Port Broughton Jetty

Port Broughton sits on Mundoora Arm Inlet, a piece of water almost totally protected from strong winds, and that shelter is the whole argument for the place. When the west coast and the Copper Coast are blown out, this jetty is still fishable. The structure is a T-shaped jetty built in 1877 and 1878 on the dates the local histories give, at 1,245 feet — about 380 metres — for £3,715, with the seabed dredged alongside and a tramway running the full length of the deck. It was the bottom of a gravity railway: horses hauled empty grain wagons 16 km uphill to Mundoora and the loaded ones rolled back down with a bloke on the brake. Today it is a working jetty in a different sense, with the commercial blue swimmer crab fleet tied up against it. The headline for a land-based angler is unusual and worth the drive: yellowfin whiting to 40 cm, in winter, off the deck. Most of South Australia fishes yellowfin in summer, which makes this inlet a genuine seasonal outlier rather than a marketing line.

The signature session is fine-tackle whiting on an evening rising tide. Fish the lightest gear you own in shallow, clear water, with tube worms, prawns or clickers, and fresh or live bait over frozen every time. The official guide's promise is that most people who turn up at the right time have little trouble filling a personal quota, which is about as close to a guarantee as that publication ever gets. Yellowfin here are taken day and night, so the evening tide holds up after dark. Add a crab net between September and April — drop nets baited with fish heads, because meat and chicken baits in nets are illegal in South Australia — and the same water gives up gar, tommies and mullet on days that shut everything else down. King George whiting off the deck run medium-sized, and the bigger ones are a boat proposition in deeper water. The famous Port Broughton snapper grounds are the Illusion wreck and Plank Shoal, sometimes further than half way across the gulf, which is a big-boat sport and a closed fishery besides.

Yellowfin whiting are the reason this page exists: 24 cm minimum, a Spencer Gulf bag of 20, and fish to 40 cm off the jetty and the beach in winter. Blue swimmer crabs are 11 cm across the carapace at the base of the largest spines, bag 20, berried females straight back, and there is no seasonal closure on them. Tommy ruff have a bag of 40 and no minimum size. Garfish are open in this zone at 23 cm and a bag of 30 — Port Broughton is Spencer Gulf water, so the Gulf St Vincent garfish closure does not reach it. Mullet are 21 cm with a bag of 60, salmon are 21 cm with 20 for fish of 21 to 35 cm and 10 above that, snook are 45 cm with a bag of 20, and King George whiting are 32 cm with a bag of 10. Southern calamari has been closed to targeting, take and possession across both gulfs since 1 May 2026 with no end date published, and cuttlefish are no fallback here — Port Broughton sits north of the Arno Bay to Wallaroo line, inside the permanent upper-gulf cuttlefish closure, so none may be targeted or taken. Snapper is closed until at least 30 June 2027, and the rebuilding plan published in July 2026 makes any reopening conditional rather than scheduled.

Plan the session around an evening rising tide, which is the stated prime window for the whiting and coincides with the best of the light. Go finer than feels sensible — this is clear, shallow water over sand and seagrass, and heavy gear is why people blank here. Bring live or fresh bait; the local rig is tube worms, prawns or clickers, and clickers are a bait rather than a fish, which is worth knowing before you ask for them at the shop. Use this town as the wet-weather fallback for the whole region, because the inlet fishes when the coast will not. Watch the tide if you are wading the flats for crabs, since the water goes a long way out and comes back across a lot of ground. Jetty lighting is not documented even though the whiting are caught after dark, so carry your own.

The jetty runs off West Terrace in the town centre and it is free. The precinct has a carpark, public toilets, showers and free wifi, which is more than most jetties on this coast manage between them. Boat launching is genuinely good — dual lanes, twin boarding pontoons, security lighting and a spacious sealed carpark — though the entrance channel is shallow and winding and wants planning around the tide. There are two caravan parks, units and a motel in town, and a signed 6 km coastal walk runs north from the jetty to Fisherman Bay past the caravan park and ramp. Heritage signboards near the jetty tell the town's story, and the original piles used by Captain Henry Dale as a private landing are still visible. Adelaide is 172 km away, which makes this an easy weekend rather than an expedition. No accessibility information has been published for the deck.

Mundoora Arm Inlet is the most sheltered water on this stretch of coast and the reason people drive here when the forecast is ugly. Upper Spencer Gulf tides are semi-diurnal with a pronounced fortnightly dodge, and in water this shallow the dodge matters — an evening rising tide is the stated prime window and a dead dodge tide is a good day for the heritage walk. The water is shallow and clear over seagrass and sand, which is why the fine-tackle doctrine works and heavy gear does not. Winter is the yellowfin whiting season here, and the warmer months bring garfish, crabs and the mullet. One honest caveat about the water: a second wave of the algal bloom was forecast in news reports in May 2026 to reach upper Spencer Gulf between August and October 2026, which is now, though no PIRSA or state bloom update has confirmed that forecast. Nearly a thousand dead fish, mostly baitfish and sardines, had washed ashore in the gulf by that point, so check local reports before committing to a long drive.

This is a working jetty — the commercial crab and prawn fleet ties up here, so give vessels room and keep lines clear of moorings. The tidal flats and mangroves flanking the inlet go a long way out, so anyone wading or raking for crabs needs to watch the water coming back rather than the bucket. The entrance channel is shallow and winding, which is a boating hazard rather than a jetty one but has ruined plenty of afternoons. Jetty lighting is not documented, so bring a light for the night whiting session. The offshore snapper grounds sit sometimes further than half way across the gulf and are not a small-boat trip, closure or no closure. Self-collected bivalves have been bait-only across South Australia since 16 April 2026 because of brevetoxin, and nothing found dead on the flats should be eaten.

Yellowfin whiting are the headline and they are a winter fishery here, running to 40 cm on fine tackle. Blue swimmer crabs, tommy ruff, garfish, mullet, salmon and snook fill out the year, with King George whiting in close at medium size. Garfish is open because this is Spencer Gulf water; calamari and snapper are both closed.

An evening rising tide, and for whiting, winter. The inlet is almost totally protected from strong winds, so Port Broughton is also the regional fallback on days when the west coast is unfishable.

Yes. Blue swimmer crabs have no seasonal closure in South Australia. The minimum size is 11 cm across the carapace at the base of the largest spines, the bag is 20 per person, berried females go straight back, and meat or chicken bait in nets is illegal. The local run is best September to April.

News reports in May 2026 carried a forecast that a second wave would reach upper Spencer Gulf between August and October 2026, and no PIRSA or state bloom update has confirmed it either way. Check current local reports before a long drive, and never eat anything found dead on the beach.

Neither. Southern calamari has been closed to targeting, take and possession across both gulf zones since 1 May 2026, with no end date published. Cuttlefish are covered by a separate permanent closure — Port Broughton sits north of the Arno Bay to Wallaroo line, inside the upper-gulf cuttlefish closure, so none may be targeted or taken here at any time.

No — there is no general recreational fishing licence in South Australia. Size, bag and closure rules still apply and they differ between the gulf zones, so carry the free SA Fishing app.