Is the Port MacDonnell jetty open?

Yes. There is no closure or damage on record, it was restored in 2015 for $650,000, and the official Limestone Coast fishing guide was still recommending it by name in August 2026. It was not touched by the 2025 storms that destroyed the Robe and Kingston SE jetties. The council's own coastal page could not be read, so if you are driving a long way it is worth a call to the council or the visitor centre first.

What can you catch off Port MacDonnell Jetty?

Tommy ruff are the main target, with Australian salmon, King George whiting, southern calamari, garfish and mullet the rest of the everyday list. Snook take lures in the warm months and summer snapper come from the surf near the rock outcrops. The breakwater fishes the same species with more water under it.

Can you drop a cray pot or a drop net off the Port MacDonnell breakwater?

No. The breakwater is a gear-restricted area where only a rod, handline or hand net may be used, and it is also a declared rock lobster fishing restriction area where crays are protected at all times with a maximum penalty of $35,000. Pots, drop nets, hoop nets, crab nets and snares are all prohibited there. The southern zone rock lobster season is closed anyway, from 6pm on 31 May to 6am on 1 October.

Can you keep snapper at Port MacDonnell?

Yes. The South East is the only zone in South Australia where snapper are open while the rest of the state stays closed until 30 June 2027. The minimum is 38 cm with a bag of 5 and a boat limit of 15, and every snapper you keep must be reported through the free SA Fishing app.

Do you need a fishing licence at Port MacDonnell?

No, there is no general recreational fishing licence in South Australia. Size limits, bag limits and closures still apply, and the South East zone's rules differ from the gulfs — squid and garfish are open here and snapper is legal — so the free SA Fishing app is worth carrying.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Port MacDonnell Jetty & Breakwater

Sat 17 Oct 2026 · Australia/Adelaide

Forecast updated Sat 17 Oct, 10:36pm ACDT

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17 Oct

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Today Tomorrow Sat 24 Oct

📍 Port MacDonnell Jetty & Breakwater

first quarter · 32%

Weather: Sunny Wind: NE 42° · 13 km/h Swell: 1.0 m @ 11 s SW Water: 15.4 °C Pressure: 1025.4 hPa ↓ falling Faces south · Offshore: NW, N, NE · Onshore: SE, S, SW · Forecast wind: offshore

★★★★☆

High Fish Activity

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 6:00 am

Solunar Major window

Time of day Dawn

Tide Moving

Wind NE 14 km/h

Moon first quarter all day

Water temp 15.4 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day Timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 5:52 am Last light 7:53 pm

High 3:20 am Low 9:30 am High 1:20 pm Low 8:17 pm

Drag or use arrow keys to explore

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

5:00 am → 7:30 am

2h 30m

Good

5:30 pm → 9:00 pm

3h 30m

First light

5:52 am

Last light

7:53 pm

Sunrise

6:19 am

Sunset

7:26 pm

Moonrise

10:15 am

Moonset

1:05 am

High tide

3:20 am

Low tide

9:30 am

High tide

1:20 pm

Low tide

8:17 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

☁️

14°

↗︎

52°

12 km/h

1am

☁️

13°

↗︎

48°

10 km/h

2am

☁️

13°

↗︎

51°

8 km/h

3am

☀️

13°

↗︎

54°

9 km/h

4am

☀️

12°

↗︎

59°

11 km/h

5am

☀️

12°

↗︎

53°

12 km/h

6am

☀️

12°

↗︎

41°

14 km/h

7am

☀️

14°

↗︎

37°

16 km/h

8am

☀️

16°

↗︎

39°

15 km/h

9am

☀️

18°

↗︎

38°

15 km/h

10am

☀️

21°

↗︎

36°

15 km/h

11am

☀️

22°

↗︎

33°

20 km/h

12pm

☀️

23°

↗︎

33°

19 km/h

1pm

☀️

23°

↗︎

35°

19 km/h

2pm

☀️

23°

↗︎

40°

18 km/h

3pm

☀️

23°

↗︎

38°

19 km/h

4pm

🌧️

23°

↗︎

31°

17 km/h

5pm

☀️

23°

↗︎

35°

10 km/h

6pm

☀️

21°

↗︎

63°

5 km/h

7pm

☀️

19°

↗︎

53°

4 km/h

8pm

☀️

17°

↗︎

38°

8 km/h

9pm

☀️

17°

↗︎

32°

11 km/h

10pm

☀️

17°

↗︎

36°

13 km/h

11pm

☀️

16°

↗︎

42°

13 km/h

Hourly Swell

Steady ~1.0 m SW

12am

1.1 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Moderate

1am

1.1 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Moderate

2am

1.0 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Moderate

3am

0.9 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Slight

4am

0.9 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Slight

5am

0.9 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Slight

6am

1.0 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

7am

1.1 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

8am

1.1 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

9am

1.1 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

10am

1.1 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

11am

1.1 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

12pm

1.0 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

1pm

1.0 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

2pm

1.0 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

3pm

1.0 m

@ 12 s

↙︎

Slight

ground

4pm

0.9 m

@ 12 s

↙︎

Slight

ground

5pm

0.9 m

@ 12 s

↙︎

Slight

ground

6pm

0.9 m

@ 12 s

↙︎

Slight

ground

7pm

0.9 m

@ 12 s

↙︎

Slight

ground

8pm

0.9 m

@ 12 s

↙︎

Slight

ground

9pm

1.0 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Slight

ground

10pm

1.0 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Slight

ground

11pm

1.0 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Slight

ground

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 13 km/h NE (42°).

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 am → 7:30 am

2h 30m

Good

5:30 pm → 9:00 pm

3h 30m

First light

5:52 am

Last light

7:53 pm

Sunrise

6:19 am

Sunset

7:26 pm

Moonrise

10:15 am

Moonset

1:05 am

High tide

3:20 am

Low tide

9:30 am

High tide

1:20 pm

Low tide

8:17 pm

Nearby Spots

Carpenter Rocks (Bucks Bay) 31.2 km

Species at This Spot