Can you catch squid off Glenelg Jetty right now?

No. From 1 May 2026 PIRSA closed southern calamari to all recreational and charter targeting, take and possession across Gulf St Vincent, Spencer Gulf and the Kangaroo Island zone, and the closure is still in force with no published end date — Glenelg sits inside that zone. In a normal season squid are the jetty's standout, caught on jigs whenever the water is clear and best at dawn and dusk, so check the PIRSA rules or the SA Fishing app before you plan a session around them.

Do I need a fishing licence to fish Glenelg Jetty?

No. There is no general recreational fishing licence in South Australia, so you can fish the jetty for free. You still have to follow PIRSA size and bag limits and any current closures — southern calamari and southern garfish are both closed in Gulf St Vincent right now, while King George whiting stays legal here all year — its 1 March to 30 June spawning closure covers mapped southern-gulf waters, not Holdfast Bay.

What's the best time to fish Glenelg Jetty?

A calm, clear evening into dark is the sweet spot. Tommy ruff and snook feed under the jetty lights after dark, and squid go best at dawn and dusk in clean water when they are open — both calamari and garfish are closed in the gulf at the moment. Avoid the days the afternoon sea breeze and southwesterly are up, because they dirty the water and the squid bite shuts down.

Can you catch blue swimmer crabs at Glenelg Jetty?

Yes — blue swimmer crabs are plentiful off the jetty on drop nets through summer, roughly November to April, with two-spot sand crabs about in April and May. PIRSA sets a minimum size of 11cm across the carapace and a combined daily bag of 20 crabs; berried females must go straight back, and only fish-based bait is legal in marine waters. Crab limits in Gulf St Vincent were restored to full levels from 1 May 2026, so crabbing is on while squid and gar are closed.

Is Glenelg Jetty good for kids and beginners?

It's one of the better family options in metro Adelaide. The deck is flat, sealed and railed, parking and cafes are right there, and accessible toilets sit a minute from the jetty entrance. Garfish and tommies under the lights on a simple float rig are about the easiest fish in Adelaide to catch, which makes it a forgiving spot to learn — just keep kids back from the high rail over cold water.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Glenelg Jetty

Sat 17 Oct 2026 · Australia/Adelaide

Forecast updated 3:03am ACDT

Save

←

17 Oct

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Today Tomorrow Sat 17 Oct

📍 Glenelg Jetty

first quarter · 32%

Weather: Sunny Wind: W 285° · 5 km/h Swell: 0.1 m @ 10 s SW Water: 17.7 °C Pressure: 1022.1 hPa ↓ falling Faces west · Offshore: NE, E, SE · Onshore: SW, W, NW · 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 13 km/h

Moon first quarter all day

Water temp 17.7 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 6:05 am Last light 7:57 pm

Low 12:15 am High 6:45 am Low 1:19 pm High 6:51 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

5:30 pm → 9:00 pm

3h 30m

Good

1:00 pm → 1:30 pm

30m

Good

1:00 am → 1:30 am

30m

First light

6:05 am

Last light

7:57 pm

Sunrise

6:31 am

Sunset

7:31 pm

Moonrise

10:35 am

Moonset

1:03 am

Low tide

12:15 am

High tide

6:45 am

Low tide

1:19 pm

High tide

6:51 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

☀️

19°

→︎

77°

15 km/h

1am

☀️

19°

→︎

71°

16 km/h

2am

☀️

18°

→︎

69°

16 km/h

3am

☀️

18°

→︎

69°

15 km/h

4am

☀️

17°

→︎

69°

14 km/h

5am

☀️

17°

→︎

69°

14 km/h

6am

☀️

17°

→︎

70°

13 km/h

7am

☀️

17°

→︎

68°

12 km/h

8am

☀️

19°

↗︎

59°

11 km/h

9am

☀️

22°

↗︎

43°

10 km/h

10am

☀️

24°

↗︎

26°

8 km/h

11am

☀️

25°

↑︎

352°

5 km/h

12pm

☀️

25°

←︎

285°

5 km/h

1pm

☀️

26°

←︎

257°

9 km/h

2pm

☀️

26°

↙︎

243°

12 km/h

3pm

☀️

25°

↙︎

231°

14 km/h

4pm

☀️

25°

↙︎

221°

14 km/h

5pm

☀️

24°

↙︎

209°

14 km/h

6pm

☀️

24°

↓︎

191°

12 km/h

7pm

☀️

24°

↓︎

170°

11 km/h

8pm

☀️

23°

↘︎

145°

11 km/h

9pm

☀️

22°

↘︎

121°

13 km/h

10pm

☀️

21°

→︎

105°

15 km/h

11pm

☀️

20°

→︎

93°

15 km/h

Hourly Swell

Steady ~0.1 m SW

12am

0.1 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

1am

0.1 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

2am

0.1 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

3am

0.1 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

4am

0.1 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

5am

0.1 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

6am

0.1 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

7am

0.1 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

8am

0.1 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

9am

0.1 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

10am

0.1 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

11am

0.1 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Calm

12pm

0.1 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Calm

1pm

0.1 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Calm

2pm

0.1 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Calm

3pm

0.1 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

4pm

0.1 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

5pm

0.1 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

6pm

0.1 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

7pm

0.1 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

8pm

0.1 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

9pm

0.1 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

10pm

0.1 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

11pm

0.1 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

Water Temp (°C)

↗ warming — up 0.4° over the last 3 days

Wed

14 Oct

17.3°

Thu

15 Oct

17.4°

Fri

16 Oct

17.6°

Sat

17 Oct

17.7°

Sun

18 Oct

18.3°

Mon

19 Oct

19.1°

Tue

20 Oct

19.0°

Wed

21 Oct

18.9°

Thu

22 Oct

—

Fri

23 Oct

—

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 5 km/h W (285°).

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

5:30 pm → 9:00 pm

3h 30m

Good

1:00 pm → 1:30 pm

30m

Good

1:00 am → 1:30 am

30m

First light

6:05 am

Last light

7:57 pm

Sunrise

6:31 am

Sunset

7:31 pm

Moonrise

10:35 am

Moonset

1:03 am

Low tide

12:15 am

High tide

6:45 am

Low tide

1:19 pm

High tide

6:51 pm

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