Kingston SE

The jetty first, because it is why most people land on this page. Kingston SE's 161-year-old town jetty was storm-damaged in May 2025 and then split in two by the king tides and seven-metre swells of 24-25 June 2025. The damage was assessed at $11.2 million, the State-owned structure is stuck in a state self-insurance process, and as of September 2026 there is no funded rebuild — the council has said nothing will happen before the 2026-27 summer. Some tourism sites still cheerfully recommend fishing off it; they are describing a jetty that no longer exists. What Kingston still has is Lacepede Bay and the fish that were never attached to the timber — the Maria Creek groyne on the town foreshore for bream, tommies and mullet, the long surf beaches north toward the Granites where the mulloway culture lives, and Cape Jaffa's marina rock walls 22 kilometres south, the district's most weather-proof platform and these days its most reliable one.

In town, the groyne at the Maria Creek mouth is the walk-on option — float or lightly weighted baits along the rocks for tommies, mullet and juvenile salmon, with quiet black bream water up the creek itself. The serious local program is the surf. Long Beach runs north from town toward the Coorong and locals drive it (4WD, and two vehicles is the sensible convention — there are soft patches) looking for deep gutters, which get markedly better north of Granite Rocks seventeen-odd kilometres up the beach. Big baits fished into those gutters at night take mulloway, with salmon, gummies and school sharks in the same water. At Cape Jaffa the marina rock walls collect bait and everything that eats it — bream, trevally, flathead, whiting, salmon, gar, tommies, squid. Big mulloway prowl the harbour channel at night, and locals treat livebait, a squid or a small salmon, as non-negotiable because these fish are famously hard-won. The small jetty at the old settlement a kilometre west has long fished squid on glassy mornings and evenings — after the year this coast has had, confirm it is standing before you build a trip around it. One quirk of the map — the Cape Jaffa Rock Lobster Sanctuary's eastern boundary runs along this small jetty, so line fishing is fine and the marina walls sit outside it, but no drop-netting for crays off the jetty's seaward side.

Mulloway are the identity fish and the rules are stern — minimum 82 cm and a bag of 2. The Long Beach gutters produce them at night through the warmer months (the council's own brochure boasts of fish up to 90 pounds), and the Cape Jaffa harbour channel holds big ones for the livebait faithful. Salmon run all year with winter the peak; the bag is 20 for fish of 21 to 35 cm and 10 for anything bigger. King George whiting off the weed patches south of Cape Jaffa touch a kilogram at times — 32 cm minimum east of the 136°E line, bag 10, best October to May. Squid are open here at 15 per person, no gulf closure, and yellowfin whiting work the summer shallows at 24 cm and a bag of 20. Black bream, tommies (bag 40) and mullet round out the everyday fishing. Snapper are the South East's odd privilege — open at 38 cm with a bag of 5 and boat limit of 15 while the entire rest of the state stays closed until 30 June 2027, on the condition that every keeper is reported through the SA Fishing app or Fishwatch. The serious snapper ground is Margaret Brock Reef, 7 km off Cape Jaffa, and that is boat territory.

Ignore any tourism copy that tells you to fish the Kingston jetty — it was written before June 2025 and nobody has updated it. For the surf mulloway the local formula is a night high tide around the full or new moon, fresh bait, and patience measured in hours rather than casts. Autumn is the district's quietly prized window at Cape Jaffa — calm seas, the summer species still about, and fewer holidaymakers. The far Coorong end of the beach run closes to vehicles from late October to late December; check the current dates with the parks service before planning a long run north. Margaret Brock Reef and Cape Jaffa both carry rock lobster sanctuaries — line fishing is unaffected, but the crays are protected, which in one of SA's crayfish capitals counts as local irony. And if the missing jetty stings, Larry the Big Lobster is still standing. The town keeps its icons where the storms cannot reach them.

The town foreshore off Marine Parade has a smooth path, a playground and the Kingston Foreshore Caravan Park, and the old jetty's parking area is still there even if the jetty is not. Kingston SE is the district hub — pubs, a bakery, fuel and the aforementioned Larry. Cape Jaffa, 22 km south, is a hamlet; the Anchorage marina has a dual-lane concrete ramp (council launch permit required — about $10 a day from the machine at the ramp, but check current pricing), big parking bays and two man-made swimming beaches that make it the family pick. Bring your own supplies, because shops are not Cape Jaffa's strong suit. Long Beach access is 4WD territory — air down and know your tides.

Lacepede Bay is the sheltered exception on an exposed coast — a broad, relatively calm bight between Cape Jaffa and Kingston with shallow weed flats close to shore. North of town the shelter ends and Long Beach takes the Southern Ocean straight on, which is exactly why it builds the gutters mulloway want. The marina rock walls at Cape Jaffa are sheltered from the sea breeze and stay fishable when everything else is blown out. Summer favours the shallow-water fishing — yellowfin whiting on the flats and squid on glassy evenings; winter sends the salmon schools along the beaches and the surf effort follows. The marine park map is kinder than you might expect — the Kingston foreshore and Maria Creek groyne sit entirely outside the Upper South East Marine Park, whose boundary starts just north of the township, and the one sanctuary zone off Long Beach is an offshore box roughly 9 to 13 km north of town that sits half a kilometre or more off the sand. Casting from the beach is fine along the lot; kayakers working that stretch should stay outside the box.

Do not climb on or fish from what remains of the old jetty — it split in two, and "probably not salvageable" is the council's own language for it. Long Beach is remote, soft in patches and unpatrolled; take a second vehicle, tell someone your plans, and treat the run north as a trip rather than a detour. Night surf sessions put you beside deep water in shark country — the local list runs to bronze whalers — so fish with company and stay out of the water. The rock walls at Cape Jaffa and the Maria Creek groyne demand standard rock-platform care; wet rock is slick and surge does not announce itself. The general rule of this coastline since 2025 applies here more than anywhere — a structure you remember from a previous trip may no longer exist, so check before you drive.

No. The 161-year-old jetty was damaged by storms in May 2025 and destroyed — split in two — on 24-25 June 2025. As of September 2026 there is no funded rebuild, and the council has said a rebuild will not be achievable before the 2026-27 summer. Any site telling you to fish the Kingston jetty is running stale copy.

Unknown. The damage was assessed at $11.2 million, a like-for-like rebuild was costed around $17 million in a 2022 business case, and engineers recommend rebuilding at least 1.2 metres higher. The State-owned structure sits in a state self-insurance process, and the new Member for MacKillop, elected in March 2026, has made the fix a stated priority. None of that adds up to a start date yet.

The Maria Creek groyne and foreshore in town for bream, tommies and mullet, the Long Beach surf gutters north toward the Granites for mulloway, salmon and gummy sharks, and Cape Jaffa 22 km south, where the marina rock walls are the district's most sheltered and reliable platform.

Yes — the South East is the only zone in SA where snapper are open while the rest of the state is closed until 30 June 2027. Minimum size 38 cm, bag 5, boat limit 15, and every snapper you keep must be reported through the free SA Fishing app or Fishwatch on 1800 065 522. The famous local ground is Margaret Brock Reef, 7 km off Cape Jaffa, which is a boat trip.

No. South Australia has no general recreational fishing licence. Size and bag limits still apply, and the South East zone's rules differ from the gulfs — squid and garfish are open here, for one — so the free SA Fishing app is worth having for the current rules.

The 1872 lighthouse originally stood on Margaret Brock Reef, 7 km off Cape Jaffa, and was dismantled and re-erected on Kingston's foreshore. The reef it guarded is still the district's famous snapper and crayfish ground — though the crays there are protected by a rock lobster sanctuary, so leave them to the lighthouse's memories.