Is Port Germein Jetty open?

No. It has been closed since storm damage in May 2025. Repair designs are with the Department for Infrastructure and Transport, tenders were planned for mid to late 2026, and the council hopes to reopen around Christmas 2026 — but the date is not locked in. The beach and the crabbing flats stay open regardless.

Can you still go crabbing at Port Germein?

Yes — the famous flats never closed. The jetty area sits in Zone 2 of the Port Pirie heavy-metal closure, where razorfish are banned but crabbing is legal; the actual crab ban (Zone 1) starts about 10 km south at Weeroona Island. Crabs must measure 11 cm across the carapace, the bag is 20, and berried females go straight back. SA Health publishes consumption advice for seafood from the area.

Is crab raking legal in South Australia?

Yes. The crab rake is listed permitted gear, with no registration required. Measure crabs the moment they are caught — 11 cm across the carapace — and return berried females immediately. If you net instead, drop nets are limited to three per person and hoop nets to ten (three if you are also using a rod), with fish-based bait only.

When is the best time to catch crabs at Port Germein?

Local lore says the months with an R — September through April — and the warm water from November to March rakes best. Work the flats from about an hour before low tide with a rake and a floating tub; when the jetty reopens, drop nets on the high tide are the classic method.

How long is Port Germein Jetty?

About 1.5 km — most sources say 1,532 metres — which makes it South Australia's longest wooden jetty. It was 1,680 metres after the 1883 extension and was then the longest jetty in Australia; storms have trimmed it since.

Do I need a fishing licence at Port Germein?

No. South Australia has no general recreational fishing licence. Size, bag and closure rules still apply and differ by zone — Port Germein is Spencer Gulf water — and the free SA Fishing app has the current rules.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Port Germein Jetty

Thu 15 Oct 2026 · Australia/Adelaide

Forecast updated Thu 15 Oct, 10:34pm ACDT

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15 Oct

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Today Tomorrow Sun 18 Oct

📍 Port Germein Jetty

waxing crescent · 15%

Weather: Sunny Wind: E 81° · 9 km/h Swell: 0.1 m @ 8 s S Water: 19.4 °C Pressure: 1023.5 hPa ↓ falling Faces south-west · Offshore: N, NE, E · Onshore: S, SW, W · Forecast wind: offshore

★★★☆☆

Medium Fish Activity

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 8:00 pm

Solunar Between windows

Time of day Dusk

Tide Moving

Wind SE 12 km/h

Moon waxing crescent all day

Water temp 19.4 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day Timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 6:13 am Last light 7:55 pm

Low 2:45 am High 8:41 am Low 3:36 pm High 9:30 pm

Drag or use arrow keys to explore

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

7:30 pm → 10:00 pm

2h 30m

Good

3:30 pm → 5:00 pm

1h 30m

Good

2:30 am → 7:30 am

Good

8:30 am → 9:30 am

First light

6:13 am

Last light

7:55 pm

Sunrise

6:37 am

Sunset

7:30 pm

Moonrise

9:02 am

Moonset

—

Low tide

2:45 am

High tide

8:41 am

Low tide

3:36 pm

High tide

9:30 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

☀️

11°

→︎

78°

9 km/h

1am

☀️

11°

→︎

77°

12 km/h

2am

☀️

12°

→︎

78°

13 km/h

3am

☀️

12°

→︎

76°

13 km/h

4am

☀️

10°

→︎

74°

11 km/h

5am

☀️

9°

→︎

73°

9 km/h

6am

☀️

8°

→︎

74°

9 km/h

7am

☀️

10°

→︎

76°

12 km/h

8am

☀️

14°

→︎

73°

10 km/h

9am

☀️

17°

→︎

69°

9 km/h

10am

☀️

19°

↗︎

33°

5 km/h

11am

☀️

20°

←︎

267°

3 km/h

12pm

☀️

20°

←︎

255°

8 km/h

1pm

☀️

21°

←︎

249°

11 km/h

2pm

☀️

21°

↙︎

243°

12 km/h

3pm

☀️

21°

↙︎

236°

11 km/h

4pm

☀️

21°

↙︎

235°

11 km/h

5pm

☀️

21°

↙︎

229°

13 km/h

6pm

☁️

20°

↙︎

210°

13 km/h

7pm

☁️

18°

↓︎

168°

9 km/h

8pm

☁️

17°

↘︎

123°

12 km/h

9pm

☁️

17°

↘︎

115°

12 km/h

10pm

☁️

15°

→︎

102°

9 km/h

11pm

☁️

14°

→︎

81°

9 km/h

Hourly Swell

Steady ~0.1 m S

12am

Calm

1am

Calm

2am

Calm

3am

Calm

4am

Calm

5am

Calm

6am

Calm

7am

Calm

8am

Calm

9am

Calm

10am

Calm

11am

Calm

12pm

0.2 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Calm

chop

1pm

0.1 m

@ 8 s

↙︎

Calm

2pm

0.1 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

3pm

0.1 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

4pm

0.1 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

5pm

0.1 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

6pm

0.1 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

7pm

0.1 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

8pm

0.1 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

9pm

0.1 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

10pm

0.1 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

11pm

0.1 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Calm

chop

Water Temp (°C)

↘ cooling — down 0.7° over the last 3 days

Mon

12 Oct

19.9°

Tue

13 Oct

19.5°

Wed

14 Oct

19.2°

Thu

15 Oct

19.2°

Fri

16 Oct

19.4°

Sat

17 Oct

19.6°

Sun

18 Oct

20.1°

Mon

19 Oct

20.5°

Tue

20 Oct

20.5°

Wed

21 Oct

20.6°

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 9 km/h E (81°).

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

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

7:30 pm → 10:00 pm

2h 30m

Good

3:30 pm → 5:00 pm

1h 30m

Good

2:30 am → 7:30 am

Good

8:30 am → 9:30 am

First light

6:13 am

Last light

7:55 pm

Sunrise

6:37 am

Sunset

7:30 pm

Moonrise

9:02 am

Moonset

—

Low tide

2:45 am

High tide

8:41 am

Low tide

3:36 pm

High tide

9:30 pm

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