How do I get to the Mackerel Islands?

Three ways, and none of them is a public ferry. Mackerel Islands Pty Ltd says its ferry from Onslow is not operating in 2026 and lists a 30-minute scenic flight from Exmouth that lands on Thevenard, or a hire boat across from Onslow; parts of its site still mention an island transfer service, so confirm the current arrangement with the operator. Self-drive private boats can launch at Beadon Creek and run out in settled conditions. Onslow is a 14-hour drive from Perth or a flight into Onslow airport.

Can I stay on the Mackerel Islands?

On Thevenard, yes. Thevenard Island has chalet-style beachfront cabins and club-village rooms operated by Mackerel Islands Pty Ltd with on-site meals and fishing-charter packages, open 28 March to December 2026. Direction Island's rustic beach shack is closed for the 2025 and 2026 seasons, so it is Thevenard or a day trip. There is no public ferry, and Thevenard has only a small general store and limited fuel hours — bookings and bring-everything planning are part of the trip.

What can I catch at the Mackerel Islands?

Spanish mackerel are the namesake and run thick from April through November. The reef holds spangled emperor, red emperor, coral trout and rankin cod, with GTs and queenfish on the wash and shoals. Sailfish and the occasional black marlin run wide in the warm months. Land-based fishing off the Thevenard rocks produces queenfish, trevally and the occasional mackerel at change of light.

Does the West Coast demersal closure apply at the Mackerel Islands?

No. The Mackerel Islands sit in the North Coast Bioregion — north of the Kalbarri boundary that triggers the West Coast demersal closure. North Coast rules apply: a 4-fish demersal mixed bag with tighter per-species caps, plus species-specific size and bag limits. Verify current DPIRD rules before each trip.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Mackerel Islands (Thevenard Island / Direction Island)

Sat 31 Oct 2026 · Australia/Perth

Forecast updated Sat 31 Oct, 10:03pm AWST

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31 Oct

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📍 Mackerel Islands (Thevenard Island / Direction Island)

waning gibbous · 74%

Weather: Sunny Wind: SW 227° · 35 km/h Swell: 0.2 m @ 10 s W Water: 23.1 °C Pressure: 1017.6 hPa ↓ falling Faces several ways: wind direction isn't scored here

★★★☆☆

Medium Fish Activity

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▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 5:00 am

Solunar Major window

Time of day Dawn

Tide Strong flow

Wind S 27 km/h

Moon waning gibbous all day

Water temp 23.1 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day Timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 5:14 am Last light 6:53 pm

High 1:07 am Low 7:36 am High 2:12 pm Low 7:02 pm

Drag or use arrow keys to explore

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

4:30 am → 8:30 am

Good

6:30 pm → 8:00 pm

1h 30m

First light

5:14 am

Last light

6:53 pm

Sunrise

5:37 am

Sunset

6:30 pm

Moonrise

—

Moonset

10:00 am

High tide

1:07 am

Low tide

7:36 am

High tide

2:12 pm

Low tide

7:02 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

☀️

22°

↙︎

235°

33 km/h

1am

☀️

21°

↙︎

227°

32 km/h

2am

☀️

21°

↙︎

217°

29 km/h

3am

☀️

21°

↙︎

212°

28 km/h

4am

☀️

20°

↙︎

207°

28 km/h

5am

☀️

20°

↓︎

202°

27 km/h

6am

☀️

19°

↓︎

196°

26 km/h

7am

☀️

19°

↓︎

192°

25 km/h

8am

☀️

20°

↓︎

190°

21 km/h

9am

☀️

21°

↓︎

195°

20 km/h

10am

☀️

22°

↙︎

211°

18 km/h

11am

☀️

22°

←︎

249°

21 km/h

12pm

☀️

21°

←︎

259°

31 km/h

1pm

☀️

21°

←︎

254°

30 km/h

2pm

☀️

22°

←︎

254°

29 km/h

3pm

☀️

22°

←︎

263°

31 km/h

4pm

☀️

22°

←︎

268°

30 km/h

5pm

☀️

23°

←︎

262°

31 km/h

6pm

☀️

23°

←︎

263°

29 km/h

7pm

☀️

23°

←︎

261°

27 km/h

8pm

☀️

24°

↙︎

238°

36 km/h

9pm

☀️

23°

↙︎

233°

37 km/h

10pm

☀️

23°

↙︎

227°

35 km/h

11pm

☀️

22°

↙︎

223°

34 km/h

Hourly Swell

Steady ~0.3 m W

12am

0.2 m

@ 8 s

←︎

Calm

chop

1am

Calm

2am

Calm

3am

Calm

4am

Calm

5am

Calm

6am

Calm

7am

Calm

8am

Calm

9am

Calm

10am

0.3 m

@ 7 s

←︎

Calm

chop

11am

0.2 m

@ 9 s

←︎

Calm

12pm

0.2 m

@ 10 s

←︎

Calm

1pm

0.2 m

@ 11 s

←︎

Calm

ground

2pm

0.2 m

@ 11 s

←︎

Calm

ground

3pm

0.2 m

@ 11 s

←︎

Calm

ground

4pm

0.2 m

@ 11 s

←︎

Calm

ground

5pm

0.2 m

@ 11 s

←︎

Calm

ground

6pm

0.2 m

@ 11 s

←︎

Calm

ground

7pm

0.2 m

@ 11 s

←︎

Calm

ground

8pm

0.2 m

@ 11 s

←︎

Calm

ground

9pm

0.2 m

@ 10 s

←︎

Calm

ground

10pm

0.2 m

@ 10 s

←︎

Calm

11pm

0.3 m

@ 8 s

←︎

Calm

Water Temp (°C)

↗ warming — up 0.4° over the last 3 days

Wed

28 Oct

22.7°

Thu

29 Oct

22.8°

Fri

30 Oct

23.0°

Sat

31 Oct

23.1°

Sun

1 Nov

23.2°

Mon

2 Nov

23.2°

Tue

3 Nov

23.2°

Wed

4 Nov

23.4°

Thu

5 Nov

23.6°

Fri

6 Nov

23.8°

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 35 km/h SW (227°).

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

4:30 am → 8:30 am

Good

6:30 pm → 8:00 pm

1h 30m

First light

5:14 am

Last light

6:53 pm

Sunrise

5:37 am

Sunset

6:30 pm

Moonrise

—

Moonset

10:00 am

High tide

1:07 am

Low tide

7:36 am

High tide

2:12 pm

Low tide

7:02 pm

Nearby Spots

Onslow (Town Beach / Beadon Creek / Mackerel Islands) 23.6 km

Species at This Spot

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