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 reopened on 1 July after its 1 March to 30 June spawning closure.

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

Wed 26 Aug 2026 · Australia/Adelaide

←

26 Aug

tap to pick date

→

Today Tomorrow Sat 5 Sep

📍 Glenelg Jetty

waxing gibbous · 96%

Weather: Cloudy Wind: W 275° · 8 km/h Swell: 0.5 m @ 9 s SW Water: 14.4 °C Pressure: 1028.9 hPa ↓ falling

★★★☆☆

Medium Fish Activity

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 6:30 am

Solunar Between windows

Time of day Dawn

Tide Moving

Wind NE 5 km/h

Moon waxing gibbous all day

Water temp 14.4 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

6:00 am → 7:30 am

1h 30m

Good

10:30 pm → 12:00 am

1h 30m

First light

6:18 am

Last light

6:17 pm

Sunrise

6:43 am

Sunset

5:52 pm

Moonrise

3:59 pm

Moonset

5:34 am

High tide

3:18 am

Low tide

8:35 am

High tide

2:45 pm

Low tide

9:50 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

☀️

11°

↘︎

130°

4 km/h

1am

☀️

10°

↘︎

114°

4 km/h

2am

☁️

10°

→︎

103°

3 km/h

3am

☀️

9°

→︎

90°

2 km/h

4am

☁️

9°

→︎

82°

3 km/h

5am

☁️

9°

→︎

71°

3 km/h

6am

☁️

9°

↗︎

66°

5 km/h

7am

🌧️

9°

↗︎

58°

7 km/h

8am

🌧️

11°

↗︎

46°

8 km/h

9am

☀️

13°

↓︎

198°

2 km/h

10am

🌧️

14°

↙︎

241°

3 km/h

11am

☁️

15°

←︎

266°

5 km/h

12pm

☁️

15°

←︎

275°

8 km/h

1pm

☁️

15°

←︎

274°

10 km/h

2pm

☁️

14°

←︎

279°

8 km/h

3pm

☁️

15°

←︎

268°

6 km/h

4pm

☁️

14°

←︎

256°

5 km/h

5pm

☁️

13°

←︎

261°

1 km/h

6pm

☁️

13°

→︎

72°

1 km/h

7pm

☁️

12°

↘︎

113°

4 km/h

8pm

☁️

12°

→︎

111°

5 km/h

9pm

☁️

10°

→︎

105°

5 km/h

10pm

☁️

10°

→︎

107°

5 km/h

11pm

☁️

9°

→︎

106°

6 km/h

Hourly Swell

Easing 0.7 → 0.4 m SW

12am

0.7 m

@ 4 s

↙︎

Slight

chop

1am

0.6 m

@ 6 s

↙︎

Slight

chop

2am

0.5 m

@ 8 s

↙︎

Slight

3am

0.5 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Calm

4am

0.5 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Slight

5am

0.5 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Slight

6am

0.5 m

@ 8 s

↙︎

Slight

chop

7am

0.5 m

@ 8 s

↙︎

Slight

chop

8am

0.5 m

@ 8 s

↙︎

Slight

9am

0.5 m

@ 8 s

↙︎

Slight

10am

0.5 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

11am

0.5 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

12pm

0.5 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

1pm

0.4 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

2pm

0.4 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

3pm

0.4 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

4pm

0.4 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

5pm

0.4 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

6pm

0.4 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

7pm

0.4 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

8pm

0.4 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

9pm

0.4 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

10pm

0.4 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

11pm

0.4 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

Water Temp (°C)

→ steady around 14.4°

Sun

23 Aug

14.2°

Mon

24 Aug

14.2°

Tue

25 Aug

14.3°

Wed

26 Aug

14.4°

Thu

27 Aug

14.5°

Fri

28 Aug

14.6°

Sat

29 Aug

14.7°

Sun

30 Aug

14.8°

Mon

31 Aug

14.8°

Tue

1 Sep

14.9°

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 8 km/h W (275°).

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

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

6:00 am → 7:30 am

1h 30m

Good

10:30 pm → 12:00 am

1h 30m

First light

6:18 am

Last light

6:17 pm

Sunrise

6:43 am

Sunset

5:52 pm

Moonrise

3:59 pm

Moonset

5:34 am

High tide

3:18 am

Low tide

8:35 am

High tide

2:45 pm

Low tide

9:50 pm

Nearby spots

Species at this spot

Australian Herring
Yelloweye Mullet
Snook
Flathead
King George Whiting
Southern Calamari (Squid) · closed
Garfish · closed