁️

15°

→︎

92°

13 km/h

3am

☀️

14°

→︎

68°

15 km/h

4am

☀️

14°

→︎

79°

16 km/h

5am

☀️

13°

→︎

77°

15 km/h

6am

☀️

13°

→︎

82°

13 km/h

7am

☀️

13°

→︎

73°

13 km/h

8am

☀️

14°

↗︎

67°

12 km/h

9am

☀️

16°

→︎

85°

12 km/h

10am

🌧️

18°

↗︎

47°

12 km/h

11am

🌧️

17°

↗︎

47°

6 km/h

12pm

🌧️

18°

→︎

77°

10 km/h

1pm

🌧️

18°

↗︎

67°

10 km/h

2pm

☀️

20°

→︎

68°

6 km/h

3pm

☁️

20°

↓︎

163°

5 km/h

4pm

🌧️

18°

↙︎

220°

8 km/h

5pm

🌧️

17°

↓︎

190°

11 km/h

6pm

🌧️

17°

↓︎

178°

14 km/h

7pm

🌧️

16°

↓︎

179°

14 km/h

8pm

🌧️

17°

↓︎

186°

19 km/h

9pm

🌧️

16°

↓︎

163°

15 km/h

10pm

🌧️

15°

↓︎

174°

13 km/h

11pm

🌧️

16°

↓︎

188°

16 km/h

Hourly Swell

Easing 2.0 → 1.4 m SW

12am

2.0 m

@ 12 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

1am

2.0 m

@ 12 s

↙︎

Solid

ground

2am

2.1 m

@ 12 s

↙︎

Solid

ground

3am

2.1 m

@ 12 s

↙︎

Solid

ground

4am

2.1 m

@ 12 s

↙︎

Solid

ground

5am

2.1 m

@ 12 s

↙︎

Solid

ground

6am

2.1 m

@ 12 s

↙︎

Solid

ground

7am

2.1 m

@ 12 s

↙︎

Solid

ground

8am

2.0 m

@ 12 s

↙︎

Solid

ground

9am

2.0 m

@ 12 s

↙︎

Solid

ground

10am

2.0 m

@ 12 s

↙︎

Solid

ground

11am

2.0 m

@ 12 s

↙︎

Solid

ground

12pm

2.0 m

@ 12 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

1pm

1.9 m

@ 12 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

2pm

1.9 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

3pm

1.8 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

4pm

1.7 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

5pm

1.6 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

6pm

1.6 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

7pm

1.6 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

8pm

1.6 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

9pm

1.5 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

10pm

1.4 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

11pm

1.4 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

Water Temp (°C)

→ steady around 18.0°

Wed

19 Aug

17.8°

Thu

20 Aug

18.0°

Fri

21 Aug

18.1°

Sat

22 Aug

18.0°

Sun

23 Aug

18.1°

Mon

24 Aug

18.1°

Tue

25 Aug

18.1°

Wed

26 Aug

18.3°

Thu

27 Aug

18.2°

Fri

28 Aug

18.0°

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 10 km/h E (77°).

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 am → 7:30 am

Good

6:00 pm → 9:00 pm

First light

6:21 am

Last light

6:19 pm

Sunrise

6:45 am

Sunset

5:54 pm

Moonrise

12:22 pm

Moonset

2:32 am

High tide

4:30 am

Low tide

2:50 pm

Nearby spots

Species at this spot

Weekly Bite Forecast

Hillarys Boat Harbour + nearby Perth spots. Thursday 6pm — top windows, conditions, what's biting.

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