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. Remember the Gulf St Vincent spawning closure removes King George whiting from 1 March to 30 June each year; 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 25 Aug 2026 · Australia/Adelaide

←

25 Aug

tap to pick date

→

Today Tomorrow Sat 5 Sep

📍 Rapid Bay Jetty

waxing gibbous · 90%

Weather: Rainy Wind: S 189° · 26 km/h Swell: flat Water: 14.2 °C Pressure: 1019.4 hPa ↑ rising

★★☆☆☆

Low Fish Activity

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 6:00 pm

Solunar Between windows

Time of day Dusk

Tide Moving

Wind S 18 km/h

Moon waxing gibbous all day

Water temp 14.2 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

6:00 pm → 7:00 pm

Good

6:30 am → 7:00 am

30m

First light

6:21 am

Last light

6:18 pm

Sunrise

6:46 am

Sunset

5:52 pm

Moonrise

2:57 pm

Moonset

5:01 am

High tide

3:42 am

Low tide

6:00 am

High tide

1:53 pm

Low tide

9:18 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

🌧️

13°

↓︎

162°

9 km/h

1am

🌧️

13°

↓︎

181°

14 km/h

2am

🌧️

13°

↓︎

190°

21 km/h

3am

🌧️

13°

↓︎

182°

32 km/h

4am

🌧️

14°

↓︎

183°

34 km/h

5am

🌧️

13°

↓︎

186°

33 km/h

6am

🌧️

13°

↓︎

188°

31 km/h

7am

🌧️

13°

↓︎

188°

31 km/h

8am

🌧️

14°

↓︎

186°

28 km/h

9am

🌧️

14°

↓︎

190°

27 km/h

10am

🌧️

15°

↓︎

189°

27 km/h

11am

🌧️

16°

↓︎

189°

27 km/h

12pm

🌧️

15°

↓︎

189°

26 km/h

1pm

🌧️

15°

↓︎

190°

26 km/h

2pm

🌧️

15°

↓︎

198°

28 km/h

3pm

🌧️

14°

↙︎

205°

25 km/h

4pm

☀️

13°

↓︎

200°

23 km/h

5pm

☀️

13°

↓︎

197°

20 km/h

6pm

☀️

12°

↓︎

198°

18 km/h

7pm

☀️

12°

↓︎

199°

13 km/h

8pm

☀️

12°

↓︎

200°

11 km/h

9pm

☁️

12°

↓︎

189°

7 km/h

10pm

☁️

11°

↓︎

196°

6 km/h

11pm

☁️

12°

↙︎

226°

6 km/h

Hourly Swell

Steady ~0.7 m S

12am

0.4 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Calm

chop

1am

0.4 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Calm

chop

2am

0.4 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Calm

chop

3am

0.3 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Calm

4am

0.3 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Calm

5am

0.3 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Calm

6am

0.3 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Calm

7am

0.3 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Calm

8am

0.3 m

@ 10 s

↓︎

Calm

9am

0.4 m

@ 9 s

↓︎

Calm

10am

0.4 m

@ 8 s

↓︎

Calm

11am

Calm

12pm

Calm

1pm

Calm

2pm

Calm

3pm

0.5 m

@ 5 s

↓︎

Slight

chop

4pm

0.7 m

@ 5 s

↓︎

Slight

chop

5pm

0.9 m

@ 5 s

↓︎

Slight

chop

6pm

1.1 m

@ 5 s

↓︎

Moderate

chop

7pm

0.9 m

@ 5 s

↓︎

Slight

chop

8pm

0.8 m

@ 5 s

↓︎

Slight

chop

9pm

0.7 m

@ 5 s

↓︎

Slight

chop

10pm

0.7 m

@ 5 s

↓︎

Slight

chop

11pm

0.7 m

@ 5 s

↓︎

Slight

chop

Water Temp (°C)

→ steady around 14.2°

Sat

22 Aug

14.2°

Sun

23 Aug

14.3°

Mon

24 Aug

14.2°

Tue

25 Aug

14.2°

Wed

26 Aug

14.4°

Thu

27 Aug

14.4°

Fri

28 Aug

14.7°

Sat

29 Aug

14.7°

Sun

30 Aug

14.7°

Mon

31 Aug

14.6°

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 26 km/h S (189°).

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

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

6:00 pm → 7:00 pm

Good

6:30 am → 7:00 am

30m

First light

6:21 am

Last light

6:18 pm

Sunrise

6:46 am

Sunset

5:52 pm

Moonrise

2:57 pm

Moonset

5:01 am

High tide

3:42 am

Low tide

6:00 am

High tide

1:53 pm

Low tide

9:18 pm

Nearby spots

Species at this spot

Australian Herring
Snook
King George Whiting
Australian Salmon
Skipjack Trevally (Skippy)
Yellowtail Kingfish
Southern Calamari (Squid) · closed
Garfish · closed