Spoilbank Marina / Pirra Pirra (fishing jetty / boat ramp)

Fish the lower deck around low tide and the upper deck around high — the Spoilbank jetty was built on two levels because the water here rises and falls around six metres on the springs, and more than seven on the biggest. It sits on the western breakwater of Spoilbank Marina, which officially opened in November 2024 and is dual-named Pirra Pirra (Kariyarra for seashells). Six reef balls sit under and beside the jetty, placed there for mangrove jack, cod and coral trout. It is wheelchair accessible, a short walk from the car park and about 1.5 km east of the West End — close enough to fit a tide around a shift.

Start on the lower deck at the bottom of the tide and move upstairs as it floods; on a big spring the water climbs most of a storey in a few hours. Drop a strip bait or bump a soft plastic tight to the reef balls for mangrove jack and cod, and accept that the structure keeps some tackle. Around the tide change, cast metals and soft plastics wider into the moving water for queenfish and threadfin. Keep every cast out of the entrance channel and away from the ramp, which carry boats at all hours.

Tight to the reef balls, mangrove jack and cod are the realistic targets — they are what the structure was put there to hold. Out in the moving water, queenfish, king threadfin and blue salmon are the open-water fish. Threadfin need identifying before they go in the bucket: king threadfin are 450mm minimum and two a day, while blue salmon — blue threadfin — have no minimum size and a bag of four. Mangrove jack are 300mm and two a day, and estuary cod (goldspotted rockcod) are 400mm minimum and count towards the North Coast demersal mixed bag of four, so check the current DPIRD guide before keeping one.

Pack a drop net or a long-handled landing net — at low tide the upper deck stands well above the water, and a jack hauled up that far on the leader rarely makes it over the top. Choose the deck from the predicted tide height, not the clock. Throwing a cast net needs a Recreational Net Fishing Licence, so bait is easiest bought in town or jigged up on a sabiki trimmed to three hooks. Use the marina's fish cleaning stations rather than the jetty, which keeps the deck clean and the sharks less interested in the people standing on it.

Park in the public car and boat-trailer park near the marina entrance — about 200 bays off Sutherland Street, 1.5 km east of the West End — and walk a few hundred metres to the jetty on the western breakwater. The jetty was built with wheelchair access, and the breakwaters carry public pedestrian paths. Fish cleaning stations, barbecues, public amenities and the Kurlu Kurlu Wirri all-abilities playground are in the precinct, but there is no fuel at the marina. The Department of Transport runs the marina and the Town of Port Hedland looks after the land side. With sealed paths in and amenities on site, it is the most kid-friendly fishing in town, though the drop from the upper deck at low tide is a reason to keep small children within arm's reach.

Fish the springs for the most water and bait moving past the reef balls and through the entrance, and the neaps when a gentler flow keeps baits where they belong. Inside two breakwaters, swell is rarely the problem — the tide is, with a range of around six metres on spring tides and more than seven on the biggest, rising and falling every six hours, and Pilbara tidal streams running at up to about 1.5 knots. The dry season, roughly May to September, brings the settled weather. The November-to-April cyclone season brings heat, storms and days when nobody should be on an open jetty.

Land fish with a drop net rather than climbing down — on a spring low the upper deck sits well above the water, and the jetty was designed without ladders, so there may be no easy way out for anyone who falls in. Saltwater crocodiles turn up in the harbour: in April 2015 residents reported a 2.5-metre croc near the town's old boat ramp, last seen swimming towards Spoilbank, so never go down to the waterline to land or clean a fish. The ramp and entrance channel carry boats day and night, so keep lines out of both. Summer heat on an open jetty is a real risk — carry more water than seems sensible and be off the jetty well before any cyclone or storm warning takes effect.

Yes. The marina has a two-storey public fishing jetty on its western breakwater, with six reef balls set underneath and beside it, and the jetty was built with wheelchair access. The breakwaters also carry public pedestrian paths. The Department of Transport runs the marina and the Town of Port Hedland manages the land side, including the fish cleaning stations.

Yes. The Town of Port Hedland lists the four-lane Spoilbank ramp as open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and pointed boaters to it when the Richardson Street ramp closed on 31 May 2024. Pilbara Ports locked the ramp overnight for a period in early 2024 after out-of-hours breaches, so check for notices if the gates are shut. The Department of Transport recommends launching at high tide, and there is no fuel at the marina.

Mangrove jack and cod tight to the reef balls under the jetty, and queenfish, king threadfin and blue salmon in the moving water around the tide change. King threadfin are 450mm minimum and two a day, blue salmon have no minimum and a bag of four, and mangrove jack are 300mm and two a day — check the current DPIRD guide before you keep anything.

Because Port Hedland's tide rises and falls around six metres on the springs, and more than seven on the biggest. The lower deck is for fishing at low tide and the upper deck for high tide, so the jetty stays usable whatever the water is doing. Check a tide chart before you go and pick the deck from the predicted height.

At the four-lane Spoilbank Marina ramp, which is open around the clock and has its own recreational entrance channel away from the bulk carriers, or at the Town's Finucane Island ramp on West Creek. The old Richardson Street ramp was permanently closed to the public on 31 May 2024 because of its condition and its position in the main shipping channel. You need a Recreational Fishing from Boat Licence to fish from a powered boat, and fishing in the port's waterside restricted zones is prohibited.