North Mole (Fremantle)

North Mole is Perth's most iconic land-based fishing spot. The long rock wall stretching from the Fremantle port breakwater puts you over deep water with constant current pushing bait along the edges. It's where tailor hold from October to June, best December to May, and mulloway patrol the harbour side after dark year-round. The combination of depth, structure and traffic of bait makes it the only Perth spot where you can credibly target everything from herring to kingfish on the same outing.

The ocean side is exposed — cast metals or stickbaits into the wash for tailor and salmon moving through. The harbour side is calmer and fishes better with bait along the rocks, especially for mulloway on live mulies or squid heads at night. Tide changes and low light are when it fires. Locals fish the run-out into dusk on the ocean side in autumn, then walk back across to the harbour side after dark for the second session.

Tailor (Oct–Jun, best Dec–May, the main event), Australian salmon (autumn), herring, skippy, mulloway (year-round, harbour side at night), and kingfish when they push through in summer. Squid hold over the weed and sand on the harbour side from late winter to early autumn. Pink snapper and samson fish are caught off the wall but are inconsistent and tend to be a bonus rather than a target.

Arrive before dusk in autumn and you'll often have tailor smashing mulies by dark. The wall fishes shoulder-to-shoulder when the bite's on — set up downwind of established anglers and don't crowd a productive ledge. Cleaning fish on the wall draws sea lice and gulls fast; bag and take home.

North Mole is closed to the public — Fremantle Ports gated the wall after the 30 May – 1 June 2026 storm and had given no reopening date as of mid-September 2026, so none of the following is usable yet. When it reopens: park along North Mole Drive at the base of the wall in North Fremantle. The walk to the productive tip is around 1.2km along uneven rock — anglers travel light and stay mobile. There are no formal toilets at the wall; the nearest are at Port Beach, north of the base of the wall — Bathers Beach is across the harbour mouth. Lighting along the wall is functional but spaced, so a head torch is a practical addition for any session that runs into the dark. The rocks make this a non-mobility-friendly walk end-to-end.

North Mole has been closed to the public since the storm over the WA Day long weekend, 30 May – 1 June 2026. Significant wave heights hit 9.9m at the peak, boulders shifted out of the rock wall and concrete kerbing washed across the roadway. Fremantle Ports' 14 September 2026 update says it is still not safe to reopen, the mole stays shut until repairs are complete — which may take some months — and entering while it is closed is an offence under the Port Authorities Regulations, with a $2,000 penalty. Closures here are routine even in a normal year — the wall gets gated for maintenance and structural repairs, after storm damage, and occasionally for port events such as SailGP, and one 2023 closure ran around eight weeks — but this one is open-ended. South Mole is open, fishes the same harbour-side species, and is the fallback until the gate lifts; check Fremantle Ports' notices before committing to the drive and the 1.2km walk.

The mole runs roughly NW–SE, so the ocean side faces SW swell head-on and washes out quickly when the swell pushes past about 2m. The harbour side stays fishable in almost any wind because the wall blocks the prevailing afternoon seabreeze. Tide changes are when bait gets pushed along the wall — the run-out into dusk is the classic window for tailor and mulloway. Water can colour up after a winter storm and the squid bite drops away when it does.

The ocean side is the highest-risk land-based fishing in Perth — large swell sets can wash over the lower rocks without warning and people have died here. Watch the swell for several minutes before committing to a low ledge, never fish in heavy swell, and never alone in the dark. The rocks are slippery wet or dry; grippy footwear is non-negotiable. Boat traffic in and out of the port passes close to the harbour side — keep lines and gear clear of the navigation channel.

Tailor are about from October to June, best December to May. Dawn and dusk on a moving tide are when most fish are caught.

The harbour side is the safer choice after dark — it's calmer and the lighting is reasonable. Avoid the ocean-side ledges in the dark unless you know them well, and never fish low ledges without watching the swell first.

The ocean side directly faces incoming SW swell with no shelter, and waves wash over the lower rocks above about 2m. When the swell's up the historical answer was the harbour side of the wall; with the whole mole gated since June 2026, South Mole is the swap.

No. Fremantle Ports closed the whole wall after the storm over the WA Day long weekend, 30 May – 1 June 2026, which shifted boulders out of the rock wall and washed concrete kerbing across the roadway. In its 14 September 2026 update the port says it is still not safe to reopen, the mole stays shut until repairs are complete — which may take some months — no reopening date has been set, and entering while it is closed carries a $2,000 penalty — so check Fremantle Ports' latest notices rather than assuming. South Mole is open and fishes the same harbour-side squid, herring, tailor and mulloway; it is the standard fallback.

Whole mulies or fresh squid heads on a single 6/0 hook fished tight to the rocks on the harbour side after dark. A live herring on a slow drift around the tide change is the standout when conditions allow.