Point Lowly (Whyalla)

Point Lowly is a rocky headland 37 km by road north of Whyalla with an 1883 lighthouse on it, and it is not a jetty — you fish off ledges and sandy beaches, and the ground that makes it good also eats tackle. It is the only place in northern Spencer Gulf with shallow rocky reef, which is why it is the only known place in the world where giant Australian cuttlefish gather to breed in large numbers, on about 0.64 square kilometres of rock. That is also why the 2026 news is grim: PIRSA's annual count came in at 1,811 animals, the lowest on record in a series that has run from 13,500 in 2013 to 247,000 in 2020, and the decline is attributed to the algal bloom. Anyone driving up for the May-to-August dive spectacle this year should plan for a quiet swim, and there are calls for an endangered listing while a state and University of Adelaide tracking project runs to 2028. For anglers the draw is different and still intact: floated baits off the ledges for big yellowtail kingfish, which is one of very few genuine land-based shots at one anywhere in South Australia, over an honest mixed bag of salmon, garfish, tommy ruff and King George whiting. Camping is free along Fitzgerald Bay and $20 a night at the point, pre-booked online, which tells you most of what you need to know about the place.

The method that matters is old-fashioned: a floated bait fished off the rock ledges for kingfish, using a live fish or a pilchard, through the winter run from about June to October. Around that sits a rock-and-beach mixed bag — salmon and tommy ruff off the ledges and the sandy stretches either side, garfish over berley on the calm mornings, and King George whiting close enough in that a shore session can produce three of them inside half an hour on the right day. Fish the sand for whiting and mullet and the rock for everything else, and expect to lose rigs to the reef either way. Blue swimmers work the sand in the warmer months on a drop net or a rake. Do not lift rocks looking for crabs: taking any bottom-dwelling organism from an intertidal rocky reef out to 2 m of water is illegal across South Australia, which covers crabs, limpets, mussels, snails and urchins. And the cephalopod rules on this headland are the strictest in the gulf: inside the False Bay exclusion zone, north and west of the line drawn off the lighthouse, squid, cuttlefish and octopus may not be targeted or taken at any time of year.

Kingfish are the prize and the rules are simple: 60 cm minimum, a bag of 1 per person and 3 per boat. Salmon are 21 cm with a bag of 20 for fish between 21 and 35 cm and 10 above that, tommy ruff have no size limit and a bag of 40, and mullet are 21 cm with a bag of 60. Garfish are open on this side of the state at 23 cm with a bag of 30, since Point Lowly is in the Spencer Gulf zone and the garfish closure covers only Gulf St Vincent. King George whiting are 32 cm here with a Spencer Gulf bag of 10, because the size splits at 136°E and this headland sits at about 137°47'E. Snook are 45 cm and 20, blue swimmer crabs 11 cm across the carapace with a bag of 20, berried females straight back and no seasonal closure. Now the part that catches people out: a permanent cephalopod exclusion zone covers the False Bay and Point Lowly spawning ground, and its boundary line is anchored on the lighthouse you are standing under. Inside that zone squid, cuttlefish and octopus may not be targeted or taken at any time. Outside it, on the ledges east and south of the lighthouse, octopus stays legal, though squid and cuttlefish are shut there anyway under the Spencer Gulf calamari closure that began on 1 May 2026 and the permanent upper-gulf cuttlefish closure. Line fishing for finfish inside that zone is perfectly legal — it is a cephalopod closure, not a fishing closure. Snapper are closed until at least 30 June 2027 in every zone but the South East.

Know which way you are walking. The Cuttlefish Coast Sanctuary Zone is no-take for everything and sits on the western shore of the peninsula, its north-west corner at 137°42.792'E and its eastern boundary on the 137°44.799'E meridian, about 3.6 km west of the lighthouse in False Bay. A long walk west along the ledges puts you inside it, and the penalties for fishing a sanctuary zone are not the kind you argue about at the gate. The lighthouse itself and Fitzgerald Bay to the north are both General Managed Use water where line fishing is legal. PIRSA announced a 90-day in-water exclusion between Black Point and Stony Point from 1 July 2026, which puts its end at about 28 September, though it does not appear on the fisheries closures page. It stops swimming, snorkelling, diving and anchoring rather than line fishing, and the Minister can revoke it early, so confirm it before planning a boat trip around it. Wind decides which side of the headland is fishable, so arrive with a plan for both. Carry water and spare rigs.

A sealed road runs the 37 km out from Whyalla to the point, and the surface turns to gravel beyond it in both directions. Camping is free along Fitzgerald Bay with sites right on the water's edge and others back in the scrub, and $20 a night at Point Lowly itself, which has a formal campground with change rooms, showers and toilets. Those sites have been booked in advance online through BookEasy since 1 December 2025, with 19 numbered sites a night across five areas named after fish, so book before you drive rather than turning up with cash. Most of the area is reachable in a 2WD with some clearance; the emergency track linking Fitzgerald Bay to Point Lowly gets slippery after rain and rocky towards the point. There are no shops out here — Whyalla, about 37 km away by road to the west and south, is the nearest full services, so arrive with fuel, water and bait. No formal accessible infrastructure is documented, and rock ledges are not wheelchair terrain, though the sandy beaches and the campground are easier ground. The lighthouse and its cottages are the landmark everyone parks at, and the Point Lowly marina sits just south.

This is head-of-the-gulf water: shallow, quick to warm, and productive in the cold months rather than the hot ones. The kingfish run peaks roughly June to October, and the whiting and garfish fish through the cooler half of the year. The point is a headland on a gulf, so wind direction decides which side you can stand on — the western shore is the more sheltered option in an easterly and also the one that runs into the sanctuary zone, which is a decision worth making on the map rather than on the rocks. Spencer Gulf tides are semi-diurnal with a fortnightly dodge that takes a day's worth of run out of the gulf. In a normal year the cuttlefish aggregation runs May to August, and 2026 was not a normal year.

Rock ledges with no rail, no platform and no lighting are the everyday risk — wet rock is slick, the ground snags gear constantly, and there is nothing between you and the water. A sanctuary boundary you cannot see is the second one: walk far enough west from the lighthouse and you are fishing a no-take zone. The unsealed tracks around Fitzgerald Bay become genuinely dangerous after rain, and salt water occasionally covers them further round the bay. Great white sharks are commonly seen in the upper gulf. This is remote country — 37 km of road from Whyalla, no shops, limited services — so carry water and tell someone where you are going. The announced in-water exclusion between Black Point and Stony Point runs to about 28 September 2026 and bans swimming, snorkelling, diving and anchoring in that stretch, so confirm its status before you rely on the water being open.

No, and not at any time of year. A permanent cephalopod exclusion zone covers the False Bay and Point Lowly spawning area — its boundary line is anchored on the Point Lowly lighthouse itself — and inside it squid, cuttlefish and octopus may not be targeted or taken. That zone is False Bay, north and west of the line, so octopus stays legal on the ledges east and south of the lighthouse. Squid is shut across the whole headland regardless, under the Spencer Gulf southern calamari closure that began on 1 May 2026. Line fishing for finfish is legal inside the exclusion zone as well — it is a cephalopod closure, not a general one.

Far fewer of them. PIRSA's 2026 count found 1,811 giant Australian cuttlefish, the lowest on record for a survey series that has ranged from 13,500 in 2013 to 247,000 in 2020, and the collapse is attributed to the algal bloom. The aggregation normally runs May to August, this is the only known place in the world where the species breeds in large numbers, and there are calls for an endangered listing while a tracking project runs to 2028. Do not plan a trip around the spectacle this winter.

Yes, and it is one of the very few genuine land-based kingfish chances in South Australia. The method is a floated bait — a live fish or a pilchard — fished off the rock ledges, with the run peaking roughly June to October. Minimum size is 60 cm and the bag is 1 per person, 3 per boat.

The Cuttlefish Coast Sanctuary Zone sits on the western shore of the peninsula facing False Bay, with its north-west corner at 137°42.792'E and its eastern edge along the 137°44.799'E meridian, about 3.6 km west of the lighthouse. No fishing of any kind is allowed inside it. The lighthouse and Fitzgerald Bay are both outside it in General Managed Use water where line fishing is legal.

Free bush camping runs the length of Fitzgerald Bay, with sites on the water's edge and others back in the scrub, and Point Lowly itself charges $20 a night for a formal campground with change rooms, showers and toilets, booked in advance online through BookEasy since 1 December 2025 across 19 numbered sites in five areas. The road out from Whyalla is sealed and most sites suit a 2WD with some clearance, though the connecting track gets slippery after rain.