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

Mon 12 Oct 2026 · Australia/Adelaide

Forecast updated Mon 12 Oct, 10:33pm ACDT

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12 Oct

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Today Tomorrow Sat 17 Oct

📍 Rapid Bay Jetty

new · 1%

Weather: Cloudy Wind: SW 223° · 12 km/h Swell: flat Water: 16.5 °C Pressure: 1021.0 hPa ↑ rising Faces north · Offshore: SE, S, SW · Onshore: NW, N, NE · Forecast wind: offshore

★★★☆☆

Medium Fish Activity

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 7:30 pm

Solunar Between windows

Time of day Dusk

Tide Moving

Wind S 14 km/h

Moon new all day

Water temp 16.5 °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

High 4:49 am Low 11:05 am High 5:06 pm Low 10:17 pm

Drag or use arrow keys to explore

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

7:00 pm → 10:30 pm

3h 30m

Good

5:30 am → 7:30 am

Good

1:30 am → 3:00 am

1h 30m

Good

1:30 pm → 3:00 pm

1h 30m

First light

6:13 am

Last light

7:55 pm

Sunrise

6:38 am

Sunset

7:29 pm

Moonrise

7:03 am

Moonset

9:14 pm

High tide

4:49 am

Low tide

11:05 am

High tide

5:06 pm

Low tide

10:17 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

☀️

14°

↓︎

173°

11 km/h

1am

☀️

14°

↓︎

174°

8 km/h

2am

☀️

13°

↓︎

184°

7 km/h

3am

☀️

14°

↙︎

211°

11 km/h

4am

☀️

13°

↙︎

225°

16 km/h

5am

☀️

13°

↙︎

222°

18 km/h

6am

☀️

13°

↙︎

223°

19 km/h

7am

☁️

13°

↙︎

224°

20 km/h

8am

☁️

14°

↙︎

232°

22 km/h

9am

☁️

14°

↙︎

230°

23 km/h

10am

☁️

15°

↙︎

238°

18 km/h

11am

☁️

16°

↙︎

239°

17 km/h

12pm

☁️

16°

↙︎

235°

17 km/h

1pm

☁️

17°

↙︎

233°

16 km/h

2pm

☁️

17°

↙︎

226°

15 km/h

3pm

☁️

17°

↙︎

230°

14 km/h

4pm

☁️

16°

↙︎

228°

13 km/h

5pm

☁️

15°

↙︎

203°

15 km/h

6pm

☁️

14°

↙︎

203°

14 km/h

7pm

☁️

13°

↓︎

201°

14 km/h

8pm

☁️

13°

↓︎

194°

13 km/h

9pm

☁️

13°

↙︎

215°

13 km/h

10pm

☁️

13°

↙︎

227°

14 km/h

11pm

☁️

12°

↙︎

223°

12 km/h

Hourly Swell

Steady ~0.5 m S

12am

0.4 m

@ 6 s

←︎

Calm

chop

1am

0.3 m

@ 6 s

↙︎

Calm

chop

2am

0.3 m

@ 6 s

↙︎

Calm

chop

3am

0.3 m

@ 6 s

↙︎

Calm

chop

4am

0.3 m

@ 6 s

↙︎

Calm

chop

5am

0.3 m

@ 7 s

↙︎

Calm

chop

6am

0.3 m

@ 8 s

↙︎

Calm

chop

7am

0.3 m

@ 8 s

↙︎

Calm

chop

8am

0.3 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Calm

chop

9am

Calm

10am

Calm

11am

0.5 m

@ 4 s

↓︎

Slight

chop

12pm

0.5 m

@ 5 s

↓︎

Slight

chop

1pm

0.6 m

@ 5 s

↓︎

Slight

chop

2pm

0.5 m

@ 5 s

↓︎

Slight

chop

3pm

0.5 m

@ 5 s

↓︎

Slight

chop

4pm

0.5 m

@ 5 s

↓︎

Slight

chop

5pm

Calm

6pm

Calm

7pm

Calm

8pm

Calm

9pm

Calm

10pm

Calm

11pm

Calm

Water Temp (°C)

→ steady around 16.5°

Fri

9 Oct

16.2°

Sat

10 Oct

16.2°

Sun

11 Oct

16.3°

Mon

12 Oct

16.5°

Tue

13 Oct

16.4°

Wed

14 Oct

16.3°

Thu

15 Oct

16.3°

Fri

16 Oct

16.4°

Sat

17 Oct

16.8°

Sun

18 Oct

17.3°

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 12 km/h SW (223°).

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

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

7:00 pm → 10:30 pm

3h 30m

Good

5:30 am → 7:30 am

Good

1:30 am → 3:00 am

1h 30m

Good

1:30 pm → 3:00 pm

1h 30m

First light

6:13 am

Last light

7:55 pm

Sunrise

6:38 am

Sunset

7:29 pm

Moonrise

7:03 am

Moonset

9:14 pm

High tide

4:49 am

Low tide

11:05 am

High tide

5:06 pm

Low tide

10:17 pm

Nearby spots

Species at this spot