Where do you launch a boat at Karratha?

The Karratha boat ramp on Nickol Bay is the main sealed launch, with parking, giving access to the Nickol River mouth and the inshore creeks. Part of Hearson's Cove on the Burrup is closed to motorised vessels, so the Burrup's beach launch is Withnell Bay on the western side, and Cleaverville to the north-east has a creek ramp. Time launch and retrieval to the tide — the Karratha ramp needs at least 2.4 metres of tide for most boats, and the four-to-five-metre range strands boats on the mud at the bottom of a big low.

What can you catch at Hearson's Cove?

Hearson's Cove is a sheltered, family-friendly beach more than a fishing hotspot — it fishes lightly for queenfish and small trevally on the run-in across the flats. The better fishing is by boat in Airport Creek, which holds threadfin and mangrove jack, and in the Nickol River and Cleaverville creeks nearby. Wear reef shoes for stonefish and stingrays on the flats.

Is the fishing at Karratha different to Dampier?

Yes — Karratha is the inshore, land-based and small-boat side: Nickol Bay, the town creeks and Hearson's Cove, with threadfin, queenfish, mangrove jack and flathead on the tide. Dampier, 20 minutes west at Hampton Harbour, is the gateway to the Dampier Archipelago and the offshore reef fishery for emperor, coral trout and mackerel. Many anglers base in Karratha and fish both.

Are there crocodiles around Karratha?

Occasionally. Saltwater crocodile sightings are recorded across the Pilbara, including the Karratha creeks and Nickol River, and the resident population is slowly expanding. Numbers are far lower than Broome, but the mangrove creeks and tidal water should be treated as potential croc habitat — don't wade the creek edges and don't clean fish at the water's edge. Check City of Karratha and DBCA alerts before fishing.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Karratha (Nickol Bay / Hearson's Cove)

Thu 29 Oct 2026 · Australia/Perth

Forecast updated Thu 29 Oct, 10:03pm AWST

Bite Alert

Change Spot

←

29 Oct

tap to pick date

→

Today Tomorrow Sat 7 Nov

📍 Karratha (Nickol Bay / Hearson's Cove)

waning gibbous · 90%

Weather: Sunny Wind: W 253° · 21 km/h Swell: flat Water: 25.8 °C Pressure: 1015.3 hPa ↓ falling Faces east · Offshore: SW, W, NW · Onshore: NE, E, SE · Forecast wind: offshore

★★★☆☆

Medium Fish Activity

Email me when a High bite day is coming Free

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 6:30 pm

Solunar Between windows

Time of day Dusk

Tide Turning

Wind W 25 km/h

Moon waning gibbous all day

Water temp 25.8 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day Timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 5:09 am Last light 6:43 pm

Low 6:29 am High 12:32 pm Low 6:31 pm

Drag or use arrow keys to explore

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

6:00 pm → 7:30 pm

1h 30m

Good

4:30 am → 8:00 am

3h 30m

Good

2:00 am → 3:30 am

1h 30m

Good

2:00 pm → 3:00 pm

First light

5:09 am

Last light

6:43 pm

Sunrise

5:32 am

Sunset

6:21 pm

Moonrise

9:55 pm

Moonset

7:44 am

Low tide

6:29 am

High tide

12:32 pm

Low tide

6:31 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

☀️

22°

←︎

258°

21 km/h

1am

☀️

22°

←︎

255°

19 km/h

2am

☀️

22°

←︎

248°

17 km/h

3am

☀️

21°

↙︎

242°

17 km/h

4am

☀️

21°

↙︎

233°

16 km/h

5am

☀️

20°

↙︎

219°

14 km/h

6am

☀️

20°

↙︎

211°

14 km/h

7am

☀️

21°

↙︎

213°

16 km/h

8am

☀️

23°

↙︎

214°

16 km/h

9am

☀️

25°

↙︎

236°

15 km/h

10am

☀️

26°

←︎

263°

15 km/h

11am

☀️

26°

←︎

286°

19 km/h

12pm

☀️

25°

←︎

291°

24 km/h

1pm

☀️

26°

←︎

292°

24 km/h

2pm

☀️

25°

↖︎

294°

26 km/h

3pm

☀️

25°

←︎

287°

25 km/h

4pm

☀️

25°

←︎

283°

26 km/h

5pm

☀️

24°

←︎

279°

26 km/h

6pm

☀️

23°

←︎

276°

25 km/h

7pm

☀️

23°

←︎

271°

25 km/h

8pm

☀️

23°

←︎

262°

24 km/h

9pm

☀️

23°

←︎

257°

22 km/h

10pm

☀️

22°

←︎

253°

21 km/h

11pm

☀️

22°

←︎

253°

21 km/h

Hourly Swell

Flat all day

12am

Calm

1am

Calm

2am

Calm

3am

Calm

4am

Calm

5am

Calm

6am

Calm

7am

Calm

8am

Calm

9am

Calm

10am

Calm

11am

Calm

12pm

Calm

1pm

Calm

2pm

Calm

3pm

Calm

4pm

Calm

5pm

Calm

6pm

Calm

7pm

Calm

8pm

Calm

9pm

Calm

10pm

Calm

11pm

Calm

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 21 km/h W (253°).

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

6:00 pm → 7:30 pm

1h 30m

Good

4:30 am → 8:00 am

3h 30m

Good

2:00 am → 3:30 am

1h 30m

Good

2:00 pm → 3:00 pm

First light

5:09 am

Last light

6:43 pm

Sunrise

5:32 am

Sunset

6:21 pm

Moonrise

9:55 pm

Moonset

7:44 am

Low tide

6:29 am

High tide

12:32 pm

Low tide

6:31 pm

Nearby Spots

Species at This Spot

Keep Tabs on Karratha (Nickol Bay / Hearson's Cove)

Get an email when the bite score here hits High, and stop refreshing this page. Free account, takes a minute.

Alert Me When It's High Save This Spot

Weekly Bite Forecast

Karratha (Nickol Bay / Hearson's Cove) + nearby Perth spots. Thursday 6pm — top windows, conditions, what's biting.

Free. Unsubscribe any time.