Can you fish off the Port Augusta wharf?

No. The 1886 heritage wharf, about 355 metres long, has been closed and fenced since 2019 for safety and structural reasons and is being rebuilt under a $15 million upgrade with around 200 new steel piles. Test piling alongside the wharf was completed in July 2026 to inform the detailed design, and no reopening date has been published. The public fishing structure is the Eastside Foreshore jetty on Wharflands Esplanade.

What can you catch at the Port Augusta foreshore?

Garfish, tommy ruff, mullet, bream, flathead and snook off the deck, with blue swimmer crabs on drop nets — Port Augusta is said to hold some of the biggest blue swimmers in the state. Summer yellowfin whiting on the shallow flats at Redbanks and Back Beach are the local speciality. The famous yellowtail kingfish run of June to October is overwhelmingly a boat fishery.

Can you fish at Yorkeys Crossing?

No. Yorkeys Crossing is the unsealed bypass road around Port Augusta, and the causeway sits inside Upper Spencer Gulf Sanctuary Zone 1, where no fishing or taking of anything is permitted. The sanctuary's southern boundary runs along 32°27.143'S, roughly 3.9 km north of the foreshore jetty. The land-based options north of town that sources actually name are Redbanks, Back Beach and the railway bridge.

When is the best time to fish at Port Augusta?

Winter, which is the opposite of most of the state. Garfish, flathead and King George whiting all fish better in the cold months and the kingfish run peaks from about June to October, while summer heat pushes fish deeper and makes afternoon tides largely pointless. The one exception is the summer yellowfin whiting session on the flats, which runs early on a morning high tide draining off the mangroves.

How do you catch crabs at Port Augusta?

Drop nets or hoop nets baited with fish or fish-based products — meat and chicken baits in nets are illegal in South Australia — or a crab rake worked over the flats on a low tide. Minimum size is 11 cm across the carapace, the bag is 20 per person and 60 per boat, berried females go straight back, and there is no seasonal closure. You may use up to 10 hoop nets if you fish no other gear, or 3 alongside a rod, and no more than 3 drop nets each.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Port Augusta Foreshore Jetty

Sun 18 Oct 2026 · Australia/Adelaide

Forecast updated Sun 18 Oct, 10:44pm ACDT

Save

←

18 Oct

tap to pick date

→

Today Tomorrow Sat 24 Oct

📍 Port Augusta Foreshore Jetty

first quarter · 43%

Weather: Sunny Wind: NE 43° · 8 km/h Water: 20.9 °C Pressure: 1018.2 hPa ↓ falling Sheltered water: wind direction matters less here

★★★★☆

High Fish Activity

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 7:30 pm

Solunar Major window

Time of day Dusk

Tide Moving

Wind E 14 km/h

Moon first quarter all day

Water temp 20.9 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day Timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 6:10 am Last light 7:58 pm

Low 3:38 am High 9:50 am Low 4:47 pm High 10:00 pm

Drag or use arrow keys to explore

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

5:00 pm → 9:00 pm

Good

5:30 am → 8:30 am

Good

2:00 am → 4:30 am

2h 30m

Good

10:00 am → 12:00 pm

First light

6:10 am

Last light

7:58 pm

Sunrise

6:35 am

Sunset

7:33 pm

Moonrise

11:43 am

Moonset

1:44 am

Low tide

3:38 am

High tide

9:50 am

Low tide

4:47 pm

High tide

10:00 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

☀️

18°

↓︎

158°

11 km/h

1am

☀️

17°

↘︎

153°

8 km/h

2am

☀️

17°

↘︎

125°

7 km/h

3am

☀️

18°

→︎

83°

9 km/h

4am

☀️

18°

↗︎

53°

8 km/h

5am

☀️

17°

↗︎

42°

8 km/h

6am

☀️

17°

↗︎

35°

7 km/h

7am

☀️

19°

↑︎

8°

5 km/h

8am

☀️

22°

↑︎

360°

7 km/h

9am

☀️

24°

↗︎

23°

9 km/h

10am

☀️

26°

↗︎

26°

10 km/h

11am

☀️

28°

↗︎

25°

10 km/h

12pm

☀️

29°

↗︎

34°

7 km/h

1pm

☀️

30°

↗︎

66°

9 km/h

2pm

☀️

30°

→︎

72°

10 km/h

3pm

☀️

31°

→︎

78°

9 km/h

4pm

☁️

30°

→︎

75°

10 km/h

5pm

☁️

30°

↗︎

62°

12 km/h

6pm

☀️

28°

→︎

71°

12 km/h

7pm

☀️

26°

→︎

77°

14 km/h

8pm

☀️

25°

→︎

70°

14 km/h

9pm

☀️

23°

↗︎

59°

12 km/h

10pm

☀️

23°

↗︎

66°

12 km/h

11pm

☀️

22°

↗︎

43°

8 km/h

Water Temp (°C)

↗ warming — up 0.9° over the last 3 days

Thu

15 Oct

20.0°

Fri

16 Oct

20.0°

Sat

17 Oct

20.6°

Sun

18 Oct

20.9°

Mon

19 Oct

21.1°

Tue

20 Oct

21.2°

Wed

21 Oct

21.3°

Thu

22 Oct

22.0°

Fri

23 Oct

22.1°

Sat

24 Oct

21.8°

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 8 km/h NE (43°).

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

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

5:00 pm → 9:00 pm

Good

5:30 am → 8:30 am

Good

2:00 am → 4:30 am

2h 30m

Good

10:00 am → 12:00 pm

First light

6:10 am

Last light

7:58 pm

Sunrise

6:35 am

Sunset

7:33 pm

Moonrise

11:43 am

Moonset

1:44 am

Low tide

3:38 am

High tide

9:50 am

Low tide

4:47 pm

High tide

10:00 pm

Species at This Spot