Can you catch squid at Venus Bay?

Yes. Venus Bay is in the West Coast fishing zone, north of the 34°S line that caps the Spencer Gulf zone, so the total calamari closure that shut both gulfs on 1 May 2026 does not apply here. The bag is 15 a person and 45 a boat, counted with cuttlefish, and there is no minimum size. Clear water and the hours after dark are the local formula, though you bring your own light for it.

What can you catch off Venus Bay Jetty?

Tommy ruff, trevally and salmon are plentiful day or night, with garfish and mullet over berley, squid on jigs in the clear water, and King George whiting through late autumn and winter — though the whiting here are usually on the small side. Yellowfin whiting work the summer flats and sand crabs turn up in the warmer months.

When is the best time to fish Venus Bay Jetty?

On a moving tide. The bay empties through a single entrance, so the run past the deck is strong, and King George whiting in particular bite best on days with good tidal movement. The water is often very clear, so light line and small hooks do more than a long cast, and anyone staying after dark should carry a lantern, because no source documents lighting on the deck.

Is Venus Bay Jetty open?

Yes. The District Council of Elliston lists it as one of its three jetties with a straight recreational description and no closure note, and the local tourist park describes a 100 metre curving jetty with strong tidal currents where trevally, salmon and tommy ruff are plentiful day or night. It is commercially classed, so expect working boats. The council began a coastal hazard assessment covering Elliston, Venus Bay and Port Kenny on 11 December 2025, so check for signage before a long drive.

What size are King George whiting at Venus Bay?

30 cm, because the size splits at the 136°E meridian and Venus Bay sits at about 134°40'E, well west of it. The bag is 10 per person and 30 per boat. There is no whiting spawning closure in force anywhere in South Australia today; the 2026 one was lifted on 6 July 2026 and the next runs 1 March to 30 June 2027 over mapped gulf waters.

Bite Compass

Bite Forecast

Venus Bay Jetty

Sat 29 Aug 2026 · Australia/Adelaide

Save

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29 Aug

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Today Tomorrow Sat 12 Sep

📍 Venus Bay Jetty

full · 99%

Weather: Sunny Wind: E 75° · 14 km/h Swell: 1.4 m @ 10 s SW Water: 15.3 °C Pressure: 1032.6 hPa ↓ falling

★★★☆☆

Medium Fish Activity

▸ Why this score?

At the day's peak · 6:30 am

Solunar Between windows

Time of day Dawn

Tide Moving

Wind E 10 km/h

Moon full all day

Water temp 15.3 °C all day

Learn how the score works →

Activity Forecast

Feeding Windows

Best times to fish based on activity score.

Peak

6:00 am → 8:00 am

Good

6:00 pm → 8:00 pm

First light

6:28 am

Last light

6:36 pm

Sunrise

6:53 am

Sunset

6:11 pm

Moonrise

7:20 pm

Moonset

7:14 am

High tide

12:02 am

Low tide

6:07 am

High tide

12:12 pm

Low tide

6:53 pm

Hourly Wind

High Bite Hours Highlighted

12am

☀️

13°

↗︎

59°

11 km/h

1am

☁️

13°

↗︎

57°

11 km/h

2am

☁️

12°

↗︎

58°

10 km/h

3am

☀️

11°

↗︎

66°

8 km/h

4am

☀️

10°

→︎

75°

9 km/h

5am

☁️

10°

→︎

75°

10 km/h

6am

☀️

10°

→︎

75°

10 km/h

7am

☀️

10°

→︎

69°

11 km/h

8am

☀️

13°

↗︎

67°

11 km/h

9am

☀️

16°

→︎

72°

9 km/h

10am

☀️

20°

→︎

76°

9 km/h

11am

☀️

21°

→︎

74°

14 km/h

12pm

☀️

22°

→︎

75°

14 km/h

1pm

☀️

23°

→︎

85°

13 km/h

2pm

☀️

23°

→︎

98°

12 km/h

3pm

☀️

23°

→︎

103°

14 km/h

4pm

☀️

22°

↘︎

123°

11 km/h

5pm

☀️

19°

↓︎

162°

9 km/h

6pm

☀️

17°

↘︎

135°

9 km/h

7pm

☀️

17°

→︎

107°

13 km/h

8pm

☀️

16°

→︎

108°

13 km/h

9pm

☀️

14°

→︎

103°

13 km/h

10pm

☀️

13°

→︎

99°

11 km/h

11pm

☀️

12°

→︎

92°

10 km/h

Hourly Swell

Easing 1.7 → 1.1 m SW

12am

1.7 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

1am

1.7 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

2am

1.6 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

3am

1.6 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

4am

1.6 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

5am

1.5 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

6am

1.5 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

7am

1.5 m

@ 11 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

8am

1.5 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

9am

1.4 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

10am

1.4 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

11am

1.4 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

12pm

1.4 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

1pm

1.4 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

2pm

1.3 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

3pm

1.3 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

4pm

1.3 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Moderate

ground

5pm

1.3 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Moderate

6pm

1.3 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Moderate

7pm

1.2 m

@ 10 s

↙︎

Moderate

8pm

1.2 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Moderate

9pm

1.1 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Moderate

10pm

1.1 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Moderate

11pm

1.1 m

@ 9 s

↙︎

Moderate

Water Temp (°C)

↗ warming — up 0.4° over the last 3 days

Wed

26 Aug

14.9°

Thu

27 Aug

15.0°

Fri

28 Aug

15.2°

Sat

29 Aug

15.3°

Sun

30 Aug

15.3°

Mon

31 Aug

15.4°

Tue

1 Sep

15.3°

Wed

2 Sep

15.2°

Thu

3 Sep

15.4°

Fri

4 Sep

15.5°

Wind Map

Wind data (text)

Now: 14 km/h E (75°).

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 → 8:00 am

Good

6:00 pm → 8:00 pm

First light

6:28 am

Last light

6:36 pm

Sunrise

6:53 am

Sunset

6:11 pm

Moonrise

7:20 pm

Moonset

7:14 am

High tide

12:02 am

Low tide

6:07 am

High tide

12:12 pm

Low tide

6:53 pm

Species at this spot

Australian Herring
Skipjack Trevally (Skippy)
Southern Calamari (Squid)
Garfish
Australian Salmon
King George Whiting
Yellowfin Whiting (Sand Whiting)
Blue Swimmer Crab