When is the best time to go crabbing at Thompson Beach?

Blue swimmer crabs run from about October to April, peaking in late summer and early autumn when the water is warmest. Within a day, go at the bottom of a big low tide and rake your way back in front of the flood. Skip the dodge tides around the neaps, when the gulf barely moves and the sand never uncovers.

What are the crab rules at Thompson Beach?

Blue swimmer crabs must be at least 11 cm across the carapace at the base of the largest spines, the personal daily bag is 20, and the boat limit is 60 when three or more people are fishing. Berried females go straight back in the water. Crabs must be measured as soon as they are caught, and fisheries officers check these flats regularly.

Can you catch fish at Thompson Beach?

No source consulted names a finfish caught here, so this page treats it as a crab-raking flat rather than a fishing spot. It is also worth knowing what is shut in this zone — southern calamari and southern garfish are closed to recreational fishers in Gulf St Vincent until further notice, and snapper is closed until 30 June 2027.

What gear do you need to rake crabs at Thompson Beach?

A crab rake, a crab gauge, a tub of seawater, shoes you do not mind ruining and polarised sunglasses. Hoop nets are allowed as well, up to ten of them if no rod is in use or three if there is, and drop nets are capped at three per person. Bait in any net must be fish or fish-based, because meat and chicken are illegal in South Australian crab nets.

Is Thompson Beach safe for kids?

The water stays below knee height for the better part of a kilometre, which makes it one of the gentler outings on the gulf, but nobody should be out there barefoot. Razorfish, rocks, spined fish, stingrays and blue-ringed octopus are all on the bottom, so everyone wears shoes and shuffles. Watch the flood tide, carry water, and turn around earlier than feels necessary.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Thompson Beach (Adelaide Plains crab flats)

Fri 23 Oct 2026 · Australia/Adelaide

Forecast updated 2:32am ACDT

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23 Oct

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Today Tomorrow Sat 24 Oct

📍 Thompson Beach (Adelaide Plains crab flats)

waxing gibbous · 90%

Weather: Sunny Wind: NW 308° · 17 km/h Swell: 0.2 m @ 9 s SW Water: 18.4 °C Pressure: 1007.5 hPa ↓ falling Faces south-west · Offshore: N, NE, E · Onshore: S, SW, W · Forecast wind: cross-shore

★★★☆☆

Medium Fish Activity

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 10:30 pm

Solunar Major window

Time of day Night

Tide Moving

Wind N 16 km/h

Moon waxing gibbous all day

Water temp 18.4 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Day Timeline

Major Minor Tide Twilight

First light 5:59 am Last light 8:03 pm

High 3:49 am Low 10:03 am High 3:38 pm Low 10:08 pm

Drag or use arrow keys to explore

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

10:00 pm → 12:00 am

Good

4:00 am → 7:30 am

3h 30m

Good

10:00 am → 11:30 am

1h 30m

Good

7:30 pm → 9:00 pm

1h 30m

First light

5:59 am

Last light

8:03 pm

Sunrise

6:25 am

Sunset

7:37 pm

Moonrise

4:37 pm

Moonset

4:26 am

High tide

3:49 am

Low tide

10:03 am

High tide

3:38 pm

Low tide

10:08 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

☁️

20°

→︎

84°

10 km/h

1am

☁️

19°

→︎

72°

10 km/h

2am

☁️

19°

↗︎

63°

9 km/h

3am

☀️

18°

↗︎

55°

8 km/h

4am

☀️

18°

↗︎

41°

8 km/h

5am

☀️

18°

↗︎

27°

10 km/h

6am

☀️

19°

↑︎

17°

12 km/h

7am

☀️

21°

↑︎

11°

14 km/h

8am

☀️

23°

↑︎

6°

15 km/h

9am

☀️

26°

↑︎

1°

15 km/h

10am

☀️

29°

↑︎

352°

15 km/h

11am

☀️

30°

↖︎

332°

14 km/h

12pm

☀️

31°

↖︎

308°

17 km/h

1pm

☀️

31°

↖︎

295°

18 km/h

2pm

☀️

31°

←︎

288°

18 km/h

3pm

☀️

31°

←︎

282°

15 km/h

4pm

☀️

31°

←︎

278°

12 km/h

5pm

☀️

30°

←︎

274°

8 km/h

6pm

☀️

29°

←︎

270°

4 km/h

7pm

☀️

28°

↖︎

333°

1 km/h

8pm

☀️

28°

↗︎

23°

5 km/h

9pm

☀️

29°

↑︎

22°

11 km/h

10pm

☀️

29°

↑︎

19°

16 km/h

11pm

☀️

28°

↑︎

17°

20 km/h

Hourly Swell

Steady ~0.3 m SW

12am

0.1 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

1am

0.1 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Calm

ground

2am

0.1 m

@ 12 s

↙︎

Calm

ground

3am

0.1 m

@ 12 s

↙︎

Calm

ground

4am

0.1 m

@ 12 s

↙︎

Calm

ground

5am

0.1 m

@ 12 s

↙︎

Calm

ground

6am

0.1 m

@ 13 s

↙︎

Calm

ground

7am

0.1 m

@ 12 s

↙︎

Calm

ground

8am

0.2 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Calm

9am

0.2 m

@ 6 s

↙︎

Calm

chop

10am

Calm

11am

0.2 m

@ 6 s

↙︎

Calm

chop

12pm

0.2 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Calm

1pm

0.1 m

@ 12 s

↙︎

Calm

ground

2pm

0.1 m

@ 12 s

↙︎

Calm

ground

3pm

0.1 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Calm

ground

4pm

0.1 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Calm

5pm

0.2 m

@ 7 s

↙︎

Calm

chop

6pm

Calm

7pm

Calm

8pm

Calm

9pm

0.2 m

@ 6 s

↙︎

Calm

chop

10pm

0.2 m

@ 7 s

↙︎

Calm

chop

11pm

0.3 m

@ 6 s

↙︎

Calm

chop

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 17 km/h NW (308°).

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

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

10:00 pm → 12:00 am

Good

4:00 am → 7:30 am

3h 30m

Good

10:00 am → 11:30 am

1h 30m

Good

7:30 pm → 9:00 pm

1h 30m

First light

5:59 am

Last light

8:03 pm

Sunrise

6:25 am

Sunset

7:37 pm

Moonrise

4:37 pm

Moonset

4:26 am

High tide

3:49 am

Low tide

10:03 am

High tide

3:38 pm

Low tide

10:08 pm

Nearby Spots

Species at This Spot

Blue Swimmer Crab