Do you need a fishing licence to fish Rapid Bay Jetty?

No. South Australia does not require a general recreational fishing licence, so you can fish Rapid Bay Jetty without paying for one. You still have to follow PIRSA's size, bag and boat limits and any seasonal closures, which are easiest to check in the free SA Fishing app before you head down.

What is the best time of year to catch squid at Rapid Bay?

Whenever the closure lifts. Southern calamari has been closed to all recreational take and possession across the Gulf St Vincent and Kangaroo Island zone since 1 May 2026, with no end date published, and Rapid Bay is inside that zone. In a normal year, autumn, roughly March to June, is the standout run, when the bay is often calm and the water is clean. Squid show up most of the year too, with dawn, dusk and after dark under the jetty lights on a making or high tide being the most productive sessions. A fresh northerly is the killer — it dirties the bay and shuts the squid down, so pick a light-wind day.

Can you catch King George whiting from Rapid Bay Jetty?

Yes, but treat them as a bonus rather than a sure thing — Rapid Bay is better known for squid, tommies, snook and garfish. Whiting are caught around the piles on bottom baits, with the better window in the warmer months. The 1 March to 30 June spawning closure covers mapped Investigator Strait waters offshore rather than the jetty; in the Gulf St Vincent and Kangaroo Island zone the minimum length is 32cm and the daily bag limit is 5, with a boat limit of 15.

Can I keep snapper caught at Rapid Bay?

No. Rapid Bay sits in the Gulf St Vincent zone, where snapper is closed to all fishing — both keeping fish and catch-and-release — until 30 June 2027 under South Australia's recovery measures. If a snapper finds your hook it must be returned to the water with as little handling as possible, and you should move spots to avoid catching more.

Are there toilets and parking at Rapid Bay Jetty?

There is a car park at the foot of the new jetty, so the walk to the water is short, though the jetty itself is long and unrailed. There are no toilets on or beside the jetty — the nearest are the flush toilets and BBQ shelters at the Rapid Bay Campground you pass on the way in, which also offers cheap unpowered camping. Bring your own water and sun cover, as there is no kiosk or shade on the deck.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Rapid Bay Jetty

Tue 20 Oct 2026 · Australia/Adelaide

Forecast updated 12:33pm ACDT

Save

←

20 Oct

tap to pick date

→

Today Tomorrow Sat 17 Oct

📍 Rapid Bay Jetty

first quarter · 64%

Weather: Cloudy Wind: N 14° · 11 km/h Swell: 0.2 m @ 6 s W Water: 17.6 °C Pressure: 1018.8 hPa → steady Faces north · Offshore: SE, S, SW · Onshore: NW, N, NE · Forecast wind: onshore

★★★☆☆

Medium Fish Activity

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 6:00 am

Solunar Between windows

Time of day Dawn

Tide Moving

Wind NE 16 km/h

Moon first quarter all day

Water temp 17.6 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 6:02 am Last light 8:02 pm

High 8:18 am Low 10:45 pm

Drag or use arrow keys to explore

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

5:30 am → 9:30 am

Good

7:30 pm → 9:30 pm

First light

6:02 am

Last light

8:02 pm

Sunrise

6:28 am

Sunset

7:36 pm

Moonrise

1:32 pm

Moonset

3:04 am

High tide

8:18 am

Low tide

10:45 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

☀️

20°

→︎

68°

15 km/h

1am

☀️

20°

↗︎

62°

15 km/h

2am

☀️

20°

↗︎

55°

15 km/h

3am

☀️

20°

↗︎

47°

15 km/h

4am

☀️

20°

↗︎

42°

15 km/h

5am

☀️

20°

↗︎

38°

16 km/h

6am

☀️

21°

↗︎

34°

16 km/h

7am

☁️

21°

↗︎

31°

17 km/h

8am

☁️

21°

↗︎

28°

17 km/h

9am

☁️

22°

↗︎

25°

17 km/h

10am

☁️

22°

↗︎

23°

16 km/h

11am

☁️

23°

↑︎

19°

14 km/h

12pm

☁️

24°

↑︎

14°

11 km/h

1pm

☁️

25°

↑︎

3°

8 km/h

2pm

☁️

26°

↑︎

339°

5 km/h

3pm

☁️

26°

↖︎

299°

3 km/h

4pm

☁️

26°

←︎

273°

3 km/h

5pm

🌧️

26°

←︎

270°

2 km/h

6pm

🌧️

25°

↑︎

22°

1 km/h

7pm

🌧️

23°

↗︎

56°

4 km/h

8pm

🌧️

22°

↗︎

59°

8 km/h

9pm

🌧️

21°

↗︎

59°

11 km/h

10pm

🌧️

20°

↗︎

59°

13 km/h

11pm

☀️

20°

↗︎

58°

14 km/h

Hourly Swell

Steady ~0.2 m N

12am

0.1 m

@ 8 s

←︎

Calm

1am

0.1 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Calm

2am

0.1 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Calm

3am

0.1 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Calm

4am

0.1 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Calm

5am

0.1 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

6am

0.1 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

7am

0.1 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

8am

0.1 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

9am

0.2 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

10am

0.2 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

11am

0.2 m

@ 8 s

←︎

Calm

chop

12pm

0.2 m

@ 6 s

←︎

Calm

chop

1pm

Calm

2pm

Calm

3pm

Calm

4pm

Calm

5pm

Calm

6pm

Calm

7pm

Calm

8pm

Calm

9pm

Calm

10pm

Calm

11pm

Calm

Water Temp (°C)

↗ warming — up 0.8° over the last 3 days

Sat

17 Oct

16.8°

Sun

18 Oct

17.3°

Mon

19 Oct

17.5°

Tue

20 Oct

17.6°

Wed

21 Oct

17.6°

Thu

22 Oct

—

Fri

23 Oct

—

Sat

24 Oct

—

Sun

25 Oct

—

Mon

26 Oct

—

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 11 km/h N (14°).

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

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

5:30 am → 9:30 am

Good

7:30 pm → 9:30 pm

First light

6:02 am

Last light

8:02 pm

Sunrise

6:28 am

Sunset

7:36 pm

Moonrise

1:32 pm

Moonset

3:04 am

High tide

8:18 am

Low tide

10:45 pm

Nearby spots

Species at this spot