Can you really catch trout in WA?

Yes — the south-west forest streams around Pemberton are the heart of the WA trout fishery. DPIRD stocks rainbow and brown trout into specific waters including the upper Donnelly, Warren tributaries and Lefroy Brook, and a small brook-trout population persists in the colder headwaters. It is the only meaningful freshwater trout fishery in the state.

Do I need a separate licence for trout?

Yes — but it is the general South-West Freshwater Angling Licence, not a trout-specific one, and it covers trout, redfin perch and freshwater cobbler alike in waters south of Greenough. It is separate from the marine recreational rules that cover most of the rest of this site. There is no closed season for trout; the daily bag is 4 trout and cobbler combined, with a 300mm minimum size on trout.

How do I fish the Donnelly River mouth?

The mouth is 11km downstream of Donnelly Boat Landing and most reliably accessed by small boat or kayak from there. The surf beach at the mouth fires for Australian salmon and tailor through autumn on ganged-hook mulies and metals, and mulloway on whole baits after dark. Direct vehicle access to the beach itself is limited and seasonally restricted.

What's the best time of year to fish around Pemberton?

Spring and early summer for trout in the forest streams, autumn for salmon and tailor at the Donnelly mouth, and year-round for black bream in the lower Donnelly and Warren. Mid-winter is cold and wet but holds bream for those who like quiet water; mid-summer needs care around fire restrictions and forest closures.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Pemberton / Donnelly River

Sat 17 Oct 2026 · Australia/Perth

Forecast updated 4:01am AWST

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17 Oct

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Today Tomorrow Sat 17 Oct

📍 Pemberton / Donnelly River

first quarter · 33%

Weather: Rainy Wind: NW 303° · 11 km/h Water: 17.5 °C Pressure: 1016.0 hPa ↓ falling Sheltered water: wind direction matters less here

★★★★☆

High Fish Activity

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 5:30 am

Solunar Major window

Time of day Dawn

Tide Moving

Wind NW 9 km/h

Moon first quarter all day

Water temp 17.5 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 5:06 am Last light 6:56 pm

Low 1:00 pm

Drag or use arrow keys to explore

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

4:30 am → 6:30 am

Good

4:30 pm → 8:00 pm

3h 30m

First light

5:06 am

Last light

6:56 pm

Sunrise

5:31 am

Sunset

6:31 pm

Moonrise

9:40 am

Moonset

12:04 am

Low tide

1:00 pm

High tide

11:50 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

☀️

13°

↖︎

326°

13 km/h

1am

☀️

13°

↖︎

322°

14 km/h

2am

☁️

13°

↖︎

319°

14 km/h

3am

☁️

13°

↖︎

316°

12 km/h

4am

☁️

14°

↖︎

311°

11 km/h

5am

☁️

14°

↖︎

307°

9 km/h

6am

🌧️

14°

↖︎

305°

7 km/h

7am

🌧️

15°

↖︎

304°

5 km/h

8am

🌧️

16°

↖︎

305°

4 km/h

9am

🌧️

17°

↖︎

309°

5 km/h

10am

🌧️

19°

↖︎

311°

7 km/h

11am

🌧️

20°

↖︎

308°

9 km/h

12pm

🌧️

21°

↖︎

303°

11 km/h

1pm

🌧️

21°

↖︎

297°

13 km/h

2pm

🌧️

21°

←︎

289°

14 km/h

3pm

🌧️

20°

←︎

274°

12 km/h

4pm

🌧️

19°

←︎

248°

11 km/h

5pm

🌧️

17°

↙︎

233°

10 km/h

6pm

🌧️

16°

↙︎

242°

9 km/h

7pm

🌧️

16°

←︎

274°

7 km/h

8pm

🌧️

15°

↖︎

301°

8 km/h

9pm

🌧️

15°

↖︎

315°

8 km/h

10pm

🌧️

14°

↖︎

327°

8 km/h

11pm

🌧️

14°

↖︎

329°

8 km/h

Water Temp (°C)

→ steady around 17.5°

Wed

14 Oct

17.3°

Thu

15 Oct

17.4°

Fri

16 Oct

17.4°

Sat

17 Oct

17.5°

Sun

18 Oct

17.6°

Mon

19 Oct

17.6°

Tue

20 Oct

17.6°

Wed

21 Oct

17.5°

Thu

22 Oct

—

Fri

23 Oct

—

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 11 km/h NW (303°).

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 → 6:30 am

Good

4:30 pm → 8:00 pm

3h 30m

First light

5:06 am

Last light

6:56 pm

Sunrise

5:31 am

Sunset

6:31 pm

Moonrise

9:40 am

Moonset

12:04 am

Low tide

1:00 pm

High tide

11:50 pm

Nearby spots

Big Brook Dam (Pemberton) 3.8 km

Species at this spot

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