Can you catch squid at Marino Rocks right now?

Marino Rocks built its name on clear-water squid on low light, but southern calamari is currently under a total closure in Gulf St Vincent under the 2026 algal-bloom recovery rules, so it cannot be targeted, taken or possessed here. The closure has run since 1 May 2026 and PIRSA has published no end date — check the SA Fishing app before you plan a session around squid.

Is snapper open at Marino Rocks?

No. Snapper is closed to all fishing — both take and catch-and-release — across Gulf St Vincent until 30 June 2027. It is open only in South Australia's South East Fishing Zone, east of the gulf boundary at the southern tip of the Fleurieu Peninsula — a long way from Marino. Targeting or even releasing snapper here can attract a fine.

Do I need a fishing licence to fish Marino Rocks?

No. South Australia does not require a general recreational fishing licence, so you can fish the platform without one. You still have to follow all current size, bag and boat limits and any zone closures, which for Gulf St Vincent means snapper closed until 30 June 2027, southern calamari and southern garfish closed since 1 May 2026 with no end date published. King George whiting stays open here — its 1 March to 30 June spawning closure covers mapped southern-gulf waters, not this coast.

What can I actually catch at Marino Rocks in winter?

Winter is the spin season — snook to around 80cm and Australian salmon to roughly 2.5kg are the realistic targets on metal slugs and shallow hard-body lures, fished on low light around dawn and dusk. Tommy ruff and yelloweye mullet are reliable year-round on small baits under a float for anyone wanting a steadier bite.

Is Marino Rocks safe to fish with kids?

On calm, low-swell days the rock pools are popular with families for snorkelling and exploring, but the fishing ledges are slippery, uneven and drop into deepening water, so small children need close supervision right at the edge. Avoid it entirely when there is any southerly swell, when waves wash the lower platform without warning.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Marino Rocks

Sun 18 Oct 2026 · Australia/Adelaide

Forecast updated 12:32am ACDT

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←

18 Oct

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Today Tomorrow Sat 17 Oct

📍 Marino Rocks

first quarter · 43%

Weather: Sunny Wind: N 21° · 16 km/h Swell: 0.3 m @ 12 s W Water: 17.9 °C Pressure: 1022.7 hPa ↓ falling Faces north-west · Offshore: E, SE, S · Onshore: W, NW, N · Forecast wind: cross-shore

★★★★☆

High Fish Activity

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 7:30 pm

Solunar Major window

Time of day Dusk

Tide Moving

Wind NE 11 km/h

Moon first quarter all day

Water temp 17.9 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 6:04 am Last light 7:58 pm

Low 12:30 am High 7:09 am Low 1:54 pm High 6:53 pm

Drag or use arrow keys to explore

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

6:30 pm → 9:00 pm

2h 30m

Good

5:30 am → 8:30 am

Good

1:00 am → 2:30 am

1h 30m

First light

6:04 am

Last light

7:58 pm

Sunrise

6:30 am

Sunset

7:32 pm

Moonrise

11:32 am

Moonset

1:49 am

Low tide

12:30 am

High tide

7:09 am

Low tide

1:54 pm

High tide

6:53 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

☀️

20°

→︎

82°

17 km/h

1am

☀️

20°

→︎

73°

17 km/h

2am

☀️

20°

→︎

71°

17 km/h

3am

☀️

20°

→︎

74°

17 km/h

4am

☀️

19°

→︎

76°

17 km/h

5am

☀️

19°

→︎

75°

17 km/h

6am

☀️

19°

→︎

72°

17 km/h

7am

☀️

20°

↗︎

67°

16 km/h

8am

☀️

22°

↗︎

54°

15 km/h

9am

☀️

24°

↗︎

37°

15 km/h

10am

☀️

26°

↗︎

25°

16 km/h

11am

☀️

28°

↑︎

21°

16 km/h

12pm

☀️

28°

↑︎

21°

16 km/h

1pm

☁️

29°

↑︎

21°

16 km/h

2pm

☁️

29°

↑︎

18°

13 km/h

3pm

☁️

29°

↑︎

13°

10 km/h

4pm

☁️

29°

↑︎

7°

7 km/h

5pm

☀️

28°

↗︎

30°

6 km/h

6pm

☀️

27°

↗︎

45°

8 km/h

7pm

☀️

26°

↗︎

55°

11 km/h

8pm

☀️

25°

↗︎

61°

13 km/h

9pm

☀️

24°

↗︎

64°

16 km/h

10pm

☀️

23°

↗︎

66°

18 km/h

11pm

☀️

22°

↗︎

66°

19 km/h

Hourly Swell

Building 0.1 → 0.5 m W

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

@ 11 s

↙︎

Calm

ground

6am

0.1 m

@ 12 s

↙︎

Calm

ground

7am

0.1 m

@ 14 s

↙︎

Calm

ground

8am

0.2 m

@ 14 s

↙︎

Calm

ground

9am

0.2 m

@ 14 s

↙︎

Calm

ground

10am

0.2 m

@ 13 s

↙︎

Calm

ground

11am

0.2 m

@ 13 s

↙︎

Calm

ground

12pm

0.3 m

@ 12 s

←︎

Calm

ground

1pm

0.3 m

@ 12 s

←︎

Calm

ground

2pm

0.3 m

@ 12 s

←︎

Calm

ground

3pm

0.3 m

@ 12 s

←︎

Calm

ground

4pm

0.3 m

@ 12 s

←︎

Calm

ground

5pm

0.4 m

@ 12 s

←︎

Calm

ground

6pm

0.4 m

@ 12 s

←︎

Calm

ground

7pm

0.4 m

@ 12 s

←︎

Calm

ground

8pm

0.4 m

@ 12 s

←︎

Calm

ground

9pm

0.5 m

@ 12 s

←︎

Calm

ground

10pm

0.5 m

@ 12 s

←︎

Calm

ground

11pm

0.5 m

@ 12 s

←︎

Slight

ground

Water Temp (°C)

↗ warming — up 0.8° over the last 3 days

Thu

15 Oct

17.1°

Fri

16 Oct

17.3°

Sat

17 Oct

17.5°

Sun

18 Oct

17.9°

Mon

19 Oct

18.8°

Tue

20 Oct

18.7°

Wed

21 Oct

18.6°

Thu

22 Oct

—

Fri

23 Oct

—

Sat

24 Oct

—

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 16 km/h N (21°).

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

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

6:30 pm → 9:00 pm

2h 30m

Good

5:30 am → 8:30 am

Good

1:00 am → 2:30 am

1h 30m

First light

6:04 am

Last light

7:58 pm

Sunrise

6:30 am

Sunset

7:32 pm

Moonrise

11:32 am

Moonset

1:49 am

Low tide

12:30 am

High tide

7:09 am

Low tide

1:54 pm

High tide

6:53 pm

Nearby spots

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