Can you catch squid off Second Valley jetty right now?

Second Valley is famous for southern calamari off the end of the jetty, but as of 1 May 2026 there is a total closure on taking or possessing southern calamari across the Gulf St Vincent and Spencer Gulf zones, brought in because of the 2025-26 marine algal bloom. Second Valley sits inside that closure. You can still fish for other species, but you cannot legally keep squid here for now. PIRSA has published no end date, so check pir.sa.gov.au or the free SA Fishing app before you go.

Do I need a fishing licence to fish at Second Valley?

No. South Australia has no general recreational fishing licence, so you can fish from the Second Valley jetty or beach without paying for a permit. You are still bound by all the size, bag and boat limits, gear rules and the current closures — and right now southern calamari and southern garfish are closed outright in this gulf and snapper is closed until 30 June 2027 — so check PIRSA's limits before you keep anything.

Is Second Valley jetty good for kids and beginners?

Yes. The jetty is short and low to the water, the inlet is sheltered, and there is a safe swimming beach with rock pools right alongside. Parking, toilets, a cafe and a fish-cleaning station are all within a short walk at the foreshore and caravan park. In a normal season, squid on a jag are about as beginner-friendly as fishing gets — just mind the unrailed edges and the slippery deck, and check what's currently in season.

When is the best time to fish Second Valley?

The low-light hours around dawn and dusk, and the tide changes, fish best for garfish, tommies and snook, with a berley trail to hold them in close. Squid traditionally peak from autumn into winter, roughly April to August — though the Gulf St Vincent closure means you can't target or keep them at the moment. The jetty's real edge is shelter: it stays fishable in winds that blow out Rapid Bay and the open beaches, with a straight westerly being the one direction that ruins it.

What can you actually keep at Second Valley at the moment?

With southern calamari and recreational garfish closed in Gulf St Vincent since 1 May 2026 and snapper closed across all gulf zones until 30 June 2027, the practical legal targets right now are tommy ruff (Australian herring), yelloweye mullet, snook, King George whiting (legal all year — the 1 March to 30 June spawning closure covers mapped Investigator Strait waters offshore) and the salmon and rock species off the nearby platforms. All have their own size and bag limits, so confirm what's open on the day with PIRSA or the SA Fishing app.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Second Valley Jetty

Sat 17 Oct 2026 · Australia/Adelaide

Forecast updated 12:32am ACDT

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17 Oct

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Today Tomorrow Sat 17 Oct

📍 Second Valley Jetty

first quarter · 32%

Weather: Sunny Wind: NW 324° · 7 km/h Swell: flat Water: 16.8 °C Pressure: 1023.0 hPa → steady Faces north-west · Offshore: E, SE, S · Onshore: W, NW, N · Forecast wind: onshore

★★★★☆

High Fish Activity

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 6:30 am

Solunar Major window

Time of day Dawn

Tide Turning

Wind NE 16 km/h

Moon first quarter all day

Water temp 16.8 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 6:06 am Last light 7:59 pm

High 6:40 am Low 1:45 pm High 6:47 pm

Drag or use arrow keys to explore

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

5:30 am → 8:00 am

2h 30m

Good

5:30 pm → 9:00 pm

3h 30m

First light

6:06 am

Last light

7:59 pm

Sunrise

6:32 am

Sunset

7:33 pm

Moonrise

10:34 am

Moonset

1:06 am

High tide

6:40 am

Low tide

1:45 pm

High tide

6:47 pm

Low tide

11:54 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

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16°

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96°

18 km/h

1am

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16°

→︎

88°

18 km/h

2am

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16°

→︎

80°

16 km/h

3am

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15°

→︎

69°

15 km/h

4am

☀️

15°

↗︎

61°

14 km/h

5am

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15°

↗︎

61°

15 km/h

6am

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15°

↗︎

65°

16 km/h

7am

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16°

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65°

16 km/h

8am

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17°

↗︎

57°

15 km/h

9am

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20°

↗︎

42°

13 km/h

10am

☀️

21°

↗︎

26°

12 km/h

11am

☀️

22°

↑︎

5°

9 km/h

12pm

☀️

22°

↖︎

324°

7 km/h

1pm

☀️

22°

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288°

7 km/h

2pm

🌧️

23°

←︎

256°

6 km/h

3pm

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24°

↙︎

211°

6 km/h

4pm

🌧️

23°

↓︎

181°

8 km/h

5pm

☀️

22°

↓︎

166°

9 km/h

6pm

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21°

↘︎

150°

9 km/h

7pm

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19°

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138°

11 km/h

8pm

☀️

18°

↘︎

131°

13 km/h

9pm

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18°

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127°

16 km/h

10pm

☀️

18°

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123°

18 km/h

11pm

☀️

17°

↘︎

114°

18 km/h

Hourly Swell

Steady ~0.1 m S

12am

Calm

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2am

Calm

3am

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4am

Calm

5am

Calm

6am

Calm

7am

Calm

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Calm

10am

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11am

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3pm

Calm

4pm

0.1 m

@ 6 s

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Calm

chop

5pm

0.1 m

@ 6 s

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Calm

chop

6pm

0.1 m

@ 6 s

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Calm

chop

7pm

0.1 m

@ 7 s

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Calm

chop

8pm

0.1 m

@ 7 s

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Calm

chop

9pm

0.1 m

@ 7 s

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Calm

chop

10pm

0.1 m

@ 7 s

↓︎

Calm

chop

11pm

Calm

Water Temp (°C)

↗ warming — up 0.5° over the last 3 days

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°

Mon

19 Oct

17.7°

Tue

20 Oct

17.6°

Wed

21 Oct

17.6°

Thu

22 Oct

—

Fri

23 Oct

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Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 7 km/h NW (324°).

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 → 8:00 am

2h 30m

Good

5:30 pm → 9:00 pm

3h 30m

First light

6:06 am

Last light

7:59 pm

Sunrise

6:32 am

Sunset

7:33 pm

Moonrise

10:34 am

Moonset

1:06 am

High tide

6:40 am

Low tide

1:45 pm

High tide

6:47 pm

Low tide

11:54 pm

Nearby spots

Species at this spot