Do I need a fishing licence to fish Carrickalinga Beach?

No. South Australia does not require a general recreational fishing licence, so you can fish Carrickalinga Beach without one. You are still bound by PIRSA bag, size and gear rules, and right now by the Gulf St Vincent closures on southern garfish and southern calamari, so check the current rules on the SA Fishing app or pir.sa.gov.au before you head out.

Can I catch garfish and squid at Carrickalinga right now?

No. Carrickalinga sits inside the Gulf St Vincent and Kangaroo Island fishing zone, and under the algal-bloom recovery measures there is a recreational closure on southern garfish and a total closure on southern calamari (squid) in that zone, both in force since 1 May 2026 with no end date published. Both species are part of the spot's normal reputation, but you cannot legally target, take or possess them — confirm the latest position with PIRSA before you plan around them.

What's the best bait for yellowfin whiting on the Carrickalinga flats?

Live worms — beach worms or tube worms — out-fish everything for yellowfin whiting on these flats. Fresh peeled prawn and gents will also catch, but if you can get live worms, use them. Fish them on a light running-sinker rig cast just past the wash and work the bottom half of a rising tide.

When is the best time to fish Carrickalinga Beach?

For yellowfin whiting, fish the warmer months from November to April, early in the morning on a building tide and before the beach fills with swimmers. For Australian salmon, the cooler half of the year — autumn through winter into early spring — is the window, working metal slugs and salted pilchards along the beach and off the headland rocks at dawn and dusk.

Is Carrickalinga Beach good for kids and beginners?

Yes. It is a popular family beach with a car park, marked disabled bays, public toilets and a beach shower at the southern Lyddon Street access, and the shallow, gently shelving sand flats are forgiving for beginners. Kids can dig for worms and paddle in the shallows while a whiting rig soaks — just keep baited rigs clear of the swimming area in summer.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Carrickalinga Beach

Sat 17 Oct 2026 · Australia/Adelaide

Forecast updated 12:34am ACDT

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←

17 Oct

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Today Tomorrow Sat 17 Oct

📍 Carrickalinga Beach

first quarter · 32%

Weather: Rainy Wind: N 357° · 8 km/h Swell: 0.1 m @ 10 s W Water: 16.8 °C Pressure: 1022.8 hPa ↓ falling Faces north-west · Offshore: E, SE, S · Onshore: W, NW, N · Forecast wind: onshore

★★★★☆

High Fish Activity

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 6:30 am

Solunar Major window

Time of day Dawn

Tide Turning

Wind E 11 km/h

Moon first quarter all day

Water temp 16.8 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day Timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 6:06 am Last light 7:58 pm

Low 12:00 am High 6:43 am Low 1:30 pm High 6:52 pm

Drag or use arrow keys to explore

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

5:30 am → 8:00 am

2h 30m

Good

6:00 pm → 9:00 pm

Good

1:00 pm → 2:30 pm

1h 30m

Good

1:00 am → 1:30 am

30m

First light

6:06 am

Last light

7:58 pm

Sunrise

6:31 am

Sunset

7:33 pm

Moonrise

10:34 am

Moonset

1:05 am

Low tide

12:00 am

High tide

6:43 am

Low tide

1:30 pm

High tide

6:52 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

☀️

15°

→︎

109°

14 km/h

1am

☀️

15°

→︎

98°

13 km/h

2am

☀️

15°

→︎

94°

14 km/h

3am

☀️

15°

→︎

94°

14 km/h

4am

☀️

14°

→︎

95°

12 km/h

5am

☀️

14°

→︎

98°

11 km/h

6am

☀️

14°

→︎

103°

11 km/h

7am

☀️

15°

→︎

106°

13 km/h

8am

☀️

17°

→︎

107°

13 km/h

9am

☀️

19°

→︎

91°

12 km/h

10am

☀️

20°

↗︎

63°

10 km/h

11am

🌧️

21°

↗︎

38°

8 km/h

12pm

🌧️

21°

↑︎

357°

8 km/h

1pm

🌧️

21°

↖︎

331°

9 km/h

2pm

🌧️

22°

↖︎

310°

8 km/h

3pm

🌧️

22°

←︎

281°

7 km/h

4pm

🌧️

22°

↙︎

247°

5 km/h

5pm

☀️

22°

↓︎

191°

5 km/h

6pm

☀️

21°

↘︎

144°

8 km/h

7pm

☀️

20°

↘︎

128°

12 km/h

8pm

☀️

19°

↘︎

123°

15 km/h

9pm

☀️

18°

↘︎

120°

16 km/h

10pm

☀️

18°

↘︎

114°

17 km/h

11pm

☀️

18°

→︎

100°

16 km/h

Hourly Swell

Steady ~0.2 m W

12am

0.1 m

@ 9 s

←︎

Calm

1am

0.1 m

@ 9 s

←︎

Calm

2am

0.1 m

@ 10 s

←︎

Calm

3am

0.1 m

@ 10 s

←︎

Calm

4am

0.1 m

@ 10 s

←︎

Calm

ground

5am

0.1 m

@ 10 s

←︎

Calm

ground

6am

0.1 m

@ 11 s

←︎

Calm

ground

7am

0.1 m

@ 10 s

←︎

Calm

ground

8am

0.1 m

@ 10 s

←︎

Calm

9am

0.1 m

@ 9 s

←︎

Calm

10am

0.1 m

@ 8 s

←︎

Calm

11am

0.1 m

@ 9 s

←︎

Calm

12pm

0.1 m

@ 10 s

←︎

Calm

1pm

0.1 m

@ 11 s

←︎

Calm

ground

2pm

0.1 m

@ 11 s

←︎

Calm

ground

3pm

0.2 m

@ 11 s

←︎

Calm

ground

4pm

0.2 m

@ 11 s

←︎

Calm

ground

5pm

0.2 m

@ 11 s

←︎

Calm

ground

6pm

0.2 m

@ 10 s

←︎

Calm

ground

7pm

0.2 m

@ 10 s

←︎

Calm

ground

8pm

0.2 m

@ 10 s

←︎

Calm

ground

9pm

0.2 m

@ 10 s

←︎

Calm

ground

10pm

0.2 m

@ 10 s

←︎

Calm

ground

11pm

0.2 m

@ 10 s

←︎

Calm

ground

Water Temp (°C)

↗ warming — up 0.7° over the last 3 days

Wed

14 Oct

16.1°

Thu

15 Oct

16.1°

Fri

16 Oct

16.4°

Sat

17 Oct

16.8°

Sun

18 Oct

17.1°

Mon

19 Oct

17.4°

Tue

20 Oct

17.5°

Wed

21 Oct

17.7°

Thu

22 Oct

17.8°

Fri

23 Oct

—

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 8 km/h N (357°).

Wind map data: ECMWF HRES (operational), updated every 6 hours. Not for navigation.

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

5:30 am → 8:00 am

2h 30m

Good

6:00 pm → 9:00 pm

Good

1:00 pm → 2:30 pm

1h 30m

Good

1:00 am → 1:30 am

30m

First light

6:06 am

Last light

7:58 pm

Sunrise

6:31 am

Sunset

7:33 pm

Moonrise

10:34 am

Moonset

1:05 am

Low tide

12:00 am

High tide

6:43 am

Low tide

1:30 pm

High tide

6:52 pm

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