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)

Tue 20 Oct 2026 · Australia/Perth

Forecast updated 2:50am AWST

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20 Oct

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Today Tomorrow Sat 17 Oct

📍 Mackerel Islands (Thevenard Island / Direction Island)

first quarter · 65%

Weather: Unavailable Swell: 0.2 m @ 6 s W Water: 23.6 °C Faces several ways: wind direction isn't scored here

★★★☆☆

Medium Fish Activity

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 5:30 am

Solunar Between windows

Time of day Dawn

Tide Moving

Moon first quarter all day

Water temp 23.6 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 5:22 am Last light 6:47 pm

High 1:56 am Low 9:30 am High 6:15 pm Low 9:30 pm

Drag or use arrow keys to explore

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

5:00 am → 9:00 am

Good

6:00 pm → 9:00 pm

Good

1:30 am → 3:00 am

1h 30m

Good

1:00 pm → 1:30 pm

30m

First light

5:22 am

Last light

6:47 pm

Sunrise

5:44 am

Sunset

6:25 pm

Moonrise

1:04 pm

Moonset

1:42 am

High tide

1:56 am

Low tide

9:30 am

High tide

6:15 pm

Low tide

9:30 pm

Hourly Swell

Steady ~0.2 m W

12am

0.2 m

@ 8 s

←︎

Calm

1am

Calm

2am

Calm

3am

Calm

4am

Calm

5am

Calm

6am

0.2 m

@ 6 s

←︎

Calm

chop

7am

0.2 m

@ 9 s

←︎

Calm

8am

0.2 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Calm

ground

9am

0.2 m

@ 9 s

←︎

Calm

10am

0.2 m

@ 7 s

←︎

Calm

chop

11am

Calm

12pm

0.2 m

@ 6 s

←︎

Calm

chop

1pm

0.2 m

@ 7 s

←︎

Calm

chop

2pm

0.2 m

@ 8 s

←︎

Calm

chop

3pm

0.2 m

@ 8 s

←︎

Calm

4pm

0.2 m

@ 9 s

←︎

Calm

5pm

0.2 m

@ 9 s

←︎

Calm

6pm

0.2 m

@ 10 s

←︎

Calm

7pm

0.2 m

@ 10 s

←︎

Calm

8pm

0.2 m

@ 9 s

←︎

Calm

9pm

0.2 m

@ 8 s

←︎

Calm

chop

10pm

Calm

11pm

Calm

Water Temp (°C)

→ steady around 23.6°

Sat

17 Oct

23.9°

Sun

18 Oct

23.8°

Mon

19 Oct

23.7°

Tue

20 Oct

23.6°

Wed

21 Oct

23.4°

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

5:00 am → 9:00 am

Good

6:00 pm → 9:00 pm

Good

1:30 am → 3:00 am

1h 30m

Good

1:00 pm → 1:30 pm

30m

First light

5:22 am

Last light

6:47 pm

Sunrise

5:44 am

Sunset

6:25 pm

Moonrise

1:04 pm

Moonset

1:42 am

High tide

1:56 am

Low tide

9:30 am

High tide

6:15 pm

Low tide

9:30 pm

Nearby spots

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

Species at this spot

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