Arno Bay Jetty

Arno Bay is the squid jetty of the eastern Eyre Peninsula, which makes the timing of your visit unfortunate. Three separate guides rate this deck among the best calamari platforms in South Australia, and southern calamari has been closed to targeting, take and possession across Spencer Gulf since 1 May 2026 with no end date published. What is left is still worth the drive: big snook off the end through summer and autumn, garfish and tommies over surface berley, and a shore fishery that runs well past the deck. The town of about 220 people sits behind an all-weather boat harbour with a double-lane ramp and a floating pontoon, a creek mouth that fills with yellowfin whiting in summer, and a mangrove boardwalk that is genuinely the best accessible fishing on this coast. There is one more thing this town gave its name to — the permanent cuttlefish closure line runs from Arno Bay east to the Wallaroo Jetty, and this jetty sits inside it. So the squid are shut and the cuttlefish are protected, which on a squid jetty is a rough couple of years.

Snook are the reason to fish the end of the structure. They come on through summer and autumn, best right on dusk and into the dark under the lights, on metal slugs, soft plastics or bait. Garfish and tommies respond to surface berley with a slick of oil through it, which is the standard trick on this coast and works better here than most. King George whiting are mainly a boat fishery in 8-12 m with fish in the 35-45 cm range, though they come close enough to shore to be worth a long cast in late autumn and winter. The creek mouth is the summer spot: yellowfin whiting from December through March on beach worms or prawns, on light tackle and long casts when the water is clear. School mulloway come off the beaches after dark when it is rough, plenty of them under the 82 cm minimum, so carry a measure, on fresh fillet baits cut from salmon, snook, trevally or mullet, fished over a big late-afternoon or early-evening high tide. The local lure answers are 5 inch jerk shads and 145 mm flick baits on 14 g and 21 g heads. Winter and spring swap the summer fish for salmon of 25-35 cm and mullet off the low-energy beaches.

Tommy ruff are the everyday fish, no minimum size and a bag of 40. Garfish are open on this side of the state at 23 cm with a bag of 30, because Arno Bay is in the Spencer Gulf zone and the garfish closure applies only to Gulf St Vincent. Snook are 45 cm and a bag of 20 here. King George whiting are 32 cm, since Arno Bay sits at about 136°34.5'E and everything east of 136°E takes the larger size, with a Spencer Gulf bag of 10. Mulloway are 82 cm with a bag of 2, yellowfin whiting 24 cm and a bag of 20, salmon 21 cm with a bag of 20 up to 35 cm and 10 above it, and mullet 21 cm and a bag of 60. Two cephalopod rules stack on top of each other here: southern calamari is closed across Spencer Gulf until further notice, and cuttlefish of any species are permanently protected north of the line drawn from Arno Bay to the Wallaroo Jetty, which puts this deck inside the closure. Snapper are closed until at least 30 June 2027 in every zone but the South East, so the old Adelaide-boat run to the wide grounds off here is history for now.

Fish the end of the jetty at dusk and stay into the dark, because that is when the snook and the tommies both come on. Berley for gar without stopping — a slick of oil on the surface is what the local method hangs on. Watch the water clarity rather than the calendar: chop from the south-easterly dirties the bay and helps the mulloway, while calm clear spells are for the gar and, one day again, the jigs. When the forecast is genuinely bad, everyone drives 30 minutes north to Franklin Harbour at Cowell, which is land-locked and fishes when Arno cannot. Daily boat-ramp fees go in an honesty box and yearly fees are paid at the Jetty Cafe, the Hotel Arno or the council office, so bring cash and the right kind of conscience. Fuel is the one thing the town does not sell — fill up at Cleve, 26 km inland.

The jetty is free and sits on the town foreshore with parking a short walk away, in a town of about 220 with a supermarket, the Hotel Arno, a caravan park, cabins and the Arno Bay Jetty Cafe. There is no fuel in town; Cleve is 26 km away. The boat harbour alongside has a double-lane all-weather ramp, a floating pontoon and ample parking, with daily fees through an honesty box and yearly fees payable at the cafe, the hotel or the council office. The stand-out is the mangrove boardwalk, which the District Council of Cleve describes as wheelchair accessible with recreational fishing, picnic and barbecue facilities and public toilets, running out into the mangrove tributaries behind town with jetties and fishing stations along it. Local sources put it at 1.4 km carrying three jetties, though the council publishes neither figure. It is a genuine accessible fishing option and the answer on a day the gulf is blown out. A car park at the creek mouth gives easy access for picnics, swimming and the summer whiting. Toilets, cleaning tables and the extent of mobility access on the jetty deck itself are not documented, so plan around the boardwalk and the town.

Wind decides everything here. The prevailing south-easterly is onshore and chops the gulf to no end, which makes Arno the windiest spot on this stretch and Cowell the standard bolthole 30 minutes north. That chop cuts both ways: dirty water is what the mulloway want, while the gar and the squid want clear water after a calm spell. Late autumn and winter bring the King George whiting in and swap the summer fish for salmon and mullet. Spencer Gulf tides are semi-diurnal with a fortnightly dodge that takes the run out of the water altogether, so build a session around a moving tide — the local mulloway advice is a big late-afternoon or early-evening high.

The wind is the first hazard and the most reliable one: the onshore south-easterly chops the gulf badly and can turn a planned session into a drive to Cowell. Surge runs across the concrete boat ramp even inside the breakwater, so launch with a hand on the boat. Hammerheads and bronze whalers work the beaches and inshore water from November, which matters if you wade the flats for whiting. Behind the boardwalk are mudflats and a tidal creek — stay on the formed structure and know what the tide is doing before walking out anywhere. Only one source documents the jetty lights, so bring a headlamp for the dusk-to-dark session rather than trusting them. Spearfishing is banned within 100 m of any jetty in South Australia, including this one.

Not at the moment, which is the local tragedy — this deck is rated one of South Australia's best squid jetties. Southern calamari has been closed to targeting, take and possession across Spencer Gulf and Gulf St Vincent since 1 May 2026, with no end date published. Cuttlefish are separately and permanently protected north of the line from Arno Bay to the Wallaroo Jetty, and this jetty sits inside that closure, so any cuttlefish goes back too.

Big snook off the end through summer and autumn, best at dusk on metals and soft plastics, plus garfish and tommy ruff over surface berley and King George whiting in late autumn and winter. Yellowfin whiting fish the creek mouth from December to March, mulloway visit the beaches after dark in the warmer months, and salmon and mullet take over in winter and spring.

Yes. The District Council of Cleve maintains a current tourism page describing the jetty as used for fishing and squidding, alongside the all-weather boat harbour, and no closure or works notice has been published. The refurbishment the council mentions is undated, so treat any barrier on the deck as current.

The mangrove boardwalk. It runs from the sea's edge into the mangrove tributaries behind town, the District Council of Cleve describes it as wheelchair accessible with public toilets alongside, and it carries jetties and fishing stations along its length. The 1.4 km length and the count of three jetties come from local sources rather than the council. It is the best accessible fishing on this stretch of the Eyre Peninsula and it works on days the gulf is unfishable.

32 cm, with a Spencer Gulf bag of 10 per person and 30 per boat. The size splits at the 136°E meridian — 32 cm east of it, 30 cm west — and Arno Bay sits at about 136°34.5'E. The 2026 whiting spawning closure was lifted on 6 July 2026 and the next one runs 1 March to 30 June 2027 over mapped waters well south of here.