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 at least 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)

Wed 02 Sep 2026 · Australia/Adelaide

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2 Sep

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Today Tomorrow Sun 6 Sep

📍 Thompson Beach (Adelaide Plains crab flats)

waning gibbous · 74%

Weather: Cloudy Wind: W 269° · 13 km/h Swell: flat Water: 14.3 °C Pressure: 1016.7 hPa ↓ falling

★★☆☆☆

Low Fish Activity

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 6:30 am

Solunar Between windows

Time of day Dawn

Tide Moving

Wind W 7 km/h

Moon waning gibbous all day

Water temp 14.3 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

6:00 am → 7:00 am

Good

5:30 pm → 7:00 pm

1h 30m

First light

6:10 am

Last light

6:23 pm

Sunrise

6:34 am

Sunset

5:59 pm

Moonrise

11:29 pm

Moonset

8:54 am

High tide

5:53 am

Low tide

12:02 pm

High tide

5:58 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

☀️

14°

↙︎

224°

13 km/h

1am

☀️

13°

↙︎

235°

13 km/h

2am

☀️

13°

↙︎

234°

13 km/h

3am

☀️

12°

↙︎

238°

11 km/h

4am

☁️

12°

←︎

248°

9 km/h

5am

☁️

13°

←︎

257°

6 km/h

6am

☁️

13°

←︎

281°

7 km/h

7am

☁️

13°

←︎

284°

8 km/h

8am

☁️

14°

←︎

264°

11 km/h

9am

☀️

15°

←︎

260°

14 km/h

10am

☀️

15°

←︎

260°

13 km/h

11am

☁️

16°

←︎

266°

12 km/h

12pm

☁️

16°

←︎

269°

13 km/h

1pm

☁️

16°

←︎

257°

12 km/h

2pm

☁️

16°

←︎

252°

15 km/h

3pm

☁️

15°

←︎

265°

18 km/h

4pm

☁️

15°

←︎

267°

14 km/h

5pm

☀️

14°

←︎

276°

12 km/h

6pm

☀️

13°

←︎

272°

12 km/h

7pm

☁️

14°

←︎

277°

15 km/h

8pm

☀️

14°

←︎

268°

17 km/h

9pm

☀️

13°

←︎

265°

18 km/h

10pm

☀️

13°

←︎

271°

19 km/h

11pm

☁️

13°

←︎

285°

21 km/h

Hourly Swell

Flat all day

12am

Calm

1am

Calm

2am

Calm

3am

Calm

4am

Calm

5am

Calm

6am

Calm

7am

Calm

8am

Calm

9am

Calm

10am

Calm

11am

Calm

12pm

Calm

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)

→ steady around 14.3°

Sun

30 Aug

14.4°

Mon

31 Aug

14.6°

Tue

1 Sep

14.3°

Wed

2 Sep

14.3°

Thu

3 Sep

14.3°

Fri

4 Sep

14.5°

Sat

5 Sep

14.4°

Sun

6 Sep

14.5°

Mon

7 Sep

14.5°

Tue

8 Sep

14.6°

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 13 km/h W (269°).

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 am → 7:00 am

Good

5:30 pm → 7:00 pm

1h 30m

First light

6:10 am

Last light

6:23 pm

Sunrise

6:34 am

Sunset

5:59 pm

Moonrise

11:29 pm

Moonset

8:54 am

High tide

5:53 am

Low tide

12:02 pm

High tide

5:58 pm

Nearby spots

Species at this spot

Blue Swimmer Crab